dignotion means distinguishing mark; a diagnostic or dicernment. It carries an Arena rating of 1586, earned across 7 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, dignotion ranks #486 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #1,256 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #2,922 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #6,639 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words.
Why “dignotion” is a great word
A distinguishing mark or feature that serves as a means of identification. From Latin *dignoscere* (to distinguish), from *di-, dis-* (apart) + *gnoscere, noscere* (to learn, to know), with the suffix *-ion*. Unlike 'diagnostic,' which narrows its gaze to the symptomatic identification of disease, or 'criterion,' which elevates a standard for judgment, a dignotion is the humble, archaic word for the mark of distinction itself. It is the fleck of gold in the prospector's pan, the specific notch on an old key that opens only one lock, or the faint, sour-apple scent that means a certain insect has passed this way—a singular point of reference in a world of blurring sameness, quietly insisting that *this*, and not *that*, is what we have come to know.
Etymology
From Latin dignoscere (“to distinguish”), from di-, dis- + gnoscere, noscere (“to learn to know”).
noun
- distinguishing mark; a diagnostic or dicernmente.g.“That temperamentall dignotions, and conjecture of prevalent humours, may be collected from spots in our nails, we are not averse to concede.” — 1646/50, Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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