anti-discrimination

The word is a modern compound formed in English by directly attaching the Greek-derived prefix 'anti-' to the existing noun 'discrimination'. The prefix 'anti-' originates from the Greek preposition 'antí', meaning 'against'. The noun 'discrimination' entered English from Latin 'discriminat-', the past participle stem of 'discriminare', meaning 'to divide or distinguish', which itself derives from 'discrimen' (a separation). While the Latin root initially carried a neutral sense of distinction, the English word evolved to specialize in the context of unjust distinctions based on prejudice. Therefore, 'anti-discrimination' literally builds the concept of being 'against unfair distinction', logically forming its modern meaning as an adjective describing policies or attitudes opposed to such bias.

Structure: anti (against) + discrimination (unfair treatment) - anti: From Greek, via Latin. A prefix meaning 'against', 'opposite of', or 'preventative of'. - discrimination: From Latin. The base word, a noun meaning 'the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people'.