It is illegal to discriminate against someone because of their race.

discriminate 是动词，来自拉丁语 discriminare（区分、辨别）。前缀 dis- 表示"分开"，词根 crimin 与"判断、区分"相关。这个词本义是"区分、辨别"，但常用来表示"不公平地区别对待"，即"歧视"。