"having an air of distinction," 1813 (in Byron), from French distingué, literally "distinguished," past participle of distinguer (see distinguish).
The girls I knew had sad and sullen gray faces
With distingué traces
That used to be there -- You could see where they'd been washed away
By too many through the day
Twelve o'clock tales.
["Lush Life," Billy Strayhorn, age 17]
[distingue etymology, distingue origin, 英语词源]