discourse

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

Either from French discours, or a direct alteration of Late Latin discursus (“the act of running about”) , itself from discurrō (“run about”), from dis- (“apart”) + currō (“run”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

discourse (countable and uncountable; plural discourses)

1. (uncountable, archaic) Verbal exchange, conversation.
   • 1847, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, Chapter XVIII

     Two or three of the gentlemen sat near him, and I caught at times scraps of their conversation across the room. At first I could not make much sense of what I heard; for the discourse of Louisa Eshton and Mary Ingram, who sat nearer to me, confused the fragmentary sentences that reached me at intervals.

2. (uncountable) Expression in words, either speech or writing.
3. (countable) A formal lengthy exposition of some subject, either spoken or written.
4. (countable) Any rational expression, reason.
5. (social sciences, countable) An institutionalized way of thinking, a social boundary defining what can be said about a specific topic (after Michel Foucault).

Synonyms

• (expression in words): communication, expression
• (verbal exchange): debate, conversation, discussion, talk
• (formal lengthy exposition of some subject): dissertation, lecture, sermon, study, treatise
• (rational expression): rationcination

Derived terms

• direct discourse
• indirect discourse

Related terms

• course
• discursive

Translations

expression in (spoken or written) words

Chinese: Mandarin: trad. 交談, simpl. 交谈 (jiāotán) Dutch: betoog (nl) n., discussie (nl), gesprek (nl) n., conversatie (nl), uiting (nl) Finnish: ilmaus (fi) German: Diskurs (de) m.

Greek: ομιλία (el) (omilia) f. Italian: discorso (it) m. Portuguese: discurso (pt) m. Swedish: diskurs (sv) c.

formal lengthy exposition of some subject

Bulgarian: доклад (bg) m., лекция (bg) f. Chinese: Mandarin: trad. 論文, simpl. 论文 (lùnwén) Czech: řeč (cs) f., projev (cs) m., přednáška (cs) f. Dutch: betoog (nl) n., verhandeling (nl), discours (nl) n. Finnish: tutkielma (fi) French: discours (fr) m.

German: Diskurs (de) m. Greek: ομιλία (el) (omilia) f. Japanese: 論文 (scholarly essay) Portuguese: discurso (pt) m. Romanian: discurs (ro) n. Swedish: diskurs (sv) c.

verbal exchange or conversation

Bulgarian: разговор (bg) m. Chinese: Mandarin: trad. 交談, simpl. 交谈 (jiāotán) Czech: rozprava (cs) f. Dutch: conversatie, gesprek n., gedachtenwisseling Finnish: diskurssi (fi), keskustelu (fi), ajatustenvaihto (fi) German: Diskurs (de) m.

Greek: συνομιλία (el) (sinomilia) f. Italian: discorso (it) m. Japanese: 会話 (ja) (kaiwa), 対話 (ja) (taiwa), 会談 (ja) (kaidan) Portuguese: discussão (pt) f. Romanian: discurs n., conversație f. Swedish: diskurs (sv) c.

rational expression, reason

Dutch: rede (nl)

Finnish: järkeily (fi)

in social sciences

Chinese: Mandarin: trad. 談話, simpl. 谈话 (tánhuà) Finnish: diskurssi (fi) Greek: διάλεξη (el) (dialexi) f. Hebrew: שיח (he) (syakh) m.

Japanese: デイスクー Portuguese: discurso (pt) m. Romanian: discurs (ro) n. Swedish: diskurs (sv) c.

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

• French: discours m., discussion f., exposé m.
• Korean: 논설
• Spanish: discurso m.

Verb

discourse (third-person singular simple present discourses, present participle discoursing, simple past and past participle discoursed)

1. (intransitive) To engage in discussion or conversation; to converse.
2. (intransitive) To write or speak formally and at length.
3. (obsolete) (transitive) To debate.

Synonyms

• (engage in discussion or conversation): converse, talk
• (write or speak formally and at length):

Derived terms

• discourser

Translations

engage in discussion or conversation

Bulgarian: разговарям (bg), дискутирам (bg) Chinese: Mandarin: trad. 談論, simpl. 谈论 (tánlùn) Czech: rozmlouvat (cs)

Dutch: converseren (nl), spreken (nl) German: reden (de) Greek: συνομιλώ (sinomilo), διαλέγομαι (dialegome)

write or speak formally and at length

Bulgarian: докладвам (bg), държа реч (bg) Chinese: Mandarin: trad. 演講, simpl. 演讲 (yánjiǎng) Czech: pojednávat (cs)

Dutch: betogen, een betoog houden, een rede(voering) houden German: eine Rede (de) f. halten Greek: διαλέγομαι (el) (dialegome)

to debate

Bulgarian: дискутирам (bg)

Dutch: bespreken (nl)

See also

• essay