discourse
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
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 [edit]
Noun [edit]
discourse (countable and uncountable; plural discourses)
- (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.
- 1847, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, Chapter XVIII
- (uncountable) Expression in words, either speech or writing.
- 2012 March 1, Brian Hayes, “Pixels or Perish”, American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 106:
- Drawings and pictures are more than mere ornaments in scientific discourse. Blackboard sketches, geological maps, diagrams of molecular structure, astronomical photographs, MRI images, the many varieties of statistical charts and graphs: These pictorial devices are indispensable tools for presenting evidence, for explaining a theory, for telling a story.
- 2012 March 1, Brian Hayes, “Pixels or Perish”, American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 106:
- (countable) A formal lengthy exposition of some subject, either spoken or written.
- (countable) Any rational expression, reason.
- (social sciences, countable) An institutionalized way of thinking, a social boundary defining what can be said about a specific topic (after Michel Foucault).
- 2007, Christine L. Marran, Poison Woman: Figuring Female Transgression in Modern Japanese Culture (page 137)
- Furthermore, it should be recalled from the previous chapter that criminological discourse of the 1930s deemed every woman a potential criminal, implicitly including the domestic woman.
- 2008, Jane Anna Gordon, Lewis Gordon, A Companion to African-American Studies (page 308)
- But equally important to the emergence of uniquely African-American queer discourses is the refusal of African-American movements for liberation to address adequately issues of sexual orientation and gender identity.
- 2007, Christine L. Marran, Poison Woman: Figuring Female Transgression in Modern Japanese Culture (page 137)
Synonyms [edit]
- (expression in words): communication, expression
- (verbal exchange): debate, conversation, discussion, talk
- (formal lengthy exposition of some subject): dissertation, lecture, sermon, study, treatise
- (rational expression): ratiocination
Derived terms [edit]
Related terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
expression in (spoken or written) words
formal lengthy exposition of some subject
verbal exchange or conversation
in social sciences
- 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 [edit]
discourse (third-person singular simple present discourses, present participle discoursing, simple past and past participle discoursed)
- (intransitive) To engage in discussion or conversation; to converse.
- (intransitive) To write or speak formally and at length.
- (obsolete) (transitive) To debate.
Synonyms [edit]
Derived terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
engage in discussion or conversation
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write or speak formally and at length
to debate
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