Definitions for discourse
ˈdɪs kɔrs, -koʊrs, dɪsˈkɔrs, -ˈkoʊrs; dɪsˈkɔrs, -ˈkoʊrsdis·course

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:2.0 / 2 votes

1. discoursenoun

   extended verbal expression in speech or writing

2. sermon, discourse, preachingnoun

   an address of a religious nature (usually delivered during a church service)

3. discussion, treatment, discourseverb

   an extended communication (often interactive) dealing with some particular topic

   "the book contains an excellent discussion of modal logic"; "his treatment of the race question is badly biased"

4. discourse, talk about, discussverb

   to consider or examine in speech or writing

   "The author talks about the different aspects of this question"; "The class discussed Dante's `Inferno'"

5. converse, discourseverb

   carry on a conversation

6. hold forth, discourse, dissertateverb

   talk at length and formally about a topic

   "The speaker dissertated about the social politics in 18th century England"

WiktionaryRate this definition:2.0 / 1 vote

1. discoursenoun

   Verbal exchange, conversation.

2. discoursenoun

   Expression in words, either speech or writing.

3. discoursenoun

   A formal lengthy exposition of some subject, either spoken or written.

4. discoursenoun

   Any rational expression, reason.

5. discoursenoun

   An institutionalized way of thinking, a social boundary defining what can be said about a specific topic (after Michel Foucault).

6. discourseverb

   To engage in discussion or conversation; to converse.

7. discourseverb

   To write or speak formally and at length.

8. discourseverb

   To debate.

9. Etymology: Either from discours, or a direct alteration of discursus, itself from discurro, from dis- + curro.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. DISCOURSEnoun

   Etymology: discours, Fr. discursus, Latin.

   1. The act of the understanding, by which it passes from premises to consequences.

   By reason of that original weakness in the instruments, without which the understanding part is not able in this world by discourse to work, the very conceit of painfulness is a bridle to stay us. Richard Hooker, b. 1. s. 7.

   Sure he that made us with such large discourse,
   Looking before and after, gave us not
   That capability and godlike reason
   To rust in us unus’d. William Shakespeare.

   The third act of the mind is that which connects propositions, and deduceth conclusions from them: and this the schools call discourse; and we shall not miscall it, if we name it reason. Joseph Glanvill, Sceps. c. 13.

   2. Conversation; mutual intercourse of language; talk.

   He waxeth wiser than himself, more by an hour’s discourse, than by a day’s meditation. Francis Bacon, Essays.

   In thy discourse, if thou desire to please,
   All such is courteous, useful, new, or witty;
   Usefulness come by labour, wit by ease,
   Courtesy grows in court, news in the city. George Herbert.

   The vanquish’d party with the victors join’d,
   Nor wanted sweet discourse, the banquet of the mind. Dryd.

   3. Effusion of language; speech.

   Topical and superficial arguments, of which there is store to be found on both sides, filling the head with variety of thoughts, and the mouth with copious discourse, serve only to amuse the understanding and entertain company. John Locke.

   4. A treatise; a dissertation either written or uttered.

   The discourse here is about ideas, which, he says, are real things, and seen in God. John Locke.

   Plutarch, in his discourse upon garrulity, commends the fidelity of the companions of Ulysses. Alexander Pope, Odyssey, Notes.

2. To Discourseverb

   To treat of.

   Etymology: from the noun.

   Renowned duke, vouchsafe to take the pains
   To go with us into the abbey here,
   And let us there at large discourse all our fortunes. William Shakespeare, Co. Err.

3. To Discourseverb

   Etymology: from the noun.

   1. To converse; to talk; to relate.

   How wert thou handled, being prisoner?
   Discourse, I pr’ythee on this turret’s top. William Shakespeare, Hen. IV.

   Of various things discoursing as he pass’d,
   Anchises hither bends. Dryd.

   2. To treat upon in a solemn or set manner.

   That the general maxims we are discoursing of are not known to children, ideots, and a great part of mankind, we have already sufficiently proved. John Locke.

   3. To reason; to pass from premises to consequences.

   And yet the pow’rs of her discoursing thoughts,
   From the collection is a diverse thing. Davies.

   Brutes do want that quick discoursing pow’r. Davies.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Discourse

   Discourse is a generalization of the notion of a conversation to any form of communication. Discourse is a major topic in social theory, with work spanning fields such as sociology, anthropology, continental philosophy, and discourse analysis. Following pioneering work by Michel Foucault, these fields view discourse as a system of thought, knowledge, or communication that constructs our experience of the world. Since control of discourse amounts to control of how the world is perceived, social theory often studies discourse as a window into power. Within theoretical linguistics, discourse is understood more narrowly as linguistic information exchange and was one of the major motivations for the framework of dynamic semantics, in which expressions' denotations are equated with their ability to update a discourse context.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. Discoursenoun

   the power of the mind to reason or infer by running, as it were, from one fact or reason to another, and deriving a conclusion; an exercise or act of this power; reasoning; range of reasoning faculty

2. Discoursenoun

   conversation; talk

3. Discoursenoun

   the art and manner of speaking and conversing

4. Discoursenoun

   consecutive speech, either written or unwritten, on a given line of thought; speech; treatise; dissertation; sermon, etc.; as, the preacher gave us a long discourse on duty

5. Discoursenoun

   dealing; transaction

6. Discourseverb

   to exercise reason; to employ the mind in judging and inferring; to reason

7. Discourseverb

   to express one's self in oral discourse; to expose one's views; to talk in a continuous or formal manner; to hold forth; to speak; to converse

8. Discourseverb

   to relate something; to tell

9. Discourseverb

   to treat of something in writing and formally

10. Discourseverb

    to treat of; to expose or set forth in language

11. Discourseverb

    to utter or give forth; to speak

12. Discourseverb

    to talk to; to confer with

13. Etymology: [L. discursus a running to and fro, discourse, fr. discurrere, discursum, to run to and fro, to discourse; dis- + currere to run: cf. F. discours. See Course.]

FreebaseRate this definition:2.3 / 3 votes

1. Discourse

   Discourse denotes written and spoken communications such as: ⁕In semantics and discourse analysis: A generalization of the concept of conversation within all modalities and contexts. ⁕The totality of codified language used in a given field of intellectual enquiry and of social practice, such as legal discourse, medical discourse, religious discourse, et cetera. ⁕In the work of Michel Foucault, and that of the social theoreticians he inspired: discourse describes “an entity of sequences, of signs, in that they are enouncements ”. An enouncement is not a unit of semiotic signs, but an abstract construct that allows the signs to assign and communicate specific, repeatable relations to, between, and among objects, subjects, and statements. Hence, a discourse is composed of semiotic sequences between and among objects, subjects, and statements. The term discursive formation conceptually describes the regular communications that produce such discourses. As a philosopher, Foucault applied the discursive formation in the analyses of large bodies of knowledge, such as political economy and natural history.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Discourse

   dis-kōrs′, n. speech or language generally: conversation: the reasoning faculty: a treatise: a sermon.—v.i. to talk or converse: to reason: to treat formally.—v.t. to utter or give forth.—n. Discours′er (Shak.).—adj. Discours′ive. [Fr. discours—L. discursus—dis, away, currĕre, to run.]

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. discourse

   Discourse is close to debate. Debators try to convice, or overrun, others to their point. Discoursers have a mutual understanding of developing a higher truth that all discoursers can agree to. A discourse involves dialectics. A thesis is tested against its anti.thesis in a hope to arrive at a synthesis.

   
   

   Submitted by eugenep.05510 on July 10, 2022  

Matched Categories

1. • Address
   • Church
   • Language Unit
   • Talk

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'discourse' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3941

2. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'discourse' in Nouns Frequency: #1477

How to pronounce discourse?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say discourse in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of discourse in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of discourse in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of discourse in a Sentence

1. Ozlem Tureci:

   The process of getting a medicine or a vaccine approved is one where many questions are asked, many experts are involved and there is external peer review of all the data and scientific discourse.

2. Rikki Klieman:

   I passionately wanted to do these stories, and I became even more passionate about telling these stories at a time when the discourse, the debate about policing in America, has taken a sharp turn, police are being defined by a half a dozen incidents instead of being defined by the people that they really are.

3. Marc Short:

   From my front row seat, I did not see a lot of legitimate political discourse.

4. Jacksonville Public Library:

   Unfortunately, the discourse from some in the community did not remain civil and reportedly included threats of physical violence. We had to make a very tough call, our cancellation of the Pride Prom does not mean that we agree with -- or are bowing to pressure from -- those who protested the event.

5. Ibrahim Kalin:

   We have seen many times Islamophobic discourse against Islam and Muslims turning into a perverse and murderous ideology. The world must raise its voice against such discourse and must say stop to Islamophobic fascist terrorism.

Popularity rank by frequency of use