What does discourse mean?
Definitions for discourse
ˈdɪs kɔrs, -koʊrs, dɪsˈkɔrs, -ˈkoʊrs; dɪsˈkɔrs, -ˈkoʊrsdis·course
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word discourse.
Princeton's WordNet
discoursenoun
extended verbal expression in speech or writing
sermon, discourse, preachingnoun
an address of a religious nature (usually delivered during a church service)
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"
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'"
converse, discourseverb
carry on a conversation
hold forth, discourse, dissertateverb
talk at length and formally about a topic
"The speaker dissertated about the social politics in 18th century England"
Wiktionary
discoursenoun
Verbal exchange, conversation.
discoursenoun
Expression in words, either speech or writing.
discoursenoun
A formal lengthy exposition of some subject, either spoken or written.
discoursenoun
Any rational expression, reason.
discoursenoun
An institutionalized way of thinking, a social boundary defining what can be said about a specific topic (after Michel Foucault).
discourseverb
To engage in discussion or conversation; to converse.
discourseverb
To write or speak formally and at length.
discourseverb
To debate.
Etymology: Either from discours, or a direct alteration of discursus, itself from discurro, from dis- + curro.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
DISCOURSEnoun
Etymology: discours, Fr. discursus, Latin.
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.
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.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.
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.
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.To Discourseverb
Etymology: from the noun.
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.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.
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.
Wikipedia
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.
ChatGPT
discourse
Discourse is a form of communication or expression which can be written or spoken, formal or informal. It involves a continuous and connected series of thoughts, ideas, beliefs, or conversational exchanges on a particular subject or topic, typically involving multiple perspectives. It forms a fundamental part of social interactions and constitutes the broader intellectual context that frames human thought and understanding.
Webster Dictionary
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
Discoursenoun
conversation; talk
Discoursenoun
the art and manner of speaking and conversing
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
Discoursenoun
dealing; transaction
Discourseverb
to exercise reason; to employ the mind in judging and inferring; to reason
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
Discourseverb
to relate something; to tell
Discourseverb
to treat of something in writing and formally
Discourseverb
to treat of; to expose or set forth in language
Discourseverb
to utter or give forth; to speak
Discourseverb
to talk to; to confer with
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.]
Wikidata
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 Dictionary
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 Contribution
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
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'discourse' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3941
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'discourse' in Nouns Frequency: #1477
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
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Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of discourse in Chaldean Numerology is: 7
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of discourse in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5
Examples of discourse in a Sentence
Hiding the truth of who one represents from policymakers undermines our political discourse and diminishes the quality of our policymaking because people need the facts for democracy to work.
Even just the basic civil discourse here -- it has completely deteriorated -- and we need to have new faces, new leaders that can bridge the divide.
I find the level of discourse and discussion distressingly banal and an outrage and an insult to the voters.
And we allow the discourse to make it sound as though it’s, like, these shady figures in the bush jumping out from a corner. These are young men. These are boys. We’re also not discussing the mental-health crisis that we are experiencing as a country as a result of the pandemic.
Good company and good discourse are the very sinews of virtue.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for discourse
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- حديثArabic
- разговор, разговарям, държа реч, дискутирам, лекция, доклад, докладвамBulgarian
- rozprava, řeč, projev, rozmlouvat, přednáška, pojednávatCzech
- reden, Abhandlung, Diskurs, Gespräch, RedeGerman
- ομιλία, διάλεξη, διαλέγομαι, συνομιλώ, συνομιλίαGreek
- discurso, conversaciónSpanish
- سخنPersian
- tutkielma, ilmaus, keskustella, ajatustenvaihto, diskurssi, väitellä, keskustelu, käsitellä, järkeilyFinnish
- conversation, discoursFrench
- שיחHebrew
- प्रवचनHindi
- ceramahIndonesian
- discorsoItalian
- 会談, 会話, 論文, デイスクー, 対話Japanese
- 논설Korean
- sermoLatin
- discours, redevoering, gedachtenwisseling, bespreken, verhandeling, rede, discussie, converseren, uiting, spreken, gesprek, conversatie, betoogDutch
- discurso, discussãoPortuguese
- discurs, conversațieRomanian
- рациональность, разумность, разговор, беседа, дискурс, речь, трактат, доклад, лекцияRussian
- diskursSwedish
- วาทกรรมThai
- گفتگوUrdu
- 演讲Chinese
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