I. ˈdiˌskō(ə)rs, -ȯ(ə)rs, -ōəs, -ȯ(21 )s also də̇ˈs- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English discours, modification (influenced by cours course) of Medieval Latin & Late Latin discursus; Medieval Latin, argument, course, from Late Latin, conversation, from Latin, act of running about, from discursus, past participle of discurrere to run about, from dis- about, apart + currere to run — more at dis- , current
1. archaic
a. : the act, power, or faculty of thinking consecutively and logically : the process of proceeding from one judgment to another in logical sequence : the reasoning faculty : rationality
he that made us with such large discourse — Shakespeare
b. : the capacity of proceeding in an orderly and necessary sequence — used chiefly in the phrase discourse of reason
a beast that wants discourse of reason — Shakespeare
2. obsolete : progression or course especially of events : course of arms : combat
3.
a. : verbal interchange of ideas
we need to have a fairly definite point of departure for intelligent discourse — Robert Humphrey
often : conversation
let your discourse with men of business be short and comprehensive — George Washington
b. : an instance of such interchange
his discourses with his puritan colleagues — Sidney Lovett
4.
a. : the expression of ideas ; especially : formal and orderly expression in speech or writing
what seemed sapient discourse … is rather puerile chatter now — G.W.Johnson
the forms of discourse
b. : a talk or piece of writing in which a subject is treated at some length usually in an orderly fashion
the lecture … is an acute and suggestive discourse upon a subject that has always occupied his attention — Bliss Perry
the preacher, who would interrupt his discourse to denounce a dormant worshiper — American Guide Series: Michigan
5. obsolete
a. : power of conversing : conversational ability
b. : account , narrative , tale
c. : social familiarity ; also : familiarity with a subject
6. linguistics : connected speech or writing consisting of more than one sentence
Synonyms:
treatise , tractate , disquisition , dissertation , thesis , monograph : discourse is applicable to well formulated or coherently arranged serious and systematic treatment of a subject in writing or speaking
the sermon was a discourse on the apostle's thoughts
a learned discourse on the effect of the tariff
treatise is likely to refer to a formal methodical written exposition, often more detailed but less pointed and persuasive than a discourse
a scholarly and comprehensive treatise
there are several excellent treatises on Thoreau's literary sources — H.S.Canby
tractate , now not much used, means and implies about the same things as treatise , but may be somewhat contentious
the fabulists were right, he reflected, when they took beasts to illustrate their tractates of human morality — Aldous Huxley
disquisition may apply to a discussion more exploratory and investigative than definitive
many of Burke's reflections on the theme of history are of a purely empirical character, being disquisitions about the direction human affairs are likely to follow if certain conditions are (or are not) fulfilled — Times Literary Supplement
dissertation is likely to imply examination, usually academic, of a subject, and discussion at length; often the word applies to treatises written to attest fitness for higher university degrees
a tradition has developed that a dissertation in economics must be a sizable tome — H.R.Bowen
the reason, perhaps, why scholarly dissertations upon literature are so often merely scholastic enumerations of minutiae — John Dewey
thesis may designate the statement, explanation, and defense of a proposition
Miss L———'s extremely suggestive thesis is that the transition from Elizabethan-Jacobean to later Caroline comedy is primarily economic — T.S.Eliot
It is often used in reference to essays written by candidates for the master's degree. monograph may refer to a learned treatise on a limited subject
a monograph on the earliest Roman coins
a monograph on this subspecies
II. ̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷, ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to express oneself in especially oral discourse : talk in a continuous or formal manner
we talk in the bosom of our family in a way different from that in which we discourse on state occasions — J.L.Lowes
b. : talk , converse
let us discourse beneath this knotty carob tree — Norman Douglas
2. obsolete : reason
transitive verb
1. archaic : to expose or set forth in speech or writing : treat of : narrate , tell , discuss
2. : play , perform
an orchestra discoursed soft, seductive music — A.W.O'Neil
eloquently discoursed and invested with the necessary virtuosity — Current Biography
3. obsolete : to talk to : confer with : converse with
Synonyms:
discourse , expatiate , dilate , and descant can mean, in common, to talk more or less formally and at length upon a subject. discourse implies the manner of a lecturer, suggesting also detailed, ordered discussion
to discourse knowledgeably about the laws of nature today requires a formidable apparatus of mathematics — Times Literary Supplement
discourses in his usual manner on the technique and value of mystical contemplation — Gerald Bullett
expatiate implies ranging over a subject, often without restraint and sometimes at will, connoting more copiousness in the product than does discourse
was forever expatiating on the close resemblance between the methods of art, as shown especially in painting, and the methods of moral action — Havelock Ellis
in another lecture I shall expatiate on the idea — William James
he expatiated on the theme that organization produces the great thinker — H.J.Laski
dilate implies an enlarging upon the details of a subject of discourse
as it is not right to damp a native enthusiasm, Redworth let him dilate on his theme — George Meredith
he reverted to his conversation of the night before, and dilated upon the same subject with an easy mastery of his theme — Elinor Wylie
descant stresses free comment, often connoting a delight in the expression of one's views
descanted again and again on the virtues of silence — Max Herzberg
loves to descant on personalities — princes, statesmen, poets — G.K.Anderson
III. noun
: a mode of organizing knowledge, ideas, or experience that is rooted in language and its concrete contexts (as history or institutions)
male-dominated discourses — Marian M. Sciachitano
critical discourses