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discourse

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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionarydis·course I \ˈdis-ˌkȯrs, dis-ˈ\ noun ETYMOLOGY Middle English discours, from Medieval Latin & Late Latin discursus; Medieval Latin, argument, from Late Latin, conversation, from Latin, act of running about, from discurrere to run about, from dis- + currere to run — more at car DATE 14th century1. archaic : the capacity of orderly thought or procedure :rationality2. verbal interchange of ideas; especially : conversation3. a. formal and orderly and usually extended expression of thought on a subject b. connected speech or writing c. a linguistic unit (as a conversation or a story) larger than a sentence4. obsolete : social familiarity5. a mode of organizing knowledge, ideas, or experience that is rooted in language and its concrete contexts (as history or institutions) critical discourse II \dis-ˈkȯrs, ˈdis-ˌ\ verb (dis·coursed ; dis·cours·ing) DATE 1559intransitive verb1. to express oneself especially in oral discourse2. talk, conversetransitive verbarchaic : to give forth : utter• dis·cours·er nounEnglish Etymologydiscourse late 14c., alteration of L. discursus "a running about," in L.L."conversation," from stem of discurrere "run about," from dis-"apart" + currere "to run." Sense of "formal speech or writing" is first recorded 1580s.Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7discoursedis·course noun/ 5diskC:s; NAmE -kC:rs / 1. [C, U] (formal) a long and serious treatment or discussion of a subject in speech or writing 论文；演讲: a discourse on issues of gender and sexuality 关于性别和性行为的论文 He was hoping for some lively political discourse at the meeting. 他希望在会上听到些生动的政治演讲。 2. [U] (linguistics 语言) the use of language in speech and writing in order to produce meaning; language that is studied, usually in order to see how the different parts of a text are connected 话语；语篇: spoken / written discourse 口头/书面语段 discourse analysis 语篇分析 verb/ dis5kC:s; NAmE -5kC:rs / PHRASAL VERBS ▪ dis'course on / upon sth (formal) to talk or give a long speech about sth that you know a lot about 讲述；论述Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus-11th Editionn. Function: noun 1 Synonyms: SPEECH 1, speaking, talk, utterance, verbalization 2 a systematic, serious, and often learned exposition of a subject or topic FF1C;his discourses during the seminar were long rememberedFF1E; Synonyms: disquisition, dissertation, memoir, monograph, monography, thesis, tractate, treatise Related Words: article, essay, paper; lecture, sermon; rhetoric, speech, talkn. Function: verb 1 to express oneself especially formally and at length FF1C;discourses knowledgeably about the laws of natureFF1E; Synonyms: descant, dilate (on or upon), discuss, dissert, dissertate, expatiate, sermonize Related Words: converse, speak, talk, voice; argue, dispute; harangue, lecture, orate, perorate; amplify, develop, elaborate, enlarge, expand; explain, expound; comment, commentate, remark 2 Synonyms: ACT 1, do, enact, impersonate, perform, personate, play, playactWebster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridgeddis·courseI. \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-, current1. 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 : combat3. 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 subject6. linguistics : connected speech or writing consisting of more than one sentenceSynonyms: 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 verb1. 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 : reasontransitive verb1. archaic : to expose or set forth in speech or writing : treat of :narrate, tell, discuss2. : 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 withSynonyms: discourse, expatiate, dilate, and descant can mean, in common, to talk more or less formally and at length upon a subject. discourseimplies 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 >

Discourse Subject To Speech Verb Writing Noun Latin