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discord

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Etymology and origin of the English word discord

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1230 Ancrene Riwle
Borrowed from
Old French descorde via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European *ḱerd-
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin discors
Latin discordia
English discord
From the same root
Latin discordo ← discors

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈdɪskɔːd/, /dɪsˈkɔːd/[1]
  • US: /ˈdɪskɔɹd/, /dɪsˈkɔɹd/[1]

Etymology

The noun is inherited from Middle English descorde, later discord,[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French descorde, also discorde,[3][5][6][2] which is from Latin discordia (“discord”),[3][5][6] and partly borrowed from Old French descort, also descord, derived from the Old French verb given below.[6][4][2][7] The Anglo-Norman noun, descord or descorde, seems to merge the two,[6] and is recorded from 1155.[8] The verb is inherited from Middle English discorden, also descorden,[9][4][3] borrowed from Old French descorder, also discorder, and directly borrowed from Latin discordō (“to be at variance, differ, quarrel”);[3][6][4][9] the Old French verb is recorded from about 1120,[6][8] and Klein notes that its form discorder was refashioned after the Latin.[9] Both Latin words are from discors (“disagreeing, discordant”),[3][6][5] formed from dis- (“apart”) and cor (“heart”),[3][5][7][10] from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerd- (“heart”).[3][5] The spelling “dischorde” shows the influence of chord.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Disagreement and ill will between people; dissension, strife: about 1230, in the Ancrene Riwle.[6][2][3]

Semantic evolution

Barnhart finds the later form discord in the Cursor Mundi (1325).[2] The noun spread from people to things, for difference or incongruity between them (before 1387, in Trevisa),[6] and to music: lack of harmony between notes sounded together is recorded from before 1398,[6][3] a chord that is not in harmony from 1582, and a single dissonant note from 1597, in Morley.[6] Anglo-Norman had already used the word of music in the 13th century.[6] From 1533 it was used figuratively of any jarring effect, and since 1589 of harsh or grating noise.[6] Lydgate personified Discord about 1425.[6] The verb, to disagree or quarrel, is recorded from before 1382 in the Wycliffite Bible,[6] and of sounds, to clash, from before 1398;[6] several of the verb's senses are now rare.[6] Johnson (1755) defined the noun as "disagreement; opposition; mutual anger", with a quotation from Romeo and Juliet.[11] The phrase apple of discord is listed by the Shorter Oxford.[10]

Timeline

  • c. 1230 – noun, disagreement between people, strife.[6][2]
  • 1325 – the form discord.[2]
  • before 1382 – verb, to disagree, quarrel.[6]
  • before 1387 – disagreement between things.[6]
  • before 1398 – in music, lack of harmony.[6][3]
  • c. 1415 – adjective, discordant.[6]
  • c. 1425 – Discord personified.[6]
  • 1533 – a jarring effect.[6]
  • 1582 – a chord not in harmony.[6]
  • 1589 – harsh or grating noise.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Lack of agreement or harmony between people; strife or dissension: The new rules caused discord in the club.[12][4][6]
  2. Lack of agreement between things; difference or incongruity.[6][10]
  3. (music) A combination of notes that sound harsh together; dissonance, the opposite of concord.[12][6]
  4. A harsh, confused mixture of sounds.[12][6]

Verb

  1. To disagree or be at variance; to clash.[12][4][6]

Word family

  • apple of discord

Usage notes

The noun is stressed on the first syllable and the verb on the second.[12] The OED also records an obsolete verb discord from 1566, formed from dis- and cord, for returning a hernia in a horse to the abdomen; it has a separate source.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  9. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  10. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  12. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Discord.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/discord. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

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