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discussion

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /dɪˈskʌʃ.ᵊn/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English discussioun,[2][3] borrowed from Old French discussion (“discussion, examination, legal trial”) and directly from Late Latin discussiō (“examination, investigation”) (accusative discussiōnem),[2][3][4] in classical Latin “a shaking”,[2][3] a noun of action from the past participle of discutere (“to strike apart, break up; in Late Latin, to investigate”),[2][4] from dis- (“apart”) and quatere (“to shake”).[2] It is related to discuss, concussion, percussion and quash.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Examination, investigation, judicial trial: before 1340 in the OED,[5] the mid-14th century in Etymonline.[2]

Semantic evolution

The sense evolution in Latin was from “to smash apart” to “to scatter, disperse”, then in post-classical times, through the mental process, to “to investigate, examine”, and finally to “to debate”.[2] The meaning “a talking over, debating” is first recorded in English in the mid-15th century,[2] and the OED dates the examination of a matter by arguments for and against to before 1556.[5] In medicine, the dispersal of humours or of a tumour, it is from 1620.[5] Argument or debate meant to bring out the truth is from 1789,[5] and humorously the testing of food by eating it from 1853.[5]

Timeline

  • before 1340 – judicial examination.[5]
  • mid-15th century – a talking over.[2]
  • before 1556 – examination by argument.[5]
  • 1620 – in medicine.[5]
  • 1789 – debate.[5]
  • 1937 – discussion group.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Consideration of a subject by a group; a serious conversation or debate.
  2. A formal spoken or written treatment of a topic; an exposition.

Word family

  • discussional
  • prediscussion
  • rediscussion
  • panel discussion

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press