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discordia

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word discordia

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*ḱḗr)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin discors
Latin discordia

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [dɪsˈkɔr.di.a][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [disˈkɔr.di.a][1]

Forms

discordia f (genitive discordiae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin discors (“disagreeing”) + -ia.[2][3][1][4] discors is dis- (“apart”) with cor (“heart”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *kord and Proto-Indo-European *ḱḗr (“heart”).[5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus,[5] and Lewis & Short cite Plautus and Terence.[6] Köbler first records it in Ennius.[7]

Semantic evolution

Discordia is disagreement and dissension, between persons.[2][6] The TLL notes that grammarians called it a word without a plural, although the plural is common.[3]

Church Latin glosses it “discord, disagreement, dissension”.[8] English discord (early 13th century) comes from it through Old French.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[5][6][7]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence uses it.[6][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.[6][7]
  • early 13th century – English discord.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. disagreement, dissension, discord.[2][6][1][8]
  2. Strife, quarrel.[6][3]

Word family

  • discordiōsus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Discordia.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/discordia. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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