discourse English · revision 16164

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1380, Chaucer, Boece|origins=la currō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈdɪs.kɔːs/, /dɪsˈkɔːs/ ''(UK)''; /ˈdɪs.kɔːɹs/, /dɪsˈkɔːɹs/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|discours]], [[bor|la|discursus|t=a running about]] (in Late Latin "conversation", in Medieval Latin "reasoning"),^(OED 2026)^(AHD 2024)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) with its form influenced by ''[[course]]'';^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) Etymonline and Klein route it through [[fr|discours]].^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) The Latin noun comes from [[m|la|discurrō|t=to run about]],^(AHD 2024)^(Etymonline) from [[m|la|dis-|t=apart]] and [[m|la|currō|t=to run]],^(AHD 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*ḱers-|t=to run]].^(AHD 2024)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The process or faculty of reasoning: about 1380, in Chaucer's translation of Boethius.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Weekley explains the old sense as the movement of the mind from one thought to the next.^(Weekley 1921) Shakespeare's ''discourse of reason'' in ''Hamlet'' kept this meaning, which Trench notes puzzled later commentators.^(Trench 1859)^(OED 2026) Under the influence of Latin and of French [[m|frm|discourir|t=to talk]], the word moved on to a formal treatment of a subject in speech or writing (1533), and conversation, talk (1545);^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) Barnhart dates conversation to 1559 and formal speech or writing to 1581.^(Barnhart 1988) The verb, at first "to run or travel over" (1540s), meant to talk at length from the 1560s.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) [[linguistics|alt=Linguists]] use it for a unit of text longer than a sentence.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1380 – the faculty of reasoning.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1533 – a formal treatment of a subject.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1545 – conversation, talk.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1546 – the verb.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1603 – dealings, communication, in ''Hamlet''.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Spoken or written communication; [[conversation]].^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A formal, lengthy treatment of a subject, such as a [[lecture]], [[sermon]] or [[treatise]].^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(linguistics)'' A unit of language longer than a sentence.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To speak or write at length about a subject.^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[discourser]]

+ * [[direct discourse]]

+ * [[indirect discourse]]

+ * [[discourse analysis]]

+ * [[universe of discourse]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[course]]

+ * [[discursive]]

+ * [[current]]

+ * [[concourse]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}