Lexic.us

Definition of Discourse

1. Verb. To consider or examine in speech or writing. "Sam wants to discourse with Sue "; "The class discussed Dante's `Inferno'"

2. Noun. Extended verbal expression in speech or writing.

3. Verb. Carry on a conversation. "Sam wants to discourse with Sue "

4. Noun. An address of a religious nature (usually delivered during a church service).

5. Verb. Talk at length and formally about a topic. ; "The speaker dissertated about the social politics in 18th century England"

6. Noun. An extended communication (often interactive) dealing with some particular topic. "His treatment of the race question is badly biased"

Definition of Discourse

1. n. The power of the mind to reason or infer by running, as it were, from one fact or reason to another, and deriving a conclusion; an exercise or act of this power; reasoning; range of reasoning faculty.

2. v. i. To exercise reason; to employ the mind in judging and inferring; to reason.

3. v. t. To treat of; to expose or set forth in language.

Definition of Discourse

1. Noun. (context: uncountable archaic) Verbal exchange, conversation. ¹

2. Noun. Expression in words, either speech or writing. ¹

3. Noun. A formal lengthy exposition of some subject, either spoken or written. ¹

4. Noun. Any rational expression, reason. ¹

5. Noun. (context: social sciences countable) An institutionalized way of thinking, a social boundary defining what can be said about a specific topic (after Michel Foucault). ¹

6. Verb. (intransitive) To engage in discussion or conversation; to converse. ¹

7. Verb. (intransitive) To write or speak formally and at length. ¹

8. Verb. (obsolete) (transitive) To debate. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Discourse

1. [v -COURSED, -COURSING, -COURSES]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Discourse

discourage discourageable discouraged discouragement discouragements discourager discouragers discourages discourageth discouraging

discouragingly discoure discoured discoures discouring discourse (current term) discourse analysis discourse marker discourse markers discoursed

discourser discoursers discourses discoursing discoursive discoursively discoursiveness discourteous discourteously discourteousness

Literary usage of Discourse

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (1860)
"So she ran to the door, and called out Prudence, Piety, and Charity, who, after a little more discourse with him, had him into the family; and many of them ..."

2. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes (1904)
"Of the Ends, or Resolutions of discourse. OF all discourse, governed by desire of ... And in the chain of discourse, wheresoever it be interrupted, ..."

3. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah by Alfred Edersheim (1883)
"The discourse of Christ recorded in St. John xvi., and His prayer,0 were ... We can scarcely imagine such a discourse, and still less such a Prayer, ..."

4. The Complete Angler: Or The Contemplative Man's Recreation by Izaak Walton, Charles Cotton, George Washington Bethune (1847)
"And though this discourse may be liable to some exceptions, ... I did not undertake to write or to publish this discourse on fish and fishing to please ..."

5. European Theories of the Drama: An Anthology of Dramatic Theory and by Barrett Harper Clark (1918)
"The discourse appeared in the Works, in 1714. It was first published in 1702, ... The discourse is reprinted in A discourse upon Comedy, The Recruiting ..."

6. Publications by English Dialect Society (1911)
"A discourse concerning the Currencies of the British Plantations in America : Especially, ... According to Sabin the " discourse" was originally printed in ..."

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