discours

Noun

discourse (countable and uncountable, plural discourses)

1. (archaic, uncountable) Verbal exchange, conversation.
   • UUho when he ſhal embrace you in his arms
     UUil tell how many thouſand men he ſlew.
     And when you looke for amorous diſcourſe,
     Will rattle foorth his facts of war and blood: […]c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC...

   Synonyms:

   debate, conversation, discussion, talk

2. (uncountable) Expression in words, either speech or writing.
   • Drawings and pictures are more than mere ornaments in scientific discourse. Blackboard sketches, geological maps, diagrams of molecular structure, astronomical photographs, MRI images, the many varieties of statistical charts and graphs: These pictorial devices are indispensable tools for...2012 March, Brian Hayes, “Pixels or Perish”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 19 Feb 2013, page 106

   Synonyms:

   communication, expression

3. (countable) A conversation.
   • It ſeems, the Minds of theſe People are ſo taken up with intenſe Speculations, that they neither can ſpeak, nor attend to the Diſcourſes of others, without being rouzed by ſome external Taction upon the Organs of Speech and Hearing; for which reaſon, thoſe Perſons who are able to afford it always...1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Humours and Dispositions of the Laputians Described. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London...
4. (countable) A formal lengthy exposition of some subject, either spoken or written.
   • The preacher gave us a long discourse on duty.

   Synonyms:

   dissertation, lecture, sermon, study, treatise

5. (countable) Any rational expression, reason.
   • Sure he that made us with such large discourse, / Looking before and after, gave us not / That capability and godlike reason / To rust in us unused.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...

   Synonyms:

   ratiocination

6. (countable) An institutionalized way of thinking, a social boundary defining what can be said about a specific topic (after Michel Foucault).
   • Furthermore, it should be recalled from the previous chapter that criminological discourse of the 1930s deemed every woman a potential criminal, implicitly including the domestic woman.2007, Christine L. Marran, Poison Woman: Figuring Female Transgression in Modern Japanese Culture, page 137

See all 13 meanings of discourse