- [countable, uncountable] (formal) a long and serious treatment or discussion of a subject in speech or writing
- discourse on something a discourse on issues of gender and sexuality
- He was hoping for some lively political discourse at the meeting.
- [uncountable] (linguistics) the use of language in speech and writing in order to produce meaning; language that is studied, usually in order to see how the different parts of a text are connected
- spoken/written discourse
- discourse analysis
Word Originlate Middle English (denoting the process of reasoning): from Old French discours, from Latin discursus ‘running to and fro’ (in medieval Latin: ‘argument’), from the verb discurrere, from dis- ‘away’ + currere ‘to run’; the verb influenced by French discourir.
Check pronunciation:
discourse