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PlainSpell

discourse

dis·course/ˈdɪs.kɔːɹs/noun, verb

discourse is spelled D-I-S-C-O-U-R-S-E: 9 letters and 2 syllables (dis·course). It appears 6.8 times per million words in written English, the 9,165th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, discourse means “Expression in words, either speech or writing” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of discourse is discourses.

How many letters and syllables are in discourse?

Letters9: D-I-S-C-O-U-R-S-E
Syllables2: dis·course
In writing6.8 times per million words; the 9,165th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is discourse?

Discourse appears 6.8 times per million words in written English, the 9,165th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce discourse?

  • UK /ˈdɪs.kɔːs/
  • US /ˈdɪs.kɔːɹs/
  • /ˈdɪs.koː(ɹ)s/

As a verb (“To engage in discussion or conversation; to converse”): /dɪsˈkɔːs/, /dɪsˈkɔːɹs/, /dɪsˈkoː(ɹ)s/.

Discourse has 2 syllables, split dis·course in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-discourse.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of discourse

  • discourses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • discoursing participle, present
  • discoursed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does discourse mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    archaicVerbal exchange, conversation.

  2. 2

    Expression in words, either speech or writing.

  3. 3

    A conversation.

  4. 4

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

    The preacher gave us a long discourse on duty.

  5. 5

    Any rational expression, reason.

  6. 6

    An institutionalized way of thinking, a social boundary defining what can be said about a specific topic (after Michel Foucault).

  7. 7

    Lengthy, often heated debate over controversial subject matter, particularly within fandom and activist spaces. Sometimes rendered as a proper noun with the definite article (i.e. "the Discourse").

  8. 8

    obsoleteDealing; transaction.

verb

  1. 1

    To engage in discussion or conversation; to converse.

  2. 2

    To write or speak formally and at length.

  3. 3

    obsoleteTo debate.

  4. 4

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

  5. 5

    obsoleteTo produce or emit (musical sounds).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Discourse in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchdiscours (expression in (spoken or written) words), conversation (verbal exchange or conversation)
GermanDiskurs (expression in (spoken or written) words), Gespräch, Debatte (verbal exchange or conversation), Abhandlung (formal lengthy exposition of some subject), reden, diskutieren (engage in discussion or conversation)
Portuguesediscurso (expression in (spoken or written) words), discussão (verbal exchange or conversation)
Spanishdiscurso (expression in (spoken or written) words), conversación, plática, platicada (verbal exchange or conversation), discursar (engage in discussion or conversation), disertar (write or speak formally and at length)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does discourse come from?

From Middle English discours, borrowed from Middle French discours (“conversation, speech”), from Latin discursus (“the act of running about”), from Latin discurrō (“run about”), from dis- (“apart”) + currō (“run”). Spelling modified by influence of Middle French cours (“course”). Doublet of discursus.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after discourse