Greek 'dia-' (through) + 'legein' (to speak) — a conversation that works through a subject, not (as assumed) between two people.
A conversation between two or more people; a discussion intended to explore a subject or resolve a problem; the conversational element in a literary or dramatic work.
From Old French 'dialogue,' from Latin 'dialogus,' from Greek 'dialogos' (conversation, discourse), from 'dialegesthai' (to converse), composed of 'dia-' (through, across, between) + 'legein' (to speak). The word is frequently misanalyzed as 'di-' (two) + 'logos,' suggesting a conversation between two people, but the prefix is actually 'dia-' (through). A dialogue in Greek was a conversation that works through a subject — it could involve any number of speakers. Key
The common belief that 'dialogue' means 'a conversation between two people' (from 'di-' meaning 'two') is a widespread folk etymology. The prefix is 'dia-' (through), not 'di-' (two). Plato's dialogues frequently involve three, four, or more speakers. A dialogue is not defined by the number of participants but by the act of reasoning
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