From Latin 'discursus' (a running about) — conversation conceived as running back and forth between points and ideas.
Written or spoken communication or debate on a particular topic; a formal, lengthy discussion of a subject; in linguistics, a connected series of utterances forming a text.
From Old French 'discours,' from Latin 'discursus' (a running about, a conversation), from 'discurrere' (to run about, to run to and fro), composed of 'dis-' (apart, in different directions) and 'currere' (to run). The literal image is running back and forth — moving from point to point, topic to topic, speaker to speaker. Conversation was conceived as a kind
The adjective 'discursive' (moving from topic to topic, rambling) preserves the original Latin sense of 'discourse' more faithfully than the noun itself. A discursive essay runs about — it moves from point to point without following a single straight line. In philosophy, 'discursive reason' (proceeding step
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