discuss

discuss
\ \ [14] The ultimate source of discuss meant ‘smash to pieces’. It comes from discuss-, the past participle stem of Latin discutere, a compound verb formed from the prefix dis- ‘apart’ and quatereshake’ (from which English also gets concussion and quash). Its literal meaning was ‘smash apart, break up’, and this gradually developed via ‘scatter, disperse’ to, in post-classical times, ‘investigate, examine’ and eventually ‘debate’. The apparently wide semantic discrepancy between ‘scatter, disperse’ and ‘examine’ was probably bridged by some such intermediate notion as ‘disperse or separate in the mind so as to distinguish and identify each component’.
\ \ Cf.CONCUSSION, QUASH

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Discuss — Dis*cuss , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Discussed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Discussing}.] [L. discussus, p. p. of discutere to strike asunder (hence came the sense to separate mentally, distinguish); dis + quatere to shake, strike. See {Quash}.] 1. To break to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • discuss — discuss, argue, debate, dispute, agitate mean to discourse about something in order to arrive at the truth or to convince others. Discuss implies an attempt to sift or examine especially by presenting considerations pro and con; it often suggests …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • discuss — mid 14c., to examine, investigate, from L. discuss , pp. stem of discutere to dash to pieces, agitate, in L.L. and V.L. also to discuss, investigate (see DISCUSSION (Cf. discussion)). Meaning to examine by argument, debate is from mid 15c.… …   Etymology dictionary

  • discuss — [di skus′] vt. [ME discussen, to examine, scatter < L discussus, pp. of discutere, to strike asunder, scatter < dis , apart + quatere, to shake, beat: see QUASH2] 1. Obs. to disperse; dispel 2. to talk or write about; take up in… …   English World dictionary

  • discuss — I verb agitare, air, analyze, argue for and against, argue the case, argue the point, bandy words, carry on a conversation, comment, comment upon, confabulate, confer, confer with, consider, consult, contend in words, contest, converse, debate,… …   Law dictionary

  • discuss — [v] talk over with another altercate, argue, bounce off*, canvass, compare notes, confabulate, confer, consider, consult with, contend, contest, converse, debate, deliberate, descant, discept, discourse about, dispute, dissert, dissertate,… …   New thesaurus

  • discuss — ► VERB 1) talk about so as to reach a decision. 2) talk or write about (a topic) in detail. DERIVATIVES discussable adjective. ORIGIN Latin discutere dash to pieces (later investigate ) …   English terms dictionary

  • discuss */*/*/ — UK [dɪˈskʌs] / US verb [transitive] Word forms discuss : present tense I/you/we/they discuss he/she/it discusses present participle discussing past tense discussed past participle discussed Get it right: discuss: The verb discuss is never used… …   English dictionary

  • discuss — verb ADVERB ▪ exhaustively, fully, in detail, thoroughly ▪ The plan was discussed in great detail. ▪ at length, endlessly, extensively …   Collocations dictionary

  • discuss — 01. I [discussed] the project with my boss for over an hour. 02. You should [discuss] this with your parents before you make any decision. 03. The matter was [discussed] at our management meeting this morning. 04. The Prime Minister met with his… …   Grammatical examples in English

  • discuss — di|scuss W1S3 [dıˈskʌs] v [T] [Date: 1300 1400; : Latin; Origin: discussus, past participle of discutere to shake to pieces ] 1.) to talk about something with another person or a group in order to exchange ideas or decide something ▪ Littman… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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