Other forms: discourses
Discourse is the ongoing written and spoken conversation of a field or society. Public discourse, academic discourse, the discourse around it.
In its academic sense it means more than talk: a discourse is the whole set of assumptions and vocabulary that make certain statements sayable and others not, which is Foucault's use. In ordinary use it means debate. Online, the discourse is a wry name for whatever argument is happening this week. Note that the Latin means running about.
1noundiscourseThe ongoing conversation of a field or society.
“Social media has changed the tone of political discourse.”
2verbspeakTo speak or write at length on a subject.
“The professor discoursed on ancient Rome for an hour without any notes.”
discourse is a body of talk.
Latin discursus means a running about — dis plus currere, to run. Current, course and concourse come from the same running.
Proto-Indo-European
*ḱers-
Latin
discursus — the act of running about
Middle French
discours — conversation, speech
Middle English
discours
English, today
discourse
Built 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”). a doublet of discursus.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA