Etymograph

English

discussion

Discussion comes from Late Latin discussiō ‘shaking’, and goes back to Latin discutiō ‘to strike asunder, dash to pieces, shatter’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiscutiō1‘to strike asunder’
  2. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdiscussiō1‘shaking’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400discussion1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2014discussion1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English discussion
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2014, David Malcolm, The Great War Re-Remembered: Allohistory and Allohistorical : “The question of the plausibility of the counter-factual is…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiscutiōWiktionary, English discussion‘to strike asunder’
  2. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdiscussiōWiktionary, English discussion‘shaking’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400discussionWiktionary, English discussion
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2014discussionWiktionary, English discussion. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2014, David Malcolm, The Great War Re-Remembered: Allohistory and Allohistorical : “The question of the plausibility of the counter-factual is…”

Equivalent to discuss + -ion

Latin discutiō ‘to strike apart; to examine, discuss’

Anglo-Norman discusser

Middle English discussen

English discuss

Every English word from Latin discutiō

Today it means

noun Conversation or debate concerning a particular topic.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “discussion”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin discutiō / discussion

Shirt and support for this word