different between disperse vs discuss

English

Etymology

From French disperser, from Latin dispersus, past participle of dispergere (“to scatter abroad, disperse”), from dis- (“apart”) + spargere (“to scatter”); see sparse.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /d??sp??s/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /d??sp??s/
• Rhymes: -??(?)s
• Hyphenation: dis?perse

Verb

disperse (third-person singular simple present disperses, present participle dispersing, simple past and past participle dispersed)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To scatter in different directions.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:disperse
2. (transitive, intransitive) To break up and disappear; to dissipate.
3. (transitive, intransitive) To disseminate.
4. (physics, transitive, intransitive) To separate rays of light, etc., according to wavelength; to refract.
5. (transitive, intransitive) To distribute throughout.

Usage notes

• Do not confuse with the monetary word disburse, despite the two being near homophones and having a degree of semantic similarity (in which disbursed money may be dispersed among expenses). A mnemonic to help make the difference obvious (which uses a cognate of each word) is that d?s-burs-ing is taking money out of the purse, whereas d?-spers-ing causes something to be sparsely scattered.

Derived terms

Related terms

• dispersal
• dispersible
• dispersion

Translations

Adjective

disperse (comparative more disperse, superlative most disperse)

1. Scattered or spread out.

Derived terms

Anagrams

• Perseids, despiser, perseids, presides

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dis.p??s/

Verb

disperse

1. inflection of disperser:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative
   2. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   3. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

• perdisse, prédises, prédisse, présides

German

Adjective

disperse

1. inflection of dispers:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Adjective

disperse

1. feminine plural of disperso

Noun

disperse f pl

1. plural of dispersa

Verb 1

disperse

1. inflection of disperdere:
   1. third-person singular past historic
   2. third-person singular past historic

Verb 2

disperse f

1. feminine plural of disperso

Anagrams

• depressi, perdessi, predisse

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /dis?per.se/, [d??s??p?rs??]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /dis?per.se/, [d?is?p?rs?]

Participle

disperse

1. vocative masculine singular of dispersus

References

• disperse in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• disperse in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• disperse in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

Portuguese

Verb

disperse

1. first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of dispersar
2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of dispersar
3. third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of dispersar
4. third-person singular (você) negative imperative of dispersar

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dis?pe?se/, [d?is?pe?.se]

Verb

disperse

1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of dispersar.
2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of dispersar.
3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of dispersar.
4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of dispersar.

English

Etymology

From Middle French and Anglo-Norman discusser (French discuter), from Latin discussus, past participle of discuti? (“to strike or shake apart, break up, scatter; examine, discuss”), from dis- (“apart”) + quati? (“to shake”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d?s?k?s/, /d?s?k?s/
• (US) IPA^(key): /d?s?k?s/
• Rhymes: -?s

Verb

discuss (third-person singular simple present discusses, present participle discussing, simple past and past participle discussed)

1. (transitive) To converse or debate concerning a particular topic.

2. (transitive, obsolete) To communicate, tell, or disclose (information, a message, etc.).
   • c. 1597, William Shakespeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, act 1, scene 3:

     Nym: I will discuss the humour of this love to Page.

   • c. 1599, William Shakespeare, Henry V, act 4, scene 1:

     Pistol: Discuss unto me; art thou officer? Or art thou base, common and popular?

3. (obsolete, transitive) To break to pieces; to shatter.
4. (obsolete, transitive, colloquial) To deal with, in eating or drinking; consume.
   • 1854, Samuel White Baker, The Rifle and the Hound in Ceylon:

     We sat quietly down and discussed a cold fowl that we had brought with us.

   • 1858, James Hogg, Titan (volume 27, page 306)

     In the first room we entered, a soldier and a man, like a clerk or dominie, were discussing a bottle of red wine; they immediately sprang up and politely proffered us each a bumper.

5. (transitive, law) To examine or search thoroughly; to exhaust a remedy against, as against a principal debtor before proceeding against the surety.
6. (obsolete, transitive) To drive away, disperse, shake off; said especially of tumors.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.i:

     For she was giuen all to fleshly lust,
     And poured forth in sensuall delight,
     That all regard of shame she had discust,
     And meet respect of honour put to flight […]

   • June 15, 1751, Samuel Johnson, letter in The Rambler

     The softness of my hands was secured by medicated gloves, and my bosom rubbed with a pomade prepared by my mother, of virtue to discuss pimples, and clear discolourations.

   • 1642, Henry Wotton, Short View of the Life and Death of George Villers Duke of Buckingham

     Many arts were used to discuss the beginnings of new affliction.

Synonyms

• (converse about a topic): bespeak, betalk, debate, talk about

Derived terms

Related terms

• quash

Translations

See also

• argue

Further reading

• discuss in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• discuss in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• discuss at OneLook Dictionary Search