discursion

[ dih-skur-shuhn ]

noun

1. an instance of discursive writing, speech, etc.; a wandering or logically unconnected statement.
2. the quality or characteristic of ranging from topic to topic; discursiveness; digressiveness.
3. the process or procedure of rigorous formal analysis or demonstration, as distinguished from immediate or intuitive formulation.

Word History and Origins

Origin of discursion¹

1525–35; < Late Latin discursiōn- (stem of discursiō ) a running to and fro. See discourse, -ion

Example Sentences

One’s tolerance for discursion will be tested here.

From New York Times

There is a long, unnecessary discursion into reclaiming the language of “darkness,” for example, that comes, one might feel, at the expense of more valuable, concrete information on what it might mean to care for a person with dementia, or to reconcile the diagnosis for oneself.

From New York Times

Or, he will go on another discursion about slats and concrete and what somebody’s cousin Pete told him and the moment will be wasted and the next time he says he wants to address the nation it will get yawns.

From Fox News

The line comes in the middle of a short discursion on the nature of sleep, accompanied by a photo of a boy sleeping, Christ-like, on a wooden table, and Cole doesn’t spend much time elaborating on Calvin’s quip, but it speaks to a central preoccupation in the book: the nature of truth, and the power of the fragment.

From Los Angeles Times

The discursion is what lends the book its power and keeps the reader turning its pages.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• detour
• footnote