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Which general wrote, "Discipline is the soul of an army"?

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discipline

American  

[dis-uh-plin] / ˈdɪs ə plɪn /

noun

• disciplines
  plural

1. 

   training to act in accordance with rules; drill.

   military discipline.

2. an activity, exercise, or regimen that develops or improves a skill; training.

   Sticking to specific and regular mealtimes is excellent discipline for many dieters.

3. a branch of instruction or learning.

   the disciplines of history and economics.

4. punishment inflicted by way of correction and training.

   Synonyms:

   castigation, chastisement

5. the rigor or training effect of experience, adversity, etc..

   the harsh discipline of poverty.

6. behavior in accord with rules of conduct; behavior and order maintained by training and control.

   good discipline in an army.

7. a set or system of rules and regulations.

8. Ecclesiastical. the system of government regulating the practice of a church as distinguished from its doctrine.

9. an instrument of punishment, especially a whip or scourge, used in the practice of self-mortification or as an instrument of chastisement in certain religious communities.

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verb (used with object)

• disciplines,
  present (3rd person singular)
• disciplined,
  past participle,  past
• disciplining
  present participle

1. to train by instruction and exercise; drill.

2. to bring to a state of order and obedience by training and control.

3. to punish or penalize in order to train and control; correct; chastise.

discipline British  

/ ˈdɪsɪplɪn /

noun

1. training or conditions imposed for the improvement of physical powers, self-control, etc

2. systematic training in obedience to regulations and authority

3. the state of improved behaviour, etc, resulting from such training or conditions

4. punishment or chastisement

5. a system of rules for behaviour, methods of practice, etc

6. a branch of learning or instruction

7. the laws governing members of a Church

8. a scourge of knotted cords

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verb

1. to improve or attempt to improve the behaviour, orderliness, etc, of by training, conditions, or rules

2. to punish or correct

Synonym Usage

See punish.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• discipliner
  noun
• multidiscipline
  noun
• prediscipline
  noun
• subdiscipline
  noun
• overdiscipline
  verb
• rediscipline
  verb (used with object)
• disciplinable
  adjective
• disciplinal
  adjective
• nondisciplining
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• disciplines
  plural

Participles

• disciplining
  present
• disciplined
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• discipline
  simple
• disciplines
  simple
• have disciplined
  perfect
• has disciplined
  perfect
• am disciplining
  progressive
• are disciplining
  progressive
• is disciplining
  progressive
• have been disciplining
  perfect progressive
• has been disciplining
  perfect progressive

Past

• disciplined
  simple
• had disciplined
  perfect
• was disciplining
  progressive
• were disciplining
  progressive
• had been disciplining
  perfect progressive

Future

• will discipline
  simple
• will have disciplined
  perfect
• will be disciplining
  progressive
• will have been disciplining
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of discipline

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin disciplīna “instruction, tuition,” equivalent to discipul(us) “pupil, learner, trainee” + -ina noun suffix; see origin at disciple; see -ine ²

Explanation

When you have discipline, you have self-control. When you discipline children, you are either teaching them to be well-behaved, or you are punishing and correcting them. The origins of this word offer great clues about its current meanings. The Old French descepline referred to punishment and suffering. The Latin disciplina meant "teaching, learning." The Old English version referred to a branch of knowledge or field of study (so if you're really good at word origins, you might want to make etymology your discipline). Developing discipline as a form of training is a military concept that's more than 500 years old.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

discipline disciplines disciplined disciplining

Emma Reynolds, chief secretary to the Treasury, said that the UK has "huge potential" for economic growth, but only with "fiscal discipline" from the government.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

Societe Generale Chief Executive Slawomir Krupa said the group aims to accelerate its profitable growth while maintaining cost discipline.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

But the job is about more than discipline, and on that scale, Wiles is little better than Meadows.

From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026

Buffett, in one of his last messages to stockholders as CEO, praised them to the heights, saying they were high-quality businesses, very good value and Berkshire-like in their capital discipline.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

I get it, the discipline is coming soon enough.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

"The type of research that FQxI is encouraging brings teams together across generations, across boundaries, across disciplines," says Curceanu.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026

Experts recommend focusing on classic disciplines that hone uniquely human skills and capabilities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Held on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul –- a vast mountain lake in northern Kyrgyzstan -- athletes have been competing in dozens of disciplines: from intellectual board games to arm-wrestling.

From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026

CrossFit is a high-intensity form of training, combining disciplines like weightlifting, compound exercises, gymnastics and running.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

It was both a secondary school and a teacher training college, but it also offered courses in more practical disciplines, such as carpentry, tailoring, and tinsmithing.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

So I’m trying to be really disciplined again.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

Ordinarily, a bank would be disciplined by depositors’ concern about its solvency and by bank competition.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

Artificial-intelligence stocks have stemmed the bleeding, after a selloff on Monday spurred by concerns that major model creators would start taking a more disciplined approach to AI development and spending.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

Others were disciplined even if they did not make any direct comments about Kirk or his death.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

“I’m a scythe’s apprentice. If you tried to glean me I would just be revived, and you would be disciplined for not checking your ring first to see if I had immunity.”

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

The solicitors firm added that the ambulance trust was "not formally disciplining" staff but had "strengthened their HR process for future incidents".

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

“There is no study out there that I have found that says this is an effective way of disciplining elementary school students,” London said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

Rate hikes aimed at disciplining speculation can do more than cool the room.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026

“By arresting Villarreal, rather than solely disciplining the employee for any wrongdoing, county officials took this ‘everyday journalism’ and transformed it ‘into a crime,’ ” she wrote.

From Slate ● Mar. 26, 2026

We all supported his efforts to improve the diet and the treatment of students, including his suggestion that students be responsible for disciplining themselves.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

• control
• development
• education
• method
• practice
• preparation
• regulation
• restraint
• self-control
• self-restraint
• will