disquisition

[ dis-kwuh-zish-uhn ]
See synonyms for: disquisitiondisquisitional on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a formal discourse or treatise in which a subject is examined and discussed; dissertation.

Origin of disquisition

1
1595–1605; <Latin disquīsītiōn- (stem of disquīsītiō), equivalent to disquīsīt(us) (past participle of disquīrere to investigate; dis-dis-1 + quaerere to seek, ask) + -iōn--ion

Other words from disquisition

  • dis·qui·si·tion·al, adjective

Words Nearby disquisition

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use disquisition in a sentence

  • It is a lengthened disquisition, in seven thousand four hundred lines, upon the great phenomena of the outward world.

  • Her stiff, unhappy, unlistening silence broke up my disquisition.

    The New Machiavelli | Herbert George Wells
  • "I have seen it several times before," replied Pratt, rather bored by this archological disquisition.

    The Pagan's Cup | Fergus Hume
  • He pursued, with visible pleasure, that kind of disquisition which was naturally suggested by them.

    Wieland; or The Transformation | Charles Brockden Brown
  • I do not propose here to enter into a disquisition upon the functions of the human mind.

    The Evolution of Culture | Augustus Henry Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers

British Dictionary definitions for disquisition

disquisition

/ (ˌdɪskwɪˈzɪʃən) /


noun
  1. a formal written or oral examination of a subject

Origin of disquisition

1
C17: from Latin disquīsītiō, from disquīrere to make an investigation, from dis- 1 + quaerere to seek

Derived forms of disquisition

  • disquisitional, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012