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digress

[dih-gres, dahy-]
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verb (used without object)
  1. to deviate or wander away from the main topic or purpose in speaking or writing; depart from the principal line of argument, plot, study, etc.
  2. Archaic. to turn aside.
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Origin of digress

1520–30; < Latin dīgressus, past participle of dīgredī “to go off, depart, digress,” equivalent to dī- di-2 + -gredī, combining form of gradī “to go”; cf. grade
Related formsdi·gress·er, noundi·gress·ing·ly, adverbre·di·gress, verb (used without object)
Can be confuseddigress diverge

Synonyms

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1. ramble, stray.

Synonym study

1. See deviate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for digressed

Historical Examples

  • But I have digressed inordinately, and must get back to Auckland forthwith.

    Brighter Britain! (Volume 1 of 2)

    William Delisle Hay

  • And now, if you please, let us return to the point of the argument at which we digressed.

    Phaedo

    Plato

  • But I have digressed and will proceed to finish Government Street.

  • Then he digressed again, this time without a trace of humour.

    The Brentons

    Anna Chapin Ray

  • And now I will return to the main history from which I have digressed.

British Dictionary definitions for digressed

digress

verb (intr)
  1. to depart from the main subject in speech or writing
  2. to wander from one's path or main direction
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Derived Formsdigresser, noun

Word Origin

C16: from Latin dīgressus turned aside, from dīgredī, from dis- apart + gradī to go
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

Word Origin and History for digressed

digress

v.

1520s, from Latin digressus, past participle of digredi "to go aside, depart" (see digression), or perhaps a back-formation from digression. Related: Digressed; digressing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper