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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

"You have house rules, family limits, discipline and consequences. But the difference is we look at discipline as learning and teaching rather than punishing."

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

The four female students were identified and disciplined, according to officials at San Marcos High School and the Santa Barbara Unified School District, who did not release the students’ names or detail the discipline.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

The Nobel Prize consists of a diploma, a gold medal and a cheque for around $1.2 million, to be shared if there is more than one laureate in each discipline.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

Instead, King wanted to know how the more experienced climber of the group, Conrad Anker, developed the discipline to call off a failed attempt just 300 feet below the summit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

In his mind, discipline and focus were paramount; energy was not to be squandered.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

This emerging language, known as “neuralese,” is drifting toward incomprehensibility because training an AI to arrive at the correct answer incentivizes them to use representations that span languages, mathematics and other disciplines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Athletes finishing fourth to eighth across the 50 disciplines will receive awards of 5,000, 4,000, 3,000, 2,000 and 1,000 euros respectively.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

It also aims to help build a broader bioengineered, silicon-based materials ecosystem by connecting researchers, industry partners, policymakers, educators, and future innovators across multiple disciplines and sectors.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 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

Countless amateur thinkers took a crack at the problem, as did anthropologists and archaeologists when those disciplines were invented.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

The four female students were identified and disciplined, according to officials at San Marcos High School and the Santa Barbara Unified School District, who did not release the students’ names or detail the discipline.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

Chief Executive Brendan Foley said disciplined productivity initiatives helped offset rising input and freight costs, supporting margin expansion and enabling continued investment in the company’s brands.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

So I’m trying to be really disciplined again.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

Philipson declined to speculate over whether there would be tax rises in the Budget on 28 October, and said the government remained committed to being disciplined about its spending rules.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

A disciplined, self-reliant man, he got along remarkably well despite his age and solitude.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

The State Bar would be tasked with disciplining lawyers that flout the rule.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

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

The IMF, the one body charged with disciplining imbalances, has no means to do so.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026

There are three afternoon announcements after the usual list of kids who need to report to the vice principal for disciplining.

From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King

Related Words

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