Discourage

How to spell discourage

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce discourage

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does discourage mean?

1. verbTo dishearten someone, or to try to prevent an action by making it seem difficult or unwise.

Discourage in a sentence

• The new parking fees are meant to discourage commuters from driving into the city.

• A single bad review should not discourage you from finishing the project.

Where does discourage come from?

Language of origin: French

This word came into English in the early 1400s from the Old French descouragier, which was built from the prefix des-, meaning 'away' or 'the reverse of', joined to corage, the root of our modern 'courage'. That root traces back to the Latin cor, literally meaning 'heart', because the medieval mind located bravery and resolve in the heart rather than the head. So to discourage someone was originally to take the heart out of them, to drain away their spirit, and the modern senses of deterring an action or dampening enthusiasm flow naturally from that image. The same cor lies behind 'cordial' and 'courageous', and remembering the hidden word 'courage' sitting inside the spelling is the surest way to keep the -our- in place. The final -age ending, also inherited from French, is what gives the word its soft 'ij' sound.

How the word is built

• dis- (away, reversal)
• courage (spirit, heart)
• (verb use)