discrete - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

dis·crete

Audio Help [di-skreet] Pronunciation Key

–adjective

1.	apart or detached from others; separate; distinct: six discrete parts.

2.	consisting of or characterized by distinct or individual parts; discontinuous.

Mathematics.

a.	(of a topology or topological space) having the property that every subset is an open set.

b.	defined only for an isolated set of points: a discrete variable.

c.	using only arithmetic and algebra; not involving calculus: discrete methods.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < L discrétus separated; see discreet

]

—Related forms

dis·crete·ly, adverb

dis·crete·ness, noun

—Synonyms 1. different, individual, unconnected.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
discrete

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

dis·crete Audio Help (dĭ-skrēt') Pronunciation Key
adj.

Constituting a separate thing. See Synonyms at distinct.
Consisting of unconnected distinct parts.
Mathematics Defined for a finite or countable set of values; not continuous.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin discrētus, past participle of discernere, to separate; see discern.]

dis·crete'ly adv., dis·crete'ness n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
discrete

1398, see discreet.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

discrete
adjective
constituting a separate entity or part; "a government with three discrete divisions"; "on two distinct occasions"

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

discrete

Con"crete\ (? or ?), a. [L. concretus, p. p. of concrescere to grow together; con- + crescere to grow; cf. F. concret. See Crescent.]

1. United in growth; hence, formed by coalition of separate particles into one mass; united in a solid form.

The first concrete state, or consistent surface, of the chaos must be of the same figure as the last liquid state. --Bp. Burnet.

2. (Logic) (a) Standing for an object as it exists in nature, invested with all its qualities, as distinguished from standing for an attribute of an object; -- opposed to abstract. Hence: (b) Applied to a specific object; special; particular; -- opposed to general. See Abstract, 3.

Concrete is opposed to abstract. The names of individuals are concrete, those of classes abstract. --J. S. Mill.

Concrete terms, while they express the quality, do also express, or imply, or refer to, some subject to which it belongs. --I. Watts.

Concrete number, a number associated with, or applied to, a particular object, as three men, five days, etc., as distinguished from an abstract number, or one used without reference to a particular object.

Concrete quantity, a physical object or a collection of such objects. --Davies & Peck.

Concrete science, a physical science, one having as its subject of knowledge concrete things instead of abstract laws.

Concrete sound or movement of the voice, one which slides continuously up or down, as distinguished from a discrete movement, in which the voice leaps at once from one line of pitch to another. --Rush.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Discrete

Dis*creet"\, a. [Compar. Discreeter; superl. Discreetest.] [F. discret, L. discretus separated (whence the meaning reserved, prudent), p. p. of discernere. See Discern, and cf. Discrete.]

1. Possessed of discernment, especially in avoiding error or evil, and in the adaptation of means to ends; prudent; sagacious; judicious; not rash or heedless; cautious.

It is the discreet man, not the witty, nor the learned, nor the brave, who guides the conversation, and gives measures to society. --Addison.

Satire 's my weapon, but I 'm too discreet To run amuck, and tilt at all I meet. --Pope.

The sea is silent, the sea is discreet. --Longfellow.

2. Differing; distinct. [Obs.] --Spenser. -- Dis*creet"ly, adv. -- Dis*creet"ness, n.

Dictionary.com Word of the Day Archive - Cite This Source - Share This

discrete

discrete was Word of the Day on December 14, 2001.

Dictionary.com Word of the Day

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