discipline
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About Our Definitions: All forms of a word (noun, verb, etc.) are now displayed on one page.1dis·ci·pline
noun \ˈdi-sə-plən\Definition of DISCIPLINE
1
2
obsolete : instruction
3
: a field of study
5
a : control gained by enforcing obedience or order b : orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior c : self-control
See Examples of DISCIPLINE
- The teacher has a hard time maintaining discipline in the classroom.
- The troops were praised for their dedication and discipline.
- Some parents feel that the school's principal has been too harsh in meting out discipline.
- Keeping a journal is a good discipline for a writer.
- Sir Robert Peel is credited with creating the first modern police force, the bobbies, in London, in 1829, but the transformation of law enforcement, and especially forensic science, into a professional discipline was a haphazard affair. —Jeffrey Toobin, New Yorker, 7 May 2007
- Pragmatism became America's most important contribution to the life of the mind in the 20th century. Filtered through scores of later interpreters, it percolated across a broad segment of academic culture and influenced disciplines as diverse as literary criticism and legal theory. —Theo Anderson, Wilson Quarterly, Summer 2007
- So the next fall I went to Hampshire College and began studying under Herbert Bernstein. Without him, I would never have become a scientist. He shamed me into doing the hard work necessary to be able not just to talk about math and physics but to calculate. Without that discipline, my story would have been very different … —Lee Smolin, Curious Minds, (2004) 2005
- He stood erect, his bearing patrician, his dress impeccable. His face was stern and his pale eyes unsmiling behind his trifocals, like a man who had been called from important duties in the principal's office to administer discipline to an unruly classroom. —Nick Taylor, Laser, 2000
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Origin of DISCIPLINE
Middle English, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, from Latin disciplina teaching, learning, from discipulus pupil
First Known Use: 13th century
Related to DISCIPLINE
Other Education Terms
2dis·ci·pline
transitive verb \ˈdi-sə-plən\dis·ci·plineddis·ci·plin·ing
Definition of DISCIPLINE
1
: to punish or penalize for the sake of enforcing obedience and perfecting moral character
2
: to train or develop by instruction and exercise especially in self-control
3
a : to bring (a group) under control <discipline troops> b : to impose order upon <serious writers discipline and refine their writing styles>
— dis·ci·plin·er noun
Examples of DISCIPLINE
- She was disciplined for misbehaving in class.
- He seems unwilling or unable to discipline his children.
- I'm trying to discipline myself to eat less.
- The Army disciplined seven men for the incident, penalties ranging from pay-cuts and loss of rank to dismissal from the Rangers and return to the rank-and-file Army. —Gary Smith, Sports Illustrated, 11 Sept. 2006
- Volunteers have to undergo a program to discipline the mind and cleanse the soul. —Aparism Ghosh, Time, 4 July 2005
- The teacher then took me to the principal's office. There, the principal attempted to discipline me with an old Catholic school technique called “paddling” … —Lalo Gomez, Undoing Time, 2001
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Origin of DISCIPLINE
(see 1discipline)
First Known Use: 14th century
Related to DISCIPLINE
Other Education Terms
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