English → Latin
“discursive” in Latin
īnstabilisunsteady, unstable, shaky; inconstant, changeable, ficklevaguswandering, rambling, strolling, roving, roaming, unfixed, unsettled, vagrant; wandering, wavering, unsteady, inconstant,ratiōcinātīvusreasoning; syllogistic, ratiocinative; inferentialratiōreason, reasoning, explanation, ground, motive, rationality, rationale, purpose; calculation, account, accounting, recko
The English word discursive itself goes back to Latin discurrō, through discursus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
discursive
Roving, etc., instabilis: vagus, etc.
Argumentative; proceeding from premises to conclusions, ratiocinativus (Cic., Quint.). The discursive faculty, ratio: *ea animi pars, qua colligitur aliquid per aliud (after Quint., 5, 10, 11). ☞ Not argumentosus, which is “rich in materials,” etc.; argumentosum opus, Quint.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for discursive?
- The usual Latin words for “discursive” are īnstabilis, vagus, ratiōcinātīvus; also ratiō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.