2022-02-09
ศัพท์ น่าสับสน - Set – D - discreet & discrete
แนะนำการใช้ ตามที่ส่วนใหญ่ใช้ แต่ละท้องถิ่น
ความหมาย อาจผันแปร ตาม ตำแหน่ง/หน้าที่ ในประโยค
Dictionary.com:
ออกเสียง discreet & discrete = “dih-SKREET”
Dictionary of Problem Words and Expressions:
discreet & discrete
The word pronounced alike, have entirely different meanings.
To be discreet is to be prudent, cautious, careful, trustworthy, circumspect”
“Never one to talk much, she kept a discreet silence.”
“The late President Truman often referred to George Marshall as a discreet official.”
Discreet means, “separate,” “distinct,” “apart,” “detached”:
“This question consists of six discreet parts.”
“Manufacturing, advertising, selling, and collecting payment are discreet divisions of this business.”
Common Errors in English Usage Dictionary:
discreet & discrete
The more common word is “discreet,”
meaning “prudent, circumspect”:
“When arranging the party for Agnes, be sure to be discreet; we want her to be surprised.”
“Discrete” means “separate, distinct”:
“He arranged the guest list into two discrete groups: meat-eaters and vegetarians.”
Note how the T separates the two Es in “discrete.”
The A-Z of Correct English Common Errors in English Dictionary:
discreet & discrete
You are DISCREET if you can keep secrets and behave diplomatically.
Subject areas are DISCRETEif they are quite separate and unrelated.
Dictionary.com:
HISTORICAL USAGE OF DISCREET
Discreet, meaning “judicious, prudent, modest,”
comes partly from Middle French discret “prudent, discerning,”
used in Anglo-French in the sense “wise person.”
The Latin source was discrētus, past participle of the verb discernere
“to separate, distinguish, mark off, show differences between.”
In Late Latin discrētus also acquired the sense “prudent, wise,”
possibly arising from association with the noun discrētiō,
which shows a similar semantic development:
physical separation to discernment to capacity to discern.
Discrete, “apart or detached from others; separate; distinct,”
was originally a spelling doublet of discreet, sharingmeanings
and both deriving from the same Latin source.
The spelling discrete is closer in form to Latin discrētus
and is probably an attempt to differentiate discreet from discrete.
The Middle English Dictionary has two senses
at the headword discrēt(e):
the sense “wise, morally discerning, prudent, circumspect” has 29 citations;
the sense “separate, distinct” has four (in angelology, astronomy, and mathematics).
It wasn’t until the late 16th century
that discrete became restricted to its present meanings,
leaving the spelling discreet to predominate in its own current uses.
Dictionary.com:
DISCREET VS. DISCRETE
What’s the difference between discreet and discrete?
Discreet most commonly
means tactful, prudent, or careful to avoid revealing things that may cause embarrassment,
such as when communicating sensitive information,
as in a discreet message or You can tell her, but be discreet about it.
Discrete means separate or distinct,
as in discrete concepts or discrete parts.
Less commonly, discreet can also
mean unobtrusive—a modest necklace may be described as discreet.
In all cases, the word discreet is used in situations
in which an effort is made to avoid calling attention to someone or something.
When you’re being discreet, you’re showing discretion.
Discrete, on the other hand,
is typically used in technical, non-personal contexts.
It has more specific meanings in the context of math and statistics.
Here’s a fun way to remember the difference:
in discreet, the two e’s are right next to each other
—the one e looks like it’s discreetly whispering something in the other’s ear.
In discrete, the two e’s are kept separate by the t in the middle.
Here’s an example of discreet and discrete used correctly in a sentence.
Example:
He mistakenly thought the two parts were discrete, but I told him that they are in fact connected—in a discreet way, of course.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Words at Play
When To Use "Discrete" vs "Discreet"
Definitions and Examples for Easily Mixed-up Words
What to Know
Discrete means "separate,"
while discreet means "unobtrusive."
Both words have the same etymology
coming from the Latin discretus
which means "to keep separate" or "to discern."
An easy trick to tell them apart is to remember
is that the "e's" are separated by the "t" in "discrete."
True,
yakking on your cellphone while your tablemate sits idly is poor form,
but the error sharp-eyed readers will catch
is the use of discrete to mean "unobtrusive" or "unnoticeable."
Discrete means "separate";
the writer and editor probably meant to use its homonym, discreet.
Discrete vs Discreet Origins
Confusion of these two words is fairly common.
Both discrete and discreet come from the very same Latin word, discretus, which was the past participle of the verb that
meant "to separate" and "to discern."
Both discrete and discreet came into English in the 14th century, with discrete getting a bit of a head-start on discreet.
Here's where things get dicey.
Discrete is used a handful of times in the 14th century,
then drops out of common use until the 16th century.
Discreet, meanwhile, takes off,
drawing on the "discerning" sense of its Latin root.
But in the 14th and 15th centuries, spelling wasn't fixed,
which meant that the word we know of
as discreet was spelled as both discreet and discrete.
When the modern discrete came back into style in the 16th century,
the spellings of the words diverged:
discrete and discreet became fixed as separate words,
and their meanings remain separate, despite the confusion between them.
Which should you use?
Remember that in discrete, the t separates the e's,
so discrete means "separate."
For "unobtrusive", use discreet.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Commonly confused words Vol. 2
Discrete/Discreet
Question:
Does the process involve a number of discrete or discreet steps?
Answer:
discrete
How to remember it:
Try this one: "discrete" means "separate"
- so picture
the letter "e," divided from its twin in both discrete and separate.
Discreet has an entirely different meaning:
it's often used to describe something not likely to be seen or noticed
(e.g., "He made discreet inquiries about the job").
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Choose the Right Synonym for discrete
Distinct, Separate, Discrete
mean not being each and every onethe same.
Distinct indicates that something is distinguished
by the mind or eye as being apart or different from others.
two distinct versions
Separate often stresses lack of connection or a difference in identity between two things.
separate rooms
Discrete strongly emphasizes individuality and lack of connection.
broke the job down into discrete stages
