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• discreet •

Pronunciation: dis-kreet • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adjective

Meaning: 1. Prudent, self-restrained, circumspect in speech and behavior. 2. Unobtrusive, unpretentious, done so as to attract little attention.

Notes: Today's word is liable to be confused with its homophone, discrete. It comes with an adverb, discreetly, an antonym, indiscreet, and a slightly offbeat noun, discretion [dis-kre-shên]. If you would prefer to remain onbeat, discreetness is also available.

In Play: Any prudent, self-restrained behavior is discreet: "At office meetings Clotilde maintained a discreet silence, which others at the table took as a sign of wisdom." Don't forget the antonym, derived by the Latinate prefix in-: "June McBride found Phil Anders too indiscreet for her tastes."

Word History: English borrowed today's Good Word from French discret "sensible, intelligent, wise", which French inherited from Latin discretus "separated, distinct", the past participle of discernere "to separate, set apart, perceive". We can already see that English also borrowed the present tense of this verb for its discern. English could not decide how to spell this borrowing, which originally meant "separate, distinct", even when it assumed a second sense of "prudent, careful". Later on, English speakers decided to keep the old meaning with the spelling discrete and spell the new meaning discreet. The Latin word comprises dis- "undo, deprive, remove" + cernere "to perceive", from PIE krei- "to sieve, separate out", source also of Greek krinein "to separate" and English riddle, which was in Old English hriddel. (Now for a discrete note of gratitude to Barbara Beeton for suggesting we investigate today's homophonic Good Word.)

Discretion the noun has other meanings that go beyond simple discreetness. If something lies within my discretion, it is my choice to do it or not.