Definitions for: Discipline


[n] training to improve strength or self-control
[n] the act of punishing; "the offenders deserved the harsh discipline they received"
[n] the trait of being well behaved; "he insisted on discipline among the troops"
[n] a system of rules of conduct or method of practice; "he quickly learned the discipline of prison routine" or"for such a plan to work requires discipline"
[n] a branch of knowledge; "in what discipline is his doctorate?"; "teachers should be well trained in their subject"; "anthropology is the study of human beings"
[v] punish in order to gain control or enforce obedience; "The teacher disciplined the pupils rather frequently"
[v] train by instruction and practice; esp. to teach self-control; "Parents must discipline their children"; "Is this dog trained?"



Webster (1913) Definition: Dis`ci*pline, n. [F. discipline, L. disciplina,
from discipulus. See Disciple.]
1. The treatment suited to a disciple or learner; education;
development of the faculties by instruction and exercise;
training, whether physical, mental, or moral.

Wife and children are a kind of discipline of
humanity. --Bacon.

Discipline aims at the removal of bad habits and the
substitution of good ones, especially those of
order, regularity, and obedience. --C. J. Smith.

2. Training to act in accordance with established rules;
accustoming to systematic and regular action; drill.

Their wildness lose, and, quitting nature's part,
Obey the rules and discipline of art. --Dryden.

3. Subjection to rule; submissiveness to order and control;
habit of obedience.

The most perfect, who have their passions in the
best discipline, are yet obliged to be constantly on
their guard. --Rogers.

4. Severe training, corrective of faults; instruction by
means of misfortune, suffering, punishment, etc.

A sharp discipline of half a century had sufficed to
educate ?s. --Macaulay.

5. Correction; chastisement; punishment inflicted by way of
correction and training.

Giving her the discipline of the strap. --Addison.

6. The subject matter of instruction; a branch of knowledge.
--Bp. Wilkins.

7. (Eccl.) The enforcement of methods of correction against
one guilty of ecclesiastical offenses; reformatory or
penal action toward a church member.

8. (R. C. Ch.) Self-inflicted and voluntary corporal
punishment, as penance, or otherwise; specifically, a
penitential scourge.

9. (Eccl.) A system of essential rules and duties; as, the
Romish or Anglican discipline.

Syn: Education; instruction; training; culture; correction;
chastisement; punishment.


Dis"ci*pline, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Disciplined; p.
pr. & vb. n. Disciplining.] [Cf. LL. disciplinarian to
flog, fr. L. disciplina discipline, and F. discipliner to
discipline.]
1. To educate; to develop by instruction and exercise; to
train.

2. To accustom to regular and systematic action; to bring
under control so as to act systematically; to train to act
together under orders; to teach subordination to; to form
a habit of obedience in; to drill.

Ill armed, and worse disciplined. --Clarendon.

His mind . . . imperfectly disciplined by nature.
--Macaulay.

3. To improve by corrective and penal methods; to chastise;
to correct.

Has he disciplined Aufidius soundly? --Shak.

4. To inflict ecclesiastical censures and penalties upon.

Syn: To train; form; teach; instruct; bring up; regulate;
correct; chasten; chastise; punish.

Synonyms: bailiwick, branch of knowledge, check, condition, correct, correction, field, field of study, sort out, study, subject, subject area, subject field, train

Antonyms: indiscipline, undiscipline

See Also: allometry, applied science, architecture, arts, bibliotics, communication theory, communications, control, develop, divinity, engineering, engineering science, frontier, grooming, humanistic discipline, humanities, knowledge base, knowledge domain, liberal arts, major, make grow, military science, mortify, numerology, ology, penalisation, penalise, penalization, penalize, penalty, preparation, punish, punishment, restraint, science, scientific discipline, self-denial, self-discipline, spanking, system, system of rules, technology, theology, training, trait

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