Discouragements

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Factors or experiences that diminish confidence and zeal
2. Events or influences that lower motivation and enthusiasm
3. Things that make a person feel less hopeful or confident about their efforts

Etymology: Discouragement is built from "discourage" plus the English suffix "-ment," and the story of the base word runs through a Latin root meaning "heart." That Latin word is "cor," which gave Latin "coraticum," a term for a person's courage, literally things pertaining to the heart. In Vulgar Latin this became "corāticum," which passed into Old French as "corage," the source of English "courage." Old French then built "descouragier," meaning to take courage away from someone, and Middle French turned it into "descouragier" and later "descourager," which English borrowed as "discourage." So the word is a kind of inverted courage: a thing that drains the heart out of a person. The prefix "dis-" (from Latin "dis-," meaning apart or away) reverses the sense, so to discourage someone is literally to un-heart them. The suffix "-ment," from Latin "-mentum" through Old French, turns the verb into a noun naming the result or the means of that action. The plural form "discouragements" simply counts separate instances of this noun, each one a particular factor that saps someone's resolve.

Synonyms: disappointments, setbacks, dismays, frustrations, obstacles

Antonyms: encouragements, support, motivation, assistance, cheers