Dissencioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Angry or bitter disagreement within a group, where people hold opposing views and refuse to agree
2. A state of conflict or quarrelling among people, marked by a sharp division of opinion and feeling
3. Discord between parties, especially a falling-out in which opinions clash and harmony breaks down

Etymology: "Dissencioun" is a Middle English word, the Anglo-Norman-influenced spelling of what would later become "dissension." It came into English from Old French "dissencion," which was itself borrowed from Latin "dissensio," a noun built from "dissentire," meaning "to disagree" or "to feel differently." The Latin verb combines "dis-," meaning "apart" or "away," with "sentire," "to feel" or "to perceive," so the word's core image is of minds or feelings pulling in separate directions. In Middle English the term was spelled in many variant forms, and "dissencioun" is one of the forms found in medieval texts. It named a state of disagreement or strife, often between people or groups, and it could carry the sense of a quarrel that threatened to split a community. The -ioun ending reflects the French-influenced noun suffix -ion, which English writers of the period used widely for abstract nouns of action or state.