discourse vs verbal

discourse

noun
  • Expression in words, either speech or writing. 

  • A formal lengthy exposition of some subject, either spoken or written. 

  • An institutionalized way of thinking, a social boundary defining what can be said about a specific topic (after Michel Foucault). 

  • Any rational expression, reason. 

verb
  • To exercise reason; to employ the mind in judging and inferring; to reason. 

  • To engage in discussion or conversation; to converse. 

  • To write or speak formally and at length. 

verbal

noun
  • Talk; speech, especially banter or scolding. 

  • A verb form which does not function as a predicate, or a word derived from a verb. In English, infinitives, participles and gerunds are verbals. 

  • A spoken confession given to police. 

adj
  • Concerned with the words, rather than the substance of a text. 

  • Of or relating to words. 

  • Capable of speech. 

  • Used to form a verb. 

  • Word for word. 

  • Derived from, or having the nature of a verb. 

  • Consisting of words only. 

  • Expressly spoken rather than written; oral. 

verb
  • To induce into fabricating a confession. 

How often have the words discourse and verbal occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )