So my whole life I heard the phrase 'faithful and discrete slave' and never paid attention to the real meaning of "discrete". Which is weird, because I'm a bit of a word junkie. I guess the familiarity of the expression made me mentally gloss over it somehow. *facepalm*
discreet adj. Showing discernment or judgement in the guidance of one’s own speech and action; judicious, prudent, circumspect, cautious; often esp. that can be silent when speech would be inconvenient.
discrete adj. Separate, detached from others, individually distinct. Opposed to continuous.
http://www.dailywritingtips.com/the-difference-between-discreet-and-discrete/
So where this online dictionary says 'opposed to continuous', another one says 'consisting of disctinct or unconnected elements; noncontinuous'.
Had I realized the distinction between the two words before, I think I would have wondered why the 'slave class' is noncontinuous and unconnected as opposed to being prudent and cautious - which was what I thought the 'slave class' was supposed to be.
Does anyone else think this is weird or is it just me?
