diatribe, diatriba

[Lat. diatriba =a place or school for disputations; Gr. diatribe =(1) a wearing away, (2) a discu ion; diatribō =(1) to wear away, (2) to discu .] *1. Of both forms: A prolonged discu ion, a treatise, an e ay, a discourse. "That excellent diatriba upon St. Mark."- Worthing ton: Preface to Mede's Works , p. 1. 2. Ultimately the word became naturalized in English as diatribe, with the meaning of an invec tive discourse; a strain of abuse and reviling.