Emily Dickinson Lexicon

DIS-CRETE', a. [L. discretus. See Discreet.]

1. Separate; distinct; disjunct. Discrete proportion is when the ratio of two or more pairs of numbers or quantities is the same, but there is not the same proportion between all the numbers; as, 3: 6 : : 8 : 16, 3 bearing the same proportion to 6, as 8 does to 16. But 3 is not to 6 as 6 to 8. It is thus opposed to continued or continual proportion, as, 3: 6 : : 12 : 24. – Harris.
2. Disjunctive; as, I resign my life, but not my honor, is a discrete proposition. – Johnson.