In context

Many of us exclaimed, “What an order! I can’t go through with it.” Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not saints. The point is, that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles we have set down are guides to progress. We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection. BB p.60 ¶2

Here: The adjective discouraged in its ordinary sense of disheartened, having lost courage or hope. The passage tells the newcomer who has just read the Steps and cried “What an order!” not to lose heart over the size of the task.

In 1939 discouraged carried the plain meaning of having one's courage lessened. Webster's Collegiate (5th ed., 1939 printing) defines the verb as “To lessen the courage of; to dishearten,” and gives the synonyms dismay, depress, dispirit and daunt, with encourage, embolden, hearten and cheer as its opposites. Webster's Revised Unabridged (1913) is similar: “To extinguish the courage of; to dishearten; to depress the spirits of; to deprive of confidence; to deject.” Webster's 1828 treats the participle as “Disheartened; deprived of courage or confidence; depressed in spirits; dejected; checked.” The word is built on courage, which Etymonline traces to Old French corage, “heart” and “spirit”, so dis-courage is literally to take the heart out of someone.

Read with that older weight, the line is a direct reply to the despair behind “I can’t go through with it.” The newcomer is losing heart in the literal sense, and the Book gives the courage back with the next sentences: no one has kept perfect adherence, we are not saints, and the aim is to “grow along spiritual lines.” The word names the danger of quitting before starting, and the Book's answer is to restore the reader's courage, not to lower the standard.

Usages

• BB p.96 ¶1 “Do not be **discouraged** if your prospect does not respond at once.”
• BB p.154 ¶1 “Bitterly **discouraged**, he found himself in a strange place, discredited and almost broke.”
• 12&12 p.91 ¶1 “We need not be **discouraged** when we fall into the error of our old ways”
• 12&12 p.113 ¶1 “We become puzzled and **discouraged**.”
• “he was discouraged in his undertaking” — Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
• After the third failed attempt to repair the engine, the mechanic felt discouraged and nearly gave up. illustration, written for this note
• Her teacher's kind words kept her from being discouraged by the poor mark. illustration, written for this note
• He grew discouraged as the weeks passed with no word from the company. illustration, written for this note

Written by Claude (sonnet) from the dictionaries and passages of the lookup; every quotation in it was checked against them, and what could not be found was left out. A study aid, not a source.

The dictionaries of 1939

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language (1828)

WordNet 3.0 (Princeton, 2006)

In the Book 9

Alcoholics Anonymous 5

• BB p.60 ¶2 Many of us exclaimed, “What an order! I can’t go through with it.” Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not…
• BB p.96 ¶1 Do not be discouraged if your prospect does not respond at once. Search out another alcoholic and try again. You are sure to find…
• BB p.154 ¶1 Bitterly discouraged, he found himself in a strange place, discredited and almost broke. Still physically weak, and sober but a…

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions 4

• 12&12 p.91 ¶1 …when the fault is ours, and an equal willingness to forgive when the fault is elsewhere. We need not be discouraged when we fall into the error of our old ways, for these disciplines are not easy. We shall look for progress,…
• 12&12 p.111 …can for months, we see him relapse. Perhaps this will happen in a succession of cases, and we may be deeply discouraged as to our ability to carry A.A.’s message. Or we may encounter the reverse situation, in which we are highly…
• 12&12 p.113 ¶1 …things go disappointingly dull. We begin to think that A.A. doesn’t pay off after all. We become puzzled and discouraged.
• 12&12 p.171 ¶1 …at the public level, that nearly all these fears have subsided. We see that we have no right or need to discourage A.A.’s who wish to work as individuals in these wider fields. It would be actually antisocial were we to…

Linked from

• BB p.60 ¶2 “discouraged”