The article discusses the interpretation of the musical and performing term con discrezione and the role of the latter in the terminological system (terminosystem) of the musical culture in European countries during the era of gallant mannerism and classicism. In the process of analyzing numerous evidences from historical documents of that time — dictionaries and encyclopedias, methodical manuals and theoretical treatises, music publications — the authors arrived to the conclusion that contradictions in the interpretation of the meaning of the lexeme con discrezione by musicians of the 17 ^th century were gradually replaced by a synthesis understanding. In the theory and practice of musical art of the second half of the 18 ^th — first half of the 19 ^th century, the expression con discrezione is asserted as a polysemantic construction, the exact meaning of which is determined each time in strict dependence on the specific context. Besides the context, as the early musicians persistently emphasize, taste, knowledge and experience of practicing performers have a decisive significance here in both solo and ensemble playing.