debate
English
Etymology
From Middle English debaten, from Old French debatre (“to fight, contend, debate, also literally to beat down”), from Romanic desbattere, from Latin dis- (“apart, in different directions”) + battuere (“to beat, to fence”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /dɪˈbeɪt/
Audio (GA) (file) - Rhymes: -eɪt
Noun
debate (countable and uncountable, plural debates)
- An argument, or discussion, usually in an ordered or formal setting, often with more than two people, generally ending with a vote or other decision.
- After a four-hour debate, the committee voted to table the motion.
- An informal and spirited but generally civil discussion of opposing views.
- The debate over the age of the universe is thousands of years old.
- There was a bit of a debate over who should pay for the damaged fence.
- 2013 July 26, Leo Hickman, “How algorithms rule the world”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 7, page 26:
- The use of algorithms in policing is one example of their increasing influence on our lives. And, as their ubiquity spreads, so too does the debate around whether we should allow ourselves to become so reliant on them – and who, if anyone, is policing their use.
- (uncountable) Discussion of opposing views.
- There has been considerable debate concerning exactly how to format these articles.
- 2013 September-October, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist:
- Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis: […] . The evolutionary precursor of photosynthesis is still under debate, and a new study sheds light. The critical component of the photosynthetic system is the “water-oxidizing complex”, made up of manganese atoms and a calcium atom.
- (frequently in the French form débat) A type of literary composition, taking the form of a discussion or disputation, commonly found in the vernacular medieval poetry of many European countries, as well as in medieval Latin.
- (obsolete) Strife, discord.
Derived terms
- balloon debate
- make-debate
- self-debate
Translations
argument, or discussion, usually in an ordered or formal setting
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informal and spirited but generally civil discussion of opposing views
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discussion of opposing views
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type of literary composition
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Verb
debate (third-person singular simple present debates, present participle debating, simple past and past participle debated)
- (transitive, intransitive) To participate in a debate; to dispute, argue, especially in a public arena. [from 14th c.]
- 1613, William Shakespeare; [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act II, scene iv]:
- a wise council […] that did debate this business
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Proverbs 25:9:
- Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself.
- 1709 August 22 (Gregorian calendar), Isaac Bickerstaff [et al., pseudonyms; Richard Steele et al.], “Thursday, August 11, 1709”, in The Tatler, number 53; republished in [Richard Steele], editor, The Tatler, […], volume I, London stereotype edition, London: I. Walker and Co.; […], 1822, OCLC 69947324:
- He presents that great soul debating upon the subject of life and death with his intimate friends.
- "Debate me, coward!" snarled the completely normal intellectual.
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- (obsolete, intransitive) To fight. [14th–17th c.]
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.viii:
- Well knew they both his person, sith of late / With him in bloudie armes they rashly did debate.
- 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 15:
- […] wasteful Time debateth with Decay,
- To change your day of youth to sullied night
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- (obsolete, transitive) To engage in combat for; to strive for.
- 1838, William H[ickling] Prescott, History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Boston, Mass.: American Stationers’ Company; John B. Russell, OCLC 198332973:
- Volunteers […] thronged to serve under his banner, and the cause of religion was debated with the same ardour in Spain as on the plains of Palestine.
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- (transitive) To consider (to oneself), to think over, to attempt to decide
- He was debating where he'd spend his holiday.
Derived terms
- debater
- mass debate
Related terms
- abate
- batter
- battery
- battle
- combat
- debatable
- debation
Translations
participate in a debate
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To consider to oneself
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Further reading
- debate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- debate in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
Anagrams
- beated, bed tea, bed-tea, betaed
Albanian
Noun
debate m pl
- indefinite plural of debat
Portuguese
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /deˈba.t͡ʃi/
- (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /deˈba.te/
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /dɨˈba.t(ɨ)/ [dɨˈβa.t(ɨ)]
Etymology 1
Deverbal from debater or borrowed from French débat.
Noun
debate m (plural debates)
- debate
Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:debate.
Verb
debate
- inflection of debater:
- third-person singular present indicative
- second-person singular imperative
Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:debate.
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /deˈbate/ [d̪eˈβ̞a.t̪e]
- Rhymes: -ate
- Syllabification: de‧ba‧te
Etymology 1
Deverbal from debatir.
Noun
debate m (plural debates)
- debate, discussion
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
debate
- inflection of debatir:
- third-person singular present indicative
- second-person singular imperative
Further reading
- “debate”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Tagalog
Etymology
Borrowed from Spanish debate.
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: de‧ba‧te
- IPA(key): /deˈbate/, [deˈba.te]
Noun
debate
- debate; heated discussion
- Synonyms: pagtatalo, pagkakatwiranan, pangangatwiranan
Derived terms
- debatihan
- debatihin
- debatista
- magdebate