debate
Contents
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
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[edit]
Noun[edit]
debate (countable and uncountable, plural debates)
- (obsolete) Strife, discord.
- 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.
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After a four-hour debate, the committee voted to table the motion.
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- An informal and spirited but generally civil discussion of opposing views.
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The debate over the age of the universe is thousands of years old.
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There was a bit of a debate over who should pay for the damaged fence.
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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.
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- (uncountable) Discussion of opposing views.
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There has been considerable debate concerning exactly how to format these articles.
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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.
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- (Frequently in 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.
Translations[edit]
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, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
Verb[edit]
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.]
- Shakespeare
- a wise council […] that did debate this business
- Bible, Proverbs xxv. 9
- Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself.
- Tatler
- He presents that great soul debating upon the subject of life and death with his intimate friends.
- Shakespeare
- (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.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.viii:
- (obsolete, transitive) To engage in combat for; to strive for.
- Prescott
- 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.
- Prescott
- (transitive) To consider (to oneself), to think over, to attempt to decide
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
participate in a debate
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Further reading[edit]
- debate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- debate in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
Anagrams[edit]
Albanian[edit]
Noun[edit]
debate m pl
Portuguese[edit]
Noun[edit]
debate m (plural debates)
Quotations[edit]
For usage examples of this term, see Citations:debate.
Verb[edit]
debate
Quotations[edit]
For usage examples of this term, see Citations:debate.
Spanish[edit]
Noun[edit]
debate m (plural debates)
Related terms[edit]
Verb[edit]
debate
Categories:
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English terms with usage examples
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- en:Talking
- Albanian non-lemma forms
- Albanian noun plural forms
- Portuguese lemmas
- Portuguese nouns
- Portuguese non-lemma forms
- Portuguese verb forms
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish nouns
- Spanish non-lemma forms
- Spanish verb forms
- Spanish forms of verbs ending in -ir
