Debate
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /dɪˈbeɪt/
- Rhymes: -eɪt
Origin
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").
Full definition of debate
Noun
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.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.
- 2013-07-26, Leo Hickman, How algorithms rule the world, 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, Katie L. Burke, In the News, 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 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 .
Verb
- (ambitransitive) To participate in a debate; to dispute, argue, especially in a public arena. from 14th c.
- Shakespearea wise council ... that did debate this business
- Bible, Proverbs xxv. 9Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself.
- TatlerHe presents that great soul debating upon the subject of life and death with his intimate friends.
- (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. - (obsolete, transitive) To engage in combat for; to strive for.
- PrescottVolunteers ... 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.