Etymology

debate

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Today it means: To participate in a debate; to dispute, argue, especially in a public arena. Full definition →

First used 14th c.Middle English debaten ← Old French debatre ← Latin dis-
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debate · verb1

  1. Latin · derived fromdis-“apart, in different directions”
  2. Old French · derived fromdebatre“to fight, contend, debate, also literally to beat down”
  3. Middle English · inherited fromdebaten
  4. English todaydebate

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”) + battuō (“to beat, to fence”).

debate · noun2

  1. Middle English · inherited fromdebat
  2. English todaydebate

From Middle English debat, borrowed from Old French debat, deverbal of debatre, see Etymology 1 for more.

Words from the same roots

Latindis- all →

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First known use, by meaning

  • from 14th c. To participate in a debate; to dispute, argue, especially in a public arena.
  • 14th–17th c. To fight.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.