debate

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”).

noun

1. 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.
2. 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.
   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. 2013-07-26, Leo Hickman, “How algorithms rule the world”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 7, page 26
3. (uncountable) Discussion of opposing views.
   There has been considerable debate concerning exactly how to format these articles.
   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. 2013 September-October, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist
4. (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.
5. (obsolete) Strife, discord.

verb

1. (transitive, intransitive, reciprocal) To participate in a debate; to dispute, argue, especially in a public arena.
   "Debate me, coward!" snarled the completely normal intellectual.
2. (obsolete, intransitive, reciprocal) To fight.
   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
   […] wasteful Time debateth with Decay, To change your day of youth to sullied night 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 15
3. (obsolete, transitive) To engage in combat for; to strive for.
4. (transitive) To consider (to oneself), to think over, to attempt to decide
   He was debating where he'd spend his holiday.