debater

Forms

debater (first-person singular present debato, first-person singular preterite debati, past participle debatido)^[1] The 15th century also wrote debather.^[2]

Etymology

It is probably borrowed from French débattre,^[2][3][4][5] which is formed from dé- and battre (“to beat”).^[2][6] Houaiss dates the French verb in the sense “to debate” to 1283; the DHLF dates the verb to about 1050 and the sense “to discuss heatedly” to 1172–1175.^[2][6] Cunha and Aurélio trace it to Latin dēbattuō (“to thump hard”),^[3][5][7] from battuō (“to pound, beat”), a word the OLD calls Gaulish.^[8] Silva Bastos, Vieira and Michaelis analysed it instead as Portuguese de- and bater.^[9][10][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss and Cunha date the first records to the 15th century, with the senses “to dispute, quarrel, joust, fight”.^[2][3] Cardoso (1569) renders it by Latin discepto “to dispute”.^[12]

Semantic evolution

The oldest sense, to fight or joust for a cause, is now rare.^[2] Bluteau quotes Barros (Debateraõ hum bom pedaço, “they argued a good while”) and the reflexive debaterse of an untamed falcon that flaps about in alarm.^[13] Morais (1789) has debater a questão “to argue the question” and debater-se “to beat the wings or the legs”.^[14] The modern main sense is to discuss a matter together; the reflexive is used of struggling to break free, and figuratively of struggling with hardship.^[2][5]

Timeline

• 1400s – first records, with the spelling debather beside debater.^[2][3]
• 1569 – Cardoso enters Debater with Latin discepto.^[12]
• 1697 – Pereira adds Latin praelior “to fight”.^[15]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau records the reflexive debaterse of a falcon.^[13]
• 1789 – Morais records debater a questão.^[14]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To discuss a matter together, putting forward different arguments.^[2][4][1]
2. (transitive) To argue against; to contest, question.^[2][5][1]
3. (intransitive) To argue heatedly, wrangle (altercar).^[2][5]
4. (intransitive, rare) To fight or joust for a cause.^[2]
5. (reflexive) To struggle, to thrash about trying to break free; to flounder.^[2][16][1]
6. (reflexive, figurative) To struggle with hardship or sacrifice.^[2][5]

Related words

• debate
• bater
• French débattre
• Spanish debatir

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. debater
3. ^ a b c d Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. debater
4. ^ a b Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. debater
5. ^ a b c d e f Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. debater
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. débattre
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. debattuo
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. battuo
9. ^ Silva Bastos, José Timóteo da (1912), Diccionario etymologico, prosodico e orthographico da lingua portugueza, Lisboa: Parceria António Maria Pereira, p. s.v. debater
10. ^ Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 2, 719
11. ^ Michaelis: Moderno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, São Paulo: Melhoramentos (online as Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa, https://michaelis.uol.com.br), p. s.v. debater
12. ^ a b Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. debater
13. ^ a b Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. debater
14. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1789), Diccionario da lingua portugueza composto pelo padre D. Rafael Bluteau, reformado, e accrescentado, 2 vols., Lisboa: Simão Thaddeo Ferreira, p. 1, 361
15. ^ Pereira, Bento (1697), Thesouro da lingoa portuguesa, in the 1697 edition of his Prosodia (1st ed. 1647; CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. debater
16. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. debater