dezbatere

Forms

dezbatere f (plural dezbateri)^[1]

Etymology

It is the long infinitive of the verb dezbate “to debate”, formed from Romanian dezbate + -re.^[2][3][1][4] That verb comes from French débattre, with the French prefix replaced by its Romanian counterpart;^[5] MDA2 and Tiktin describe it as dez- and bate formed after the French model.^[3][6] The French verb goes back, through battre (“to beat”), to battuō.^[5] Scriban too derives the sense “discussion” from French débat.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 dates the noun of the verb “to debate” to 1829; its earliest senses there, “struggle” and “coming to understand”, are now obsolete.^[3] The verb dezbate “to debate” is recorded from 1794.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The early senses “struggle” and “understanding” were soon lost, and the word came to mean the thorough examination of ideas, laws or proposals, usually in public sessions, and a full written treatment of a subject.^[3] Scriban adds the public part of a judicial inquiry.^[7] In the plural it names parliamentary and judicial debates: dezbateri parlamentare, dezbateri judiciare.^[8] Recent compounds such as film-dezbatere and spectacol-dezbatere name events followed by a discussion.^[9]

Timeline

• 1794 – the verb dezbate “to debate”, in the form debate.^[5]
• 1829 – the first record of the noun dezbatere of the verb “to debate”.^[3]
• 1839 – dezbate in Vaillant's Romanian–French vocabulary.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A debate: a thorough discussion of a question, often with opposing views; deliberation.^[2][1]
2. A broad discussion of a matter of public interest, especially in an official assembly: dezbateri parlamentare “parliamentary debates”.^[2][8]
3. (law) The hearing of a case by both parties before a court: dezbateri judiciare.^[8][7]

Related words

• bate
• French débat

Usage notes

An older dezbatere, the noun of the native verb dezbate² “to unfasten, loosen”, is now obsolete or popular: it meant detaching something, freeing a country from someone's rule (first recorded in Nicolae Costin's chronicle), and loosening the soil.^[3][10] Tiktin dates his dezbatere, with both senses, to 1703.^[11]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 307
3. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 692
4. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. dezbatere
5. ^ a b c d Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2011–), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române (DELR), vol. I: A–B (2011), vol. II: C (2015–2018), București: Editura Academiei Române; continued online at delr.lingv.ro, p. s.v. dezbate
6. ^ Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. dezbate
7. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 418
8. ^ a b c Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne
9. ^ Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. dezbatere
10. ^ Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. dezbatere
11. ^ Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. dezbatere