喜樂美語

核心畫面

Weighing two sides of a question — putting the reasons for and against on a scale and going back and forth. Whether a of people are doing it out loud or one person is doing it silently in their head, the action is the same: turning a question over, side against side, before settling it.

可以想成把一個問題的正反兩面放上天平、來回掂量：把贊成的理由和反對的理由擺在兩端，一邊壓一邊地比較。不管是一屋子人出…更多收起可以想成把一個問題的正反兩面放上天平、來回掂量：把贊成的理由和反對的理由擺在兩端，一邊壓一邊地比較。不管是一屋子人出聲地辯，還是一個人在腦袋裡默默地想，動作都一樣——把問題翻來覆去、兩面對著秤，最後才落定。debate 的每個用法，都是這個「兩面權衡」的動作。

From the word’s history

From Old French 'debatre' — 'de-' (down, fully) + 'batre' (to beat, from Latin 'battuere'): to 'beat down', to fight out an argument. The sense of two sides striking back and forth until one settles underlies the modern 'weigh both sides'.

源自古法文 debatre，由 de-（徹底地）加 batre（打，來自拉丁文 battuere）組成，原意是「把（爭論）打到底」、來回交手直到分出結果。今天「兩面來回權衡」的核心，就從這個「對打、互不相讓」的畫面延伸而來。

Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), entry 'debate'

Two branches

眾人出聲地討論、辯論

把「兩面權衡」這個動作交給一群人公開來做：大家把不同意見攤出來、你來我往。從鬆散的長談到有規矩的正式辯論，都是這條線，差別只在規則的鬆緊。

discussion of opinions · noun · B2

A long discussion in which people share different opinions about a subject.

討論／爭論

權衡、盤算這個動作

這是動詞，把核心動作本身講出來：來回掂量正反。可以是一群人正式地論，也可以縮進一個人心裡安靜地盤算——都是同一個「兩面權衡」的動作。

discuss formally · verb · B2

To discuss a subject formally, giving reasons, to make a decision or find an answer.

辯論／討論

原始詞典資料9 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

debateverb詞源 1/dɪˈbeɪt/

  • 1

    To participate in a debate; to dispute, argue, especially in a public arena.

    • "Debate me, coward!" snarled the completely normal intellectual.
    • a wise council […] that did debate this business
  • 2

    obsoleteTo fight.

    • Well knew they both his person, sith of late / With him in bloudie armes they rashly did debate.
    • […] wasteful Time debateth with Decay, To change your day of youth to sullied night
  • 3

    obsoleteTo engage in combat for; to strive for.

    • Volunteers […] 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.
  • 4

    To consider (to oneself), to think over, to attempt to decide

    • He was debating where he'd spend his holiday.

debatenoun詞源 2/dɪˈbeɪt/

  • 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.
  • 3

    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.
  • 4

    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

    obsoleteStrife, discord.

資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。