'Controversy' is Latin for 'turned against' — opposing sides facing each other in disagreement.
Prolonged public disagreement or heated discussion about a subject; a dispute or debate.
From Latin 'contrōversia' (a legal dispute, a debate, a turning against one another), formed from 'contrōversus' (turned against, disputed, contested), composed of 'contrā' (against, in opposition to) + 'versus,' the past participle of 'vertere' (to turn), from PIE *wer- (to turn, to bend, to wind). The same root *wer- produced 'verse' (a turning of the plough — the line of text), 'version,' 'revert,' 'convert,' 'invert,' 'divert,' 'universe' (that which turns as one), 'anniversary' (a turning of the year), and 'vertebra' (the turning joint of the spine). A controversy is literally a 'turning against' — opposing parties turn to face
The pronunciation of 'controversy' is itself controversial. British English traditionally stresses the first syllable (CON-trə-vər-see), while an alternative stressing the second syllable (cən-TROV-ər-see) has been gaining ground since the mid-twentieth century. Language commentators have debated this shift for decades — making the pronunciation of 'controversy' a minor controversy in its own right.