'Debate' is Latin for 'beat down' — from 'battuere' (to beat). It evolved from fists to words.
A formal discussion on a particular topic in a public meeting or legislative assembly, in which opposing arguments are presented; an argument about a particular subject.
From Old French 'debatre' (to fight, to contend, to dispute, to debate), compounded from 'de-' (down, completely, intensifier) and 'batre' (to beat, to strike), from Latin 'battuere' (to beat, to strike, to fight). Latin 'battuere' is thought to be of Gaulish or Celtic origin — not inherited from PIE through Latin but borrowed from the speech of conquered Gauls — making it one of the rare Celtic loanwords that passed through Latin into the Romance languages and then into English. The PIE root
The word 'debate' literally means 'to beat down' — parliamentary debate preserves this combative origin in its vocabulary: arguments are 'demolished,' opponents are 'crushed,' and weak positions are 'battered,' all echoing the physical violence buried in the word's etymology.