These two cats look as though they are about to go at it with each other. Perhaps, if they could speak, they could settle their problems through “disputation” instead.

Let’s begin, though, with the word “dispute.”

dispute — a noun meaning a quarrel or a verbal debate about something

disputa — the Spanish cognate of the same meanings, more commonly used for a quarrel

“Dispute” can be used as a verb in English. Then it means “to engage in an argument or quarrel” or “to call into question or cast doubt upon” something. Its Spanish cognate as a verb is “disputar.” These words come to us from Latin’s disputare, which means “to discuss.” If we are arguing, quarreling, or debating something, then we are discussing it — we’ve simply added some heat to our discussion.

I got to thinking about this word a few nights ago while I was reading “Middlemarch” by George Eliot. I came upon the word “disputation” used a few times, and while I was pretty sure of its meaning, I did look it up because I wasn’t familiar with that noun, having always heard and used “dispute” instead. “Disputation” can be a verbal controversy or debate, as it was used in “Middlemarch,” or it can refer to the oral defense of a thesis, like my daughter will soon be doing to complete her Master’s in Paleontology.

In Spanish, the cognate for “disputation” is the same as it is for the noun “dispute.” It’s just “disputa.”

In the 30 years that I taught Spanish, I don’t recall this word ever coming up in texts or even in the easy readers I had for my students. I believe that’s because the word “disputa” in Spanish sounds too much like a very common swear word in Spanish, and anyone who has ever taught teenagers knows that you don’t need to give them any fodder for their vast vocabulary of profanity.

If you’re unsure or unaware of the Spanish swear word in question, simply look up “puta” and then you’ll understand why it’s best not to teach the word “disputa” in a high school Spanish classroom.

However, as adults who enjoy understanding the wealth of words that we find in our readings, it’s good to know that a “disputation” is a slightly fancier and perhaps more archaic word for “dispute.” That’s why I came across it a few times in “Middlemarch,” but I don’t know that I’ve seen it used in newer literature.

Quite frankly, I don’t know that I’ve heard, read, or even used the word “dispute” in a while, so maybe we should bring it back into the norm of conversation. After all, our government sure does a lot of disputing. I shy away from all the negative news stories, though, so there’s a good chance those stories are chock full of “disputes” that I simply don’t see. It is a perfect word to describe many arguments.

There are other words that are related to “dispute,” too, such as the adjectives of “disputatious” and “disputative” which are used to describe something or someone who is inclined to dispute. There is another noun, too, which is “disputativeness,” and if you do something in a quarrelsome or argumentative manner, that could be described with the adverb of “disputatively.”

I hope you don’t have any “disputes” with anyone today. If you do, and they don’t know any Spanish at all, you could throw a new swear word at them, under your breath that is. If they do know Spanish, and they overhear you, you’ll have a new “dispute” on your hands. Ha ha.

Have a great day. Until next week.

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Tammy Marshall

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