altercate

verb

al·​ter·​cate ˈȯl-tər-ˌkāt 

altercated; altercating

intransitive verb

: to dispute angrily or noisily : wrangle

Synonyms

• argue
• argufy
• bicker
• brabble
• brawl
• controvert
• dispute
• fall out
• fight
• hassle
• jar
• quarrel
• quibble
• row
• scrap
• spat
• squabble
• tiff
• wrangle

Example Sentences

this discussion is so silly we might as well altercate on how many angels can dance on the point of a needle

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin altercātus, past participle of altercārī, altercāre "to dispute vehemently, wrangle," derivative of alter "second, another" — more at alter

Note: The formation of altercārī is unclear. Ernout and Meillet (Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine, Paris, 1959/1985) assume that it is based on *altercus, an unattested variant of alternus "occurring in alternation" (see alternate entry 1). Leumann (Lateinische Laut- und Formenlehre, Munich, 1977) proposes syncope from *altericāre, with the suffix perhaps after duplicāre "to double" (see duplicate entry 1).

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined above