The root *bęt- is believed to be of substratum origin, borrowed from the name of the Veneti people.

[3] During the Italian annexation of the Julian March, the village was officially named Battaglia della Bainsizza (literary, 'Battle of the Banjšice Plateau') to honour the Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo, which took place nearby.

The village was greatly affected by the First World War because Italian forces passed through Bate to reach the Banjšice Plateau.

The village is also the site of an abandoned Austro-Hungarian military cemetery containing the remains of about 5,000 soldiers in unmarked graves.

[2] The parish church in the settlement is dedicated to the Holy Cross and belongs to the Diocese of Koper.