-ate

¹

1. a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, its English distribution paralleling that of Latin. The form originated as a suffix added to a- stem verbs to form adjectives ( separate ). The resulting form could also be used independently as a noun ( advocate ) and came to be used as a stem on which a verb could be formed ( separate; advocate; agitate ). In English the use as a verbal suffix has been extended to stems of non-Latin origin: calibrate; acierate .

-ate

²

1. a specialization of -ate ¹, used to indicate a salt of an acid ending in -ic , added to a form of the stem of the element or group: nitrate; sulfate .

-ate

³

1. a suffix occurring originally in nouns borrowed from Latin, and in English coinages from Latin bases, that denote offices or functions ( consulate; triumvirate; pontificate ), as well as institutions or collective bodies ( electorate; senate ); sometimes extended to denote a person who exercises such a function ( magistrate; potentate ), an associated place ( consulate ), or a period of office or rule ( protectorate ). Joined to stems of any origin, ate3 signifies the office, term of office, or territory of a ruler or official ( caliphate; khanate; shogunate ).

ate

⁴

[ eyt; British et ]

verb

1. simple past tense of eat.

Ate

⁵

[ ey-tee, ah-tee ]

noun

1. an ancient Greek goddess personifying the fatal blindness or recklessness that produces crime and the divine punishment that follows it.

ATE

⁶

1. equipment that makes a series of tests automatically.

Ate

¹

/ ˈeɪtɪ; ˈɑːtɪ /

noun

1. Greek myth a goddess who makes men blind so that they will blunder into guilty acts

-ate

²

suffix

1. forming adjectives possessing; having the appearance or characteristics of

   Latinate

   palmate

   fortunate

2. forming nouns a chemical compound, esp a salt or ester of an acid

   carbonate

   stearate

3. forming nouns the product of a process

   condensate

4. forming verbs from nouns and adjectives

   rusticate

   hyphenate

-ate

³

suffix forming nouns

1. denoting office, rank, or a group having a certain function

   electorate

   episcopate

ate

⁴

/ ɛt; eɪt /

verb

1. See eat
   the past tense of eat

Word History and Origins

Origin of -ate¹

< Latin -ātus (masculine), -āta (feminine), -ātum (neuter), equivalent to -ā- thematic vowel + -tus, -ta, -tum past participle suffix

Origin of -ate²

Probably originally in New Latin phrases, as plumbum acetātum salt produced by the action of acetic acid on lead

Origin of -ate³

< Latin -ātus (genitive -ātūs ), generalized from v. derivatives, as augurātus office of an augur ( augurā(re) to foretell by augury + -tus suffix of v. action), construed as derivative of augur augur ¹

Origin of -ate⁴

< Greek, special use of átē reckless impulse, ruin, akin to aáein to mislead, harm

Origin of -ate⁵

a(utomatic) t(est) e(quipment)

Word History and Origins

Origin of -ate¹

C16: via Latin from Greek atē a rash impulse

Origin of -ate²

from Latin -ātus, past participial ending of verbs ending in -āre

Origin of -ate³

from Latin -ātus, suffix (fourth declension) of collective nouns

Example Sentences

Instead, most of the suffering species ate insects on the forest floor.

From The Daily Beast

He tore a piece of meat off the breast and stroked her coat while she ate.

From The Daily Beast

Then they sat down at the dinner table and ate with delight.

From The Daily Beast

As infants, my kids ate food right off the floor without washing or boiling.

From The Daily Beast

I ordered a salad, ate it, and in the bathroom snuck a swig of Pepto.

From The Daily Beast

He ate as many as he wanted and then, as he always felt sleepy after he had eaten, he thought he would lie down and have a nap.

From Project Gutenberg

And in the midst of his speculations, overpowered by fatigue, he fell asleep, and ate his breakfast next morning very happily.

From Project Gutenberg

At noon we camped, and cooked a bite of dinner while the horses grazed; ate it, and went on again.

From Project Gutenberg

When Yung Pak ate his meals, he sat upon a rug on the floor with his father and such male guests as might be in the house.

From Project Gutenberg

They stood outside the window and the cook passed them their coffee and a roll, which they drank and ate from the window-sill.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• attack
• bite
• chew
• devour
• dine
• feed
• ingest
• inhale
• nibble
• pick
• swallow