-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, 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, 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

suffix

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

   fortunate

   palmate

   Latinate

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

   hyphenate

   rusticate

-ate

²

suffix

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

   episcopate

   electorate

Ate

³

/ ˈɑːtɪ, ˈeɪtɪ /

noun

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

ate

⁴

/ eɪt, ɛt /

verb

1. 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

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

Origin of -ate²

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

Origin of -ate³

C16: via Latin from Greek atē a rash impulse

Example Sentences

I planned a quick weekend getaway with a few of my friends, and here’s some of what we did and ate.

From Salon

Pozole rojo is October: the bowl I ate on my first fall day back in Chicago as an adult, perched on a pleather barstool beneath the rattle of the Blue Line, wondering if I could ever feel at home in the place I was born.

From Salon

For years, Henry ate at the same cafe on Santa Monica’s Montana Avenue.

From Los Angeles Times

This week's victims ate meals that included soy sauce chicken, fried tofu, vegetables and fruit – but past poisoning incidents have been linked to expired sauce and, in one case, the serving of fried shark.

From BBC

De Goede ate up the minutes clipping over a gimme of a penalty to take Canada back out beyond two converted scores and could have created another try had she found wing Alysha Corrigan after a late intercept.

From BBC

Related Words

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