-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

One customer, a Canadian TV crew reported, said that “she doesn’t know what she just ate. But she says it was unusual and delicious.”

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But the people who worked and ate at the Moscow Pizza Huts still remember the pepperoni and the red-checkered tablecloths and what they represented: In Russia, change wasn’t always an empty promise.

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Unless they could cool the mass of corium, the chain reaction would continue unchecked, growing hotter and hotter until the corium ate through the concrete of the secondary containment.

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It was a major breach of safety protocol that risked the workers swallowing radioactive dust with their food or inhaling it while they ate.

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The focal point of his soft, expressive, not unkind face was his mouth, mainly because it was usually at least half open, even while he ate.

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Related Words

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