-ate

¹ American  

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 .

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-ate ² American  

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 .

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-ate ³ American  

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 ).

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ate ⁴ American  

[eyt, et] / eɪt, ɛt /

verb

1. simple past tense of eat.

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Ate ⁵ American  

[ey-tee, ah-tee] / ˈeɪ ti, ˈɑ ti /

noun

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

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ATE ⁶ American  

1. equipment that makes a series of tests automatically.

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-ate ¹ British  

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

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-ate ² British  

suffix

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

   episcopate

   electorate

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Ate ³ British  

/ ˈɑːtɪ, ˈeɪtɪ /

noun

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

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ate ⁴ British  

/ eɪt, ɛt /

verb

1. the past tense of eat

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Etymology

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 Ate⁵

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

Origin of ATE⁶

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

Example Sentences

Chemical analysis of the bones showed the wolves ate large amounts of marine food, including seals and fish, matching the human diet on the island and indicating they were likely fed by people.

From Science Daily

Greg Fisilau, full of energy and endeavour, ate up metres in the back row and, at this rate, is pushing hard for a return to England contention after last meeting up with the senior squad in October 2024.

From BBC

Mia works from a self-imposed "roadmap" and plans her next scene "so I don't have to tie off the thread too often", but reveals that on this occasion "it was like the map flew out the window and a great big seagull ate it".

From BBC

Volunteers handed out toys, a mariachi band played, cops passed out stickers of badges and greeted guests as they rounded the corners, politicians ate pozole.

From Los Angeles Times

It would have been untenable in a budget where bills and housing already ate up more than half of her monthly take-home pay.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

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