See Also:

ate (iou)



-ate suffix1.
[Latin -atus, -ata (fem.), -atum (neut.) noun suffix or Old & mod. French -AT1 (earlier -ee).]
Forming nouns denoting (a) office, function, state, etc., or a person, group, or thing having it, as curate, doctorate, electorate, magistrate, mandate, etc.; (b) Chemistry salts or esters of acids (esp. of acids ending in -ic: cf. -ITE1), or other derivatives, as acetate, alcoholate, hydrate, sulphate, etc.
-ate suffix2.
[Latin (fem.) -atus, (neut.) -ata, -atum pa. ppl suffix of verbs in -are, or French -e.]
Forming adjectives and nouns, as affectionate, associate, caudate, delegate, Italianate, precipitate, reprobate, roseate, separate, etc. Hence forming nouns from English verbs, denoting end-products of (esp. chemical) operations or processes, as centrifugate, dialysate, homogenate, etc. Many of the adjectives were orig. ppl and also served as pa. pples of verbs in -ATE3.
-ate suffix3.
[After or formed as -ATE2, orig. on the basis of existing ppl adjectives in -ATE2, later from any Latin verb in -are; also used to Anglicize French verbs in -er (from Latin -are).]
Forming verbs, as assassinate, associate, fascinate, felicitate, hydrate, separate, vaccinate, etc. Some, as automate, repr. back-forms. from nouns in -ation.