-ate

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

-ate 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

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

-ate suffix:forming_nouns

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

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

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

ate /eɪt/   v. 

1. the pt. of eat.

-ate¹ ,suffix. 

1. -ate is used to form adjectives with the meaning "showing;
   full of'': passion + -ate → passionate (= showing passion);
   consider + -ate → considerate (= showing the action of considering);
   literate.
2. -ate is used to form verbs with the meaning "cause to become (like);
   act as'': regular + -ate → regulate (= make regular, act by rule);
   active + -ate → activate (= cause to become active);
   hyphenate;
   calibrate.
3. -ate is used to form nouns with the meanings:
   • a group of people: elector + -ate → electorate (= group who elect).
   • an area ruled by: caliph (a kind of ruler) + -ate → caliphate (= area ruled by a caliph);
     protector + -ate → protectorate (= area ruled by a protecting nation).
   • the office, institution, or function of: consul + -ate → consulate;
     magistrate;
     potentate.

-ate² , is a suffix used:

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

ate  (āt; Brit. et), v. 

1. pt. of eat. 

A•te  (ā′tē, ä′tē), n. 

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

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

ATE ,

1. equipment that makes a series of tests automatically.

• a(utomatic) t(est) e(quipment)

-ate¹ ,

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.

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

-ate² ,

1. Chemistry a specialization of -ate¹, 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. Compare -ite¹.

• probably origin, originally in Neo-Latin phrases, as plumbum acetātum salt produced by the action of acetic acid on lead

-ate³ ,

1. a suffix occurring orig. 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, ate ³ signifies the office, term of office, or territory of a ruler or official (caliphate;
   khanate;
   shogunate).

• Latin -ātus (genitive -ātūs), generalized from verb, verbal ders., as augurātus office of an augur (augurā(re) to foretell by augury + -tus suffix of verb, verbal action), construed as der. of augur augur