Dictionary
ate
Pronunciation: (āt; Brit.et), [key]—
v.
pt. of
eat. A•te
Pronunciation: (ā'tē, ä'tē), [key]—
n.
an ancient Greek goddess personifying the fatal blindness or recklessness that produces crime and the divine punishment that follows it.
ATE
equipment that makes a series of tests automatically.
-ate
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
a specialization of -ate
1, 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 -ite
1.
-ate
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).
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
See also: - ate (Thesaurus)
- ate (Encyclopedia)
