-ate

Meanings

1. forms adjectives with meaning "having the specified thing"
2. forms adjectives with meaning "characterized by the specified thing"
3. forms adjectives with meaning "resembling the specified thing"

1. up until Early Modern English, formed regular past participles of verbs ending in -ate. Rare afterwards except in archaizing poetry or religious writing. The alternative ending -ated was used from as early as Middle English

1. derives verbs (mostly) from Latin stems

1. forms nouns meaning "person or thing that is either the object of a performed transitive verb or the subject of an intransitive one"
2. forms nouns meaning "person or thing that is the subject of a transitive verb"
3. forms nouns meaning "specimen of a corresponding taxon ending in -ata"

1. forms derivatives of specified elements or compounds; especially salts or esters of an acid whose name ends in -ic

1. forms nouns denoting a rank or office
2. forms nouns denoting the concrete charge, context of a rank or office
3. forms nouns denoting a group of officials associated with a rank or office
4. forms nouns denoting a social or political system ruled by people or someone of a certain rank or office
5. forms nouns denoting a state (government) ruled by people or someone of a certain rank or office
6. forms nouns denoting a state associated with one's social situation

Etymology

First attested in the 15th century; borrowed from Latin -ātus, the perfect passive participle ending of first conjugation verbs, also used to form participial adjectives from nouns. Before -ate was introduced as a suffix in Middle English, Latin-borrowed participial adjectives were written with final -at (Middle English desolat for modern desolate) and could also be used as past participles (see degenerate or communicate for remnants of it) with or without a corresponding verb ending in -aten; see Etymology 2. Doublet of -ee and, distantly, of -ed.

Translations