-ate 1suff.1. a. Having: nervate.b. Characterized by: Latinate.c. Resembling: lyrate.2. a. One that is characterized by: laminate.b. Rank; office: rabbinate.3. To act upon in a specified manner: acidulate.[Ultimately from Latin -?tus, past participle suff. of verbs in -?re.]-ate 2suff.1. A derivative of a specified chemical compound or element: aluminate.2. A salt or ester of a specified acid whose name ends in -ic: acetate.[New Latin -?tum, from Latin, neuter of -?tus, past participle suff. of verbs in -?re.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.-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. [from Latin -?tus, past participial ending of verbs ending in -?re]-ate suffix forming nouns denoting office, rank, or a group having a certain function: episcopate; electorate. [from Latin -?tus, suffix (fourth declension) of collective nouns]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014ate (e?t; Brit. ?t) v. pt. of eat. A?te (?e? ti, ?? ti) n. an ancient Greek goddess personifying the fatal blindness or recklessness that leads to ruinous actions. [