-ate

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
-ate1

▶suffix forming nouns.

• 1 denoting status or office: doctorate.

  ■ denoting a state or function: mandate.

• 2 denoting a group: electorate.

• 3 Chemistry denoting a salt or ester, especially of an acid with a corresponding name ending in -ic: chlorate.

• 4 denoting a product of a chemical process: condensate.

– origin from OFr. -at or L. -atus, -ata, -atum.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
-ate2

▶suffix

• 1 forming adjectives and nouns such as associate.

• 2 forming adjectives from Latin: caudate.

– origin from L. -atus, -ata, -atum.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
-ate3

▶suffix forming verbs such as fascinate.

– origin from -ate2; orig. on the basis of past participial adjectives ending in -atus, later extended to Latin verbs ending in -are and French verbs ending in -er.