n. Preterit of eat.n. In Greek myth, an ever-present evil genius leading men on to crime; the goddess of blundering mischief: a personification of the reckless blindness and moral distortion inflicted by the gods in retribution for presumption and wickedness, typifying the self-perpetuating nature of evil.n. A suffix of Latin origin: In adjectives, where -ate is equivalent to and cognate with English -ed, -d, -t, in perfect participles and participial adjectives, the native English suffix being often added to -ate when a verb in -ate exists, as in desolate or desolat-ed, accumulate or accumulat-ed, situate or situat-ed, etc.n. In nouns, of persons, as legate, delegate, reprobate, etc., or of things, as mandate, precipitate, etc.; especially, in chem., in nouns denoting a salt formed by the action of an acid on a base, as in acetate, nitrate, sulphate, etc., the suffix being added to the stem (often shortened) of the name of the acid.n. A suffix of Latin origin, a common formative in verbs taken from the Latin, as in accumulate, imitate, militate, etc., or formed in English, either on Latin stems, as in felicitate, capacitate, etc., or on stems of other origin. See etymology.n. A suffix of Latin origin, denoting office, an office, a body of officers, as in consulate, pontificate, decemvirate, senate (Latin senātus, from senex, an old man), episcopate, etc., and sometimes a single officer, as magistrate (Latin magistrātus, properly magistracy, also a magistrate), the suffix in the last use being equivalent to -ate in legate, etc., and to -ate in primate, etc.n. A suffix of Latin origin, practically equivalent to -ate in nouns, and -ate (in magistrate), as in magnate, primate, and (in Latin plural) penates, optimates.n. A suffix of Greek origin, occurring unfelt in pirate (which see)..In petrography, a suffix added to the names of grads in the quantitative classification of igneous rocks. See rock.
