Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

[From the L. suffix -

atus

, the past participle ending of verbs of the 1st conj.]

As an ending of participles or participial adjectives it is equivalent to -ed;

as, situ

ate

or situated; anim

ate

or animated.

As the ending of a verb, it means to make, to cause, to act, etc.;

as, to propiti

ate

(to make propitious); to anim

ate

(to give life to).

As a noun suffix, it marks the agent;

as, cur

ate

, deleg

ate

. It also sometimes marks the office or dignity;

as, tribun

ate

In chemistry it is used to denote the salts formed from those acids whose names end -ic (excepting binary or halogen acids);

as, sulph

ate

from sulphur

acid, nitr

ate

from nitr

acid, etc.

It is also used in the case of certain basic salts.