Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “pollinate” come from?

Pollinate comes from English pollen with the suffix -ate, from Latin -ātus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -tós, a suffix forming adjective past participles.

pollinate (English): To apply pollen to; Pollinose

Definitions

  1. To apply pollen to; Pollinose

Ancestry of “pollinate”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-atehaving the specified thing; characterized by the...
2English-cyUsed to form nouns of state, condition or quality...
3Anglo-Norman-cie—
4Latin-tiaoffice, rank
5Latin-iaUsed to form a feminine abstract noun, usually...
6Latin-iusforming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter...
7Proto-Italic-jōsForms comparative adjectives
8Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems

Words derived from “pollinate”

  • pollinator
  • cross-pollinate
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós →