Word of the Day for Tuesday, January 17, 2012
alate \EY-leyt\, adjective:
1. Having wings; winged.
2. Having membranous expansions like wings.
noun:
1. The winged form of an insect when both winged and wingless forms occur in the species.
Vainly a few diehard physicists pointed out that wings are of no propulsive help in airless void, that alate flight is possible only where there are wind currents to lift and carry.--Robert Silverberg, Earth is the "Strangest Planet"
There are no words branded into this gate, only the shape of a large bird with its wings stretched out over the width of the road like an alate protector.
-- Jenny Siler, "Easy Money"
Alate is comprised of the Latin roots āla meaning "wing" and the suffix -ate which was used in Latin to make a word an adjective (like separate) but in English came to be used to create a verb out of a noun (like agitate).
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