-aturesuffix
Primary stress is retained by the usual stressed syllable of the preceding element and vowels may be reduced accordingly.
Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin -ātūra.
Etymology: < classical Latin -ātūra (in e.g. membrātūra membrature n.) < -āt- , past participial stem of verbs in -ā- + -ūra -ure suffix1. Compare French -ature, Italian -atura, German -atur.Found in borrowings, such as membrature n. ( < Latin), nunciature n. ( < Italian), or modenature n. ( < French), from the early 17th cent. Formations within English are found from the mid 17th cent., e.g. mimature n., nervature n.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).