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[LeoLeonardoIII]

I was dabbling with a wizard club for my D&D game and the membership levels, and realized something interesting to me: "Initiate" and "Associate" (the nouns, not the transitive verbs) have the same suffix form and both define a person's place in an organization. My human brain saw a possible pattern, and I'd love at least one more (but hopefully at least two more) levels for progressively higher status levels in an organization. But Google failed me and I don't know the deep secrets of obscure English grammar, so I couldn't identify what type of words these were so that I could find more.

To be clear, I'm not looking for random membership level titles like Big Wizard and Biggest Wizard, or college terms like Bachelor and Master. I can do that perfectly well myself. I just hope someone can figure out what Initiate and Associate have in common and can continue the progression with words that already exist.

Failing that, the etymology appears to be Latin associare with a -t ending for "to join". Latin buffs please don't destroy me for explaining that in a dumb way, for I am dumb and my ways follow my being. Initiate doesn't seem like it has that root, like maybe people started using Initiate as a noun because Associate as a noun was a thing.

With that in mind, I could create new terms from Latin with the -t ending form. But that usually ends up sounding really alien ... until an internet startup does it and becomes famous enough that everyone recognizes it.

So if you don't know the next level terms in English, maybe some suggestions for the prefix from Latin?

[Harry Baldman]

Novitiate, a position before an initiate, presumably after an associate. Titling a high-level member an initiate makes sense, as being initiated presumably makes you a full member.

Potentate, presumably above an initiate, isn't quite the same in etymology, but may be close enough.

[Araph]

Potentate works, actually! All four of the words use the suffix -ate (I'm 90% sure that the 'i' in associate and initiate are completely separate from the suffix).

According to an online dictionary, -ate denotes offices or functions (magistrate or potentate, for example), as well as territories (caliphate, shogunate, and khanate are given as examples).

[Loam]

Well, strictly speaking, there aren't "next level" terms for this, since all membership rank definitions are arbitrary; but an "initiate" is typical someone fully integrated into the organization, while an "associate" would be one associated with the organization but not yet trusted with its deeper secrets. "Novitiate" makes sense - more so than "associate," actually - for a new member, though a better term would just be "novice." A "potentate" would suggest an authority figure.

Technically speaking "-ate" isn't a suffix, but typically derives from Latin past participles: associatus (from associare "to join with," from ad- "to" + sociare "unite with"); initiatus (from initiare "to begin"; ultimately "to go into," hence the idea of entering an organization). "Novitiate" is actually from an adjective novicius, applied to newly-imported slaves (it comes from novus "new"). "Potentate" is from potentatus "a ruler," from potens "powerful." See -ate (2) on this page. However, it has developed into an English suffix through reanalysis (as caliph, shogun, and khan were not Latin words originally).

The best source for etymologies is the cleverly-named Online Etymology Dictionary.

[LeoLeonardoIII]

Thanks all. BTW if I had seen "etymonline" without the explanation I would have thought it was a terrible Korean MMO.

[scrdest]

Top level, mentioned here already - magistrate, from magister = master.

[Urist McScoopbeard]

"Wizard"