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constitutional

Etymology and origin of the English word constitutional

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1682
Ultimate origins
Old French (constitucion)English (-al)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English constitution
English constitutional

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌkɒn.stɪˈtʃuː.ʃən.əl/, /ˌkɒn.stɪˈtjuː.ʃən.əl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English constitution + -al.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Belonging to a person's physical or mental constitution: 1682 in the OED and MWU, the 1680s in Etymonline.[5][3][2]

Semantic evolution

Beneficial to the bodily constitution is from 1750,[2][5] and belonging to the very make-up of anything from 1750 too.[5] In politics, allowed by the constitution is from 1765,[2][5] and the constitutional monarchy is from 1801, from French;[2][5] dealing with the political constitution is from 1841.[5] In French history, the constitutional clergy were those who accepted the civil constitution of the clergy (1837).[5] The noun, a walk taken for one's health, is from 1829, probably first among university students, and short for constitutional walk.[2]

Timeline

  • 1682 – of a person's constitution.[5]
  • 1750 – good for health.[2][5]
  • 1765 – allowed by a political constitution.[2][5]
  • 1801 – constitutional monarchy.[2]
  • 1829 – a constitutional walk.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Relating to, allowed by or established under a constitution.
  2. Of a monarch, ruling under the limits of a constitution.
  3. Inherent in a person's physical or mental make-up: a constitutional weakness.

Noun

  1. (dated) A walk taken regularly for one's health.

Word family

  • constitutionally
  • hyperconstitutional
  • anticonstitutional
  • anticonstitutionalist
  • constitutionalize
  • constitutionalism
  • constitutionalist
  • constitutionality

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Constitutional.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/constitutional. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·