Etymologically
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constitutio

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 14:48. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [kõː.stɪˈtuː.ti.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [kon.stiˈtut.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

cōnstitūtiō f (genitive cōnstitūtiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from cōnstituō “to set up, establish” with the suffix -tiō.[2][1][3][4] Isidore defines a ⟨cōnstitūtiō⟩ or edict as what a king or emperor decrees.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL dates it from the Rhetorica ad Herennium and Cicero, and notes that the poets lack it.[3] Köbler dates the Rhetorica 86/82 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

In rhetoric, from the Rhetorica ad Herennium, it meant the formulation of the point at issue, and in Cicero the definition of a term.[2] In Cicero it meant the constitution, disposition of the body, fīrma corporis cōnstitūtiō, the organization of affairs, the permanent system of a state, a set of principles, the state of affairs, and a decision.[2][7][8] In Vitruvius it meant physical arrangement, structure.[2] From Livy it meant a decree, especially an imperial one, and in Quintilian convention as a source of law.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a constitution, establishment, foundation, structure, order, and a conciliar document.[9] British Medieval Latin used it for creation and construction.[10] It survives in Italian costituzione and French constitution, and Old French gave English constitution in the mid-14th century, “law, regulation, edict”.[1][4]

Timeline

  • 86/82 BC – The Rhetorica ad Herennium uses it of the point at issue.[2][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of bodily constitution and of a state's system.[2][6]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of a decree.[2][6]
  • mid-14th century – English constitution is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Arrangement, structure; organization.[2]
  2. The system of a state, constitution; principles.[2]
  3. The state of affairs.[2]
  4. A decision; a decree, enactment.[2]
  5. (rhetoric) The point at issue; a definition.[2]

Word family

  • cōnstitūtiōnārius

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  9. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  10. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press