constitution English · revision 4485

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1380|origins=la constituere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˌkɒn.stɪˈtʃuː.ʃən/, US /ˌkɑːn.stəˈtuː.ʃən/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|constitucioun]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|constitucion|t=constitution, establishment]] (12th century),^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) and directly [[der|la|cōnstitūtiō|t=settled condition; regulation, ordinance]],^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) from the past participle stem of cōnstituere “to cause to stand, set up, establish”,^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) from con- “together” and statuere “to set up, place”,^(Cresswell 2021) the source of [[constitute]].^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) Statuere also gave [[destitute]], [[institute]], [[restitution]], [[statute]] and [[substitute]].^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A decree, ordinance or law, usually one made by a superior authority: about 1380 in the OED,^(OED 1989) the mid-14th century in Etymonline, also a body of rules, customs or laws.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The action of establishing or creating is from about 1400,^(Etymonline) and the way in which a thing is made up, its composition, from about 1600 (1601 in the OED).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The physical nature of the body as to health and strength is from the 1550s,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and of the mind, temperament or character, from the 1580s.^(Etymonline) The system of fundamental principles by which a community is governed dates from the 1730s,^(Etymonline) and since the 1780s it has especially meant the principles and rules of a government embodied in a written document, as in the United States and France.^(Etymonline) For Britain the word is a collective name for fundamental principles established in long-accepted precedents.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1380 – a decree or law.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1400 – the act of establishing.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1550s – the bodily constitution.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1580s – temperament.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1601 – the composition of a thing.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1730s – the principles of government.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1780s – a written constitution.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The system of fundamental laws and principles that govern a nation, state or organization, or the document in which they are written.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person's physical makeup, especially as to health and strength: ''a strong constitution''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The way in which something is made up; composition or [[structure]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The act of establishing or [[constitute|alt=constituting]] something.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(history)'' A decree or [[ordinance]].^(SOED 2002)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[constitutionless]]

+ * [[anticonstitution]]

+ * [[constitutional]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[constitute]]

+ * [[constituent]]

+ * [[constituency]]

+ * [[constitutive]]

+ * [[statute]]

+ * [[institute]]

+ * [[substitute]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}