c.1374, from O.Fr. establiss-, stem of establir, from L. stabilire "make stable," from stabilis "stable" (see stable (2)). Establishment used 1731 with sense of "established Church;" meaning of "ruling people and institutions" is from 1923.
set up or found; "She set up a literacy program" [ant: abolish]
2.
set up or lay the groundwork for; "establish a new department"
3.
establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment; "The experiment demonstrated the instability of the compound"; "The mathematician showed the validity of the conjecture" [syn: prove] [ant: confute]
4.
institute, enact, or establish; "make laws" [syn: lay down]
5.
bring about; "The trompe l'oeil-illusion establishes depth"
6.
place; "Her manager had set her up at the Ritz" [syn: install]
7.
build or establish something abstract; "build a reputation" [syn: build]
8.
use as a basis for; found on; "base a claim on some observation"
Main Entry: es·tab·lish Function: transitive verb 1: to institute (as a law) permanently by enactment or agreement <we the people of the United
States…do ordain and establish this Constitution —U.S. Constitution preamble> 2: to make firm or stable 3: to bring into existence
:FOUND <Congress shall have power…to establish post offices and post roads —U.S. Constitution
article I>; specifically: to found (a national bank) pursuant to a charter 4: to make (a church) a national or state institution —see also ESTABLISHMENT, ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE 5: to put beyond doubt :PROVE 6: to place in a position of being accepted or followed
<a rule established by case law>
Es*tab"lish\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Established; p. pr. & vb. n. Establishing.] [OE. establissen, OF. establir, F. ['e]tablir, fr. L. stabilire, fr. stabilis firm, steady, stable. See Stable, a., -ish, and cf. Stablish.]1. To make stable or firm; to fix immovably or firmly; to set (a thing) in a place and make it stable there; to settle; to confirm. So were the churches established in the faith. --Acts xvi. 5. The best established tempers can scarcely forbear being borne down. --Burke. Confidence which must precede union could be established only by consummate prudence and self-control. --Bancroft. 2. To appoint or constitute for permanence, as officers, laws, regulations, etc.; to enact; to ordain. By the consent of all, we were established The people's magistrates. --Shak. Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed. --Dan. vi. 8. 3. To originate and secure the permanent existence of; to found; to institute; to create and regulate; -- said of a colony, a state, or other institutions. He hath established it [the earth], he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited. --Is. xlv. 18. Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and establisheth a city by iniquity! --Hab. ii. 12. 4. To secure public recognition in favor of; to prove and cause to be accepted as true; as, to establish a fact, usage, principle, opinion, doctrine, etc. At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. --Deut. xix. 15. 5. To set up in business; to place advantageously in a fixed condition; -- used reflexively; as, he established himself in a place; the enemy established themselves in the citadel.
Sta"ble\, a. [OE. estable, F. stable, fr. L. stabilis, fr. stare to stand. See Stand, v. i. and cf. Establish.]1. Firmly established; not easily moved, shaken, or overthrown; fixed; as, a stable government. In this region of chance, . . . where nothing is stable. --Rogers. 2. Steady in purpose; constant; firm in resolution; not easily diverted from a purpose; not fickle or wavering; as, a man of stable character. And to her husband ever meek and stable. --Chaucer. 3. Durable; not subject to overthrow or change; firm; as, a stable foundation; a stable position. Stable equibrium (Mech.), the kind of equilibrium of a body so placed that if disturbed it returns to its former position, as in the case when the center of gravity is below the point or axis of support; -- opposed to unstable equilibrium, in which the body if disturbed does not tend to return to its former position, but to move farther away from it, as in the case of a body supported at a point below the center of gravity. Cf. Neutral equilibrium, under Neutral. Syn: Fixed; steady; constant; abiding; strong; durable; firm.
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