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constitute - 6 dictionary results
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con⋅sti⋅tute

  [kon-sti-toot, -tyoot]
Use constitute in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -tut⋅ed, -tut⋅ing.
1. to compose; form: mortar constituted of lime and sand.
2. to appoint to an office or function; make or create: He was constituted treasurer.
3. to establish (laws, an institution, etc.).
4. to give legal form to (an assembly, court, etc.).
5. to create or be tantamount to: Imports constitute a challenge to local goods.
6. Archaic. to set or place.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME < L constitūtus (ptp. of constituere; see constituent ), equiv. to con- con- + -stitūtus, comb. form of statūtum, ptp. of statuere to set up. See statute

Related forms:
con⋅sti⋅tut⋅er, con⋅sti⋅tu⋅tor, noun

Synonyms:
3. institute, commission.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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con·sti·tute   (kŏn'stĭ-tōōt', -tyōōt')   
tr.v.   con·sti·tut·ed, con·sti·tut·ing, con·sti·tutes
    1. To be the elements or parts of; compose: Copper and tin constitute bronze.
    2. To amount to; equal: " Rabies is transmitted through a bite; . . . patting a rabid animal in itself does not constitute exposure" (Malcolm W. Browne).
    3. To set up or establish according to law or provision: a body that is duly constituted under the charter.
    4. To found (an institution, for example).
    5. To enact (a law or regulation).
    1. To set up or establish according to law or provision: a body that is duly constituted under the charter.
    2. To found (an institution, for example).
    3. To enact (a law or regulation).
  3. To appoint to an office, dignity, function, or task; designate.

[Middle English constituten, from Latin cōnstituere, cōnstitūt-, to set up : com-, com- + statuere, to set up; see stā- in Indo-European roots.]
con'sti·tut'er, con'sti·tu'tor n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Constitute

Con"sti*tute\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Constituted; p. pr. & vb. n. Constituting.] [L. constitutus, p. p. of constiture to constitute; con- + statuere to place, set, fr. status station, fr. stare to stand. See Stand.]

1. To cause to stand; to establish; to enact.

Laws appointed and constituted by lawful authority. --Jer. Taylor.

2. To make up; to compose; to form.

Truth and reason constitute that intellectual gold that defies destruction. --Johnson.

3. To appoint, depute, or elect to an office; to make and empower.

Me didst Thou constitute a priest of thine. --Wordsworth.

Constituted authorities, the officers of government, collectively, as of a nation, city, town, etc. --Bartlett.

Constitute

Con"sti*tute\, n. An established law. [Obs.] --T. Preston.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : constitute
Spanish: constituir,
German: bilden,
Japanese: 構成する
More Translations »

constitute 
1442, verb use of adjective, "made up, formed" (14c.), from L. constitutus, pp. of constituere "to fix, establish," from com- intensive prefix + statuere "to set" (see statue). Constitution "health, strength, vitality" is from 1553; the political sense evolved after 1689. Constitutional (n.), short for constitutional walk is first recorded 1829. Constituency first recorded 1831.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: con·sti·tute
Pronunciation: 'kän-st&-"tüt, -"tyüt
Function: transitive verb
1 : to appoint to an office or function constituted heirs or named legatees —Louisiana Civil Code> constitutes all magistrates>
2 : ESTABLISH, FOUND constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme Court —U.S. Constitution article I>
3 a : to put (as an agreement) into required form b : to qualify as constitute a will —W. M. McGovern, Junior et al.> constitute negligence> c : to form the substance or whole of constituted the entire estate>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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