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establish

 [ih-stab-lish]   Example Sentences Origin

es·tab·lish

   [ih-stab-lish]
verb (used with object)
1.
to found, institute, build, or bring into being on a firm or stable basis: to establish a university; to establish a medical practice.
2.
to install or settle in a position, place, business, etc.: to establish one's child in business.
3.
to show to be valid or true; prove: to establish the facts of the matter.
4.
to cause to be accepted or recognized: to establish a custom; She established herself as a leading surgeon.
5.
to bring about permanently: to establish order.
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6.
to enact, appoint, or ordain for permanence, as a law; fix unalterably.
7.
to make (a church) a national or state institution.
8.
Cards. to obtain control of (a suit) so that one can win all the subsequent tricks in it.
COLLAPSE
Origin:
1325–75; Middle English establissen < Middle French establiss-, extended stem of establir < Latin stabilīre, akin to stabilis stable2

Related forms
es·tab·lish·a·ble, adjective
es·tab·lish·er, noun
qua·si-es·tab·lished, adjective
re·es·tab·lish, verb (used with object)
su·per·es·tab·lish, verb (used with object)
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un·es·tab·lish·a·ble, adjective
COLLAPSE

Synonyms
1. form, organize. See fix. 3. verify, substantiate. 6. decree.

Antonyms
1. abolish. 3. disprove.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Establish is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
to flee; abscond:
to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.
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Example Sentences
  • Exporters met recently in London to try to establish a cartel to push up prices.
  • Keeping the plant too wet makes it easier for bacteria or fungi to establish themselves.
  • His goal was to establish himself as a working comic, not as a television star.
EXPAND
Collins
World English Dictionary
establish (ɪˈstæblɪʃ)
 
—vb
1.  to make secure or permanent in a certain place, condition, job, etc: to establish one's usefulness; to establish a house
2.  to create or set up (an organization, etc) on or as if on a permanent basis: to establish a company
3.  to prove correct or free from doubt; validate: to establish a fact
4.  to cause (a principle, theory, etc) to be widely or permanently accepted: to establish a precedent
5.  to give (a Church) the status of a national institution
6.  (of a person) to become recognized and accepted: he established himself as a reliable GP
7.  (in works of imagination) to cause (a character, place, etc) to be credible and recognized: the first scene established the period
8.  cards to make winners of (the remaining cards of a suit) by forcing out opponents' top cards
9.  (also intr) botany
 a.  to cause (a plant) to grow or (of a plant) to grow in a new place: the birch scrub has established over the past 25 years
 b.  to become or cause to become a sapling or adult plant from a seedling
 
[C14: from Old French establir, from Latin stabilīre to make firm, from stabilisstable²]
 
es'tablisher
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

establish
late 14c., from O.Fr. establiss-, stem of establir, from L. stabilire "make stable," from stabilis "stable" (see stable (2)). Related: Established; establishing.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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