Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
statute - 5 dictionary results
Statute
 Statute Online. Shop Target.com.
 www.Target.com

stat⋅ute

  [stach-oot, -oot]
Use statute in a Sentence
–noun
1. Law.
a. an enactment made by a legislature and expressed in a formal document.
b. the document in which such an enactment is expressed.
2. International Law. an instrument annexed or subsidiary to an international agreement, as a treaty.
3. a permanent rule established by an organization, corporation, etc., to govern its internal affairs.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME statut < OF estatut < LL statūtum, n. use of neut. of L statūtus (ptp. of statuere to make stand, set up, deriv. of status status ), equiv. to statū-, verb. s. + -tus ptp. suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To statute
stat·ute   (stāch'ōōt)   
n.  
  1. A law enacted by a legislature.
  2. A decree or edict, as of a ruler.
  3. An established law or rule, as of a corporation.

[Middle English, from Old French estatut, from Late Latin statūtum, from neuter of Latin statūtus, past participle of statuere, to set up, from status, position; see stā- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Statute

Stat"ute\, n. [F. statut, LL. statutum, from L. statutus, p. p. of statuere to set, station, ordain, fr. status position, station, fr. stare, statum, to stand. See Stand, and cf. Constitute, Destitute.]

1. An act of the legislature of a state or country, declaring, commanding, or prohibiting something; a positive law; the written will of the legislature expressed with all the requisite forms of legislation; -- used in distinction fraom common law. See Common law, under Common, a. --Bouvier.

Note: Statute is commonly applied to the acts of a legislative body consisting of representatives. In monarchies, legislature laws of the sovereign are called edicts, decrees, ordinances, rescripts, etc. In works on international law and in the Roman law, the term is used as embracing all laws imposed by competent authority. Statutes in this sense are divided into statutes real, statutes personal, and statutes mixed; statutes real applying to immovables; statutes personal to movables; and statutes mixed to both classes of property.

2. An act of a corporation or of its founder, intended as a permanent rule or law; as, the statutes of a university.

3. An assemblage of farming servants (held possibly by statute) for the purpose of being hired; -- called also statute fair. [Eng.] Cf. 3d Mop, 2. --Halliwell.

Statute book, a record of laws or legislative acts. --Blackstone.

Statute cap, a kind of woolen cap; -- so called because enjoined to be worn by a statute, dated in 1571, in behalf of the trade of cappers. [Obs.] --Halliwell.

Statute fair. See Statute, n., 3, above.

Statute labor, a definite amount of labor required for the public service in making roads, bridges, etc., as in certain English colonies.

Statute merchant (Eng. Law), a bond of record pursuant to the stat. 13 Edw. I., acknowledged in form prescribed, on which, if not paid at the day, an execution might be awarded against the body, lands, and goods of the debtor, and the obligee might hold the lands until out of the rents and profits of them the debt was satisfied; -- called also a pocket judgment. It is now fallen into disuse. --Tomlins. --Bouvier.

Statute mile. See under Mile.

Statute of limitations (Law), a statute assigned a certain time, after which rights can not be enforced by action.

Statute staple, a bond of record acknowledged before the mayor of the staple, by virtue of which the creditor may, on nonpayment, forthwith have execution against the body, lands, and goods of the debtor, as in the statute merchant. It is now disused. --Blackstone.

Syn: Act; regulation; edict; decree. See Law.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : statute
Italian: statuto, legge,
German: das Gesetz,
Japanese: 法令
More Translations »

statute 
c.1290, from O.Fr. statut, from L.L. statutum "a law, decree," noun use of neuter pp. of L. statuere "enact, establish," from status "condition, position," from stare "to stand" from PIE base *sta- "to stand" (see stet). Statutory first attested 1717; statutory rape, in U.S., "sexual intercourse with a female below the legal age of consent, whether forced or not," is recorded from 1898.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

Main Entry: stat·ute
Pronunciation: 'sta-chüt
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin statutum law, regulation, from neuter of statutus, past participle of statuere to set up, station, from status position, state
1 : a law enacted by the legislative branch of a government —see also CODE, STATUTORY LAW
2 : an act of a corporation or its founder intended as a permanent rule
3 : an international instrument setting up an agency and regulating its scope or authority statute of the International Court of Justice>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see statute on Thesaurus | Reference
Statute
 Statute Online. Shop Target.com.
 www.Target.com