constatation

English

Etymology

From French constatation.

Noun

constatation (countable and uncountable, plural constatations)

1. The process of verification.
2. An assertion; a proposition assumed for the sake of argument, an axiom.
   • 1997, Helen H. Vendler, The Art of Shakespeare's Sonnets, page 626:

     In Q₂, he marks his departure from alternative constatation of fact (“Either love has put eyes in my head that have not true sight, or they see truly, but my judgment is amiss”) to social speculation by avoiding the see of visual perception in favor of the words eyes dote and love's eye, which clearly denote not simple perception but biased judgement.

   • 2001, Eva Brems, Human Rights: Universality and Diversity, page 334:

     From that constatation which is similar to the constatation that the human rights system expresses the views of the dominant group, Kymlicka concludes the need for cultural accommodation.

   • 2007, Joseph Slaughter, Human Rights, Inc: The World Novel, Narrative Form, and International Law, page 65:

     To ascertain those conventions, it is important to see how some of the tensions between natural law and positive law (between constatation and declaration) manifest themselves textually.

Synonyms

• (rare) constation

French

Etymology

From constater +‎ -ation.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ̃s.ta.ta.sjɔ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -jɔ̃
• Homophone: constatations

Noun

constatation f (plural constatations)

1. remark
2. act of noticing something

Further reading

• “constatation”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.