constitute

English

Etymology

From Latin constitutum, past participle of constituere. Constructed from the prefix con- and statuere (“to place, set”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkɒnstɪtjuːt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑnstɪt(j)uːt/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Verb

constitute (third-person singular simple present constitutes, present participle constituting, simple past and past participle constituted)

1. (transitive) To set up; to establish; to enact.
   • Jeremy Taylor

     Laws appointed and constituted by lawful authority.

2. (transitive) To make up; to compose; to form.
   • Johnson

     Truth and reason constitute that intellectual gold that defies destruction.

3. (transitive) To appoint, depute, or elect to an office; to make and empower.
   • William Wordsworth

     Me didst Thou constitute a priest of thine.

Synonyms

• (set up): establish, enact
• (make up): make up, compose, form; see also Thesaurus:compose
• (appoint):

Related terms

• constituent
• constituency
• constitution
• constitutional
• constitutionalization
• constitutive

Translations

to cause to stand; to establish; to enact

• Bulgarian: основавам (bg) (osnovavam), учредявам (bg) (učredjavam)
• Czech: ustavit
• Finnish: perustaa (fi)
• German: gründen (de), begründen (de), bilden (de), einrichten (de), ins Leben rufen, einsetzen (de), festsetzen (de), konstituieren (de)
• Hindi: गठन करना (gaṭhan karnā)
• Italian: costituire (it), creare (it), formare (it)

• Japanese: 制定する(せいていする, seitei-suru)
• Korean: 설립하다 (ko) (設立하다, sul-lip_hada), 제정하다 (ko) (制定하다, djè-djung_hada)
• Maori: whakaū
• Occitan: constituir (oc)
• Portuguese: constituir (pt)
• Russian: устана́вливать (ru) impf (ustanávlivatʹ), учрежда́ть (ru) impf (učreždátʹ), установи́ть (ru) pf (ustanovítʹ), учреди́ть (ru) pf (učredítʹ)
• Spanish: constituir (es)
• Turkish: meydana getirmek (tr), oluşturmak (tr)

to make up; to compose; to form

• Bulgarian: съставям (bg) (sǎstavjam), образувам (bg) (obrazuvam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 組成 (zh), 组成 (zh) (zǔchéng), 构成 (zh) (gòuchéng)

• Czech: tvořit (cs)
• Finnish: muodostaa (fi)
• French: constituer (fr)
• German: ausmachen (de), bilden (de), darstellen (de), repräsentieren (de)
• Hebrew: היווה‎ (hivá)
• Hindi: गठन करना (gaṭhan karnā)
• Italian: creare (it), formare (it), costituire (it), rappresentare (it)

• Japanese: 構成する(こうせいする, kōsei-suru)
• Korean: 구성하다 (ko) (構成하다, gü-sung_hada), 이루다 (ko) (irüda)
• Occitan: constituir (oc)
• Polish: stanowić (pl) impf
• Portuguese: constituir (pt)
• Russian: составля́ть (ru) (sostavljátʹ), формирова́ть (ru) impf (formirovátʹ), явля́ть собо́й impf (javljátʹ sobój)
• Scots: constitute
• Swedish: utgöra (sv)
• Turkish: oluşmak (tr), teşkil etmek (tr)
• Vietnamese: cấu thành (vi)

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

• German: ernennen (de), einsetzen (de), konstituieren (de)
• Italian: nominare (it), deputare (it), creare (it)
• Japanese: 任命する(にんめいする, ninmei-suru)

• Korean: 선출하다 (ko) (選出하다, sun-tchül_hada)
• Occitan: constituir (oc), nomenar (oc)
• Russian: ста́вить (ru) impf (stávitʹ), поста́вить (ru) pf (postávitʹ)
• Turkish: atamak (tr), seçmek (tr), tayin etmek (tr)

Noun

constitute (plural constitutes)

1. (obsolete) An established law.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of T. Preston to this entry?)

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for constitute in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)

Further reading

• constitute in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• constitute in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

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Latin

Noun

cōnstitūte

1. vocative singular of cōnstitūtus

References

• constitute in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)

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Scots

Verb

constitute (third-person singular present constitutes, present participle constitutein, past constitutet, past participle constitutet)

1. To constitute.