different between constitute vs define

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?k?nst?tju?t/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?k?nst?t(j)u?t/

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.
   • 1650, Jeremy Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living

     Laws appointed and constituted by lawful authority.

2. (transitive) To make up; to compose; to form.
   • 1779–81, Samuel Johnson, "Abraham Cowley" in Lives of the Most Eminent English Poet

     Truth and reason constitute that intellectual gold that defies destruction.

3. (transitive) To appoint, depute, or elect to an office; to make and empower.
   • 1814, William Wordsworth, The Excursion

     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

Noun

constitute (plural constitutes)

1. (obsolete) An established law.

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

Further reading

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

Latin

Noun

c?nstit?te

1. vocative singular of c?nstit?tus

References

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

Scots

Verb

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

1. To constitute.

English

Etymology

From Middle English definen, from Old French definer, variant of definir, from Latin d?f?ni? (“limit, settle, define”), from d? + f?ni? (“set a limit, bound, end”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d??fa?n/
• Rhymes: -a?n

Verb

define (third-person singular simple present defines, present participle defining, simple past and past participle defined)

1. To determine with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly.

   • Rings […] very distinct and well defined.

2. (obsolete) To settle, decide (an argument etc.) [16th-17th c.]
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.3:

     These warlike Champions, all in armour shine, / Assembled were in field the chalenge to define.

3. To express the essential nature of something.

4. To state the meaning of a word, phrase, sign, or symbol.

5. To describe, explain, or make definite and clear; used to request the listener or other person to elaborate or explain more clearly his or her intended meaning of a word or expression.

6. To demark sharply the outlines or limits of an area or concept.

7. (mathematics) To establish the referent of a term or notation.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

define (plural defines)

1. (programming) A kind of macro in source code that replaces one text string with another wherever it occurs.
   • 1996, James Gosling, Henry McGilton, The Java Language Environment

     From the computer programming perspective, Java looks like C and C++ while discarding the overwhelming complexities of those languages, such as typedefs, defines, preprocessor, unions, pointers, and multiple inheritance.

   • 1999, Ian Joyner, Objects unencapsulated: Java, Eiffel, and C++ (page 309)

     Anyone who has attempted to do OO programming in a conventional language using defines will find out that it is impossible to realize the benefits easily, if at all, without compiler support.

Translations

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• feed-in, feedin', infeed

Galician

Verb

define

1. third-person singular present indicative of definir
2. second-person singular imperative of definir

Portuguese

Verb

define

1. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present indicative of definir
2. second-person singular (tu, sometimes used with você) affirmative imperative of definir

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /de?fine/, [d?e?fi.ne]

Verb

define

1. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present indicative form of definir.
2. Informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of definir.

Turkish

Etymology

From Arabic ?????? (daf?na).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /de.fi??ne/

Noun

define

1. treasure trove

Declension

References

• define in Turkish dictionaries at Türk Dil Kurumu