different between establish vs constitute

English

Etymology

From Middle English establissen, from Old French establiss-, stem of some of the conjugated forms of establir, (Modern French établir), from Latin stabili?, stabil?re, from stabilis (“firm, steady, stable”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??stæb.l??/
• Hyphenation: es?tab?lish

Verb

establish (third-person singular simple present establishes, present participle establishing, simple past and past participle established)

1. (transitive) To make stable or firm; to confirm.
2. (transitive) To form; to found; to institute; to set up in business.
   • , Genesis 6:18

     But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.

3. (transitive) To appoint or adopt, as officers, laws, regulations, guidelines, etc.; to enact; to ordain.
4. (transitive) To prove and cause to be accepted as true; to establish a fact; to demonstrate.

Derived terms

• established church
• establishing shot
• long-established
• re-establish

Related terms

• stable

Translations

References

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

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.