constitution
/ˌkɑn.stɪˈtu.ʃ(ə)n/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.56 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The act, or process of setting something up, or establishing something; the composition or structure of such a thing; its makeup.
noun
The formal or informal system of primary principles and laws that regulates a government or other institutions.
noun
A legal document describing such a formal system.
noun
A document issued by a religious authority serving to promulgate some particular church laws or doctrines.
noun
A person's physical makeup or temperament, especially in respect of robustness.
Example Sentences
- "the physical constitution of the sun"
- "1693, Edmund Bohun, A Geographical Dictionary They have in their present Constitution a Grand Council of the Nobility, a Senato, a College of Twenty six who give Audience to Ambassadors and report their Demands to the Senate, a Council of Ten; and a Triumvirate (monthly chosen by, and out of, the Ten) of three Inquisitors of State; whose Authority is so absolute, as to extend to the taking away of the Life of the Doge no less than the meanest Artisan, without acquainting the Senate, provided they all three agree in the Sentence."
- "Our constitution had begun to exist in times when statesmen were not much accustomed to frame exact definitions."
- "After all, that would be akin to a self-coup. Apart from the traditional vision of a coup requiring a military takeover of the government, self-coups occur when governments depart from typical norms of democracy by altering election laws, calling into question election results or seeking to suspend their constitutions in order to stay in power."
- "He has a strong constitution, so he should make a quick recovery from the illness."
- "Our constitutions have never been enfeebled by the vices or luxuries of the old world."
Etymology
PIE word *ḱóm From Middle English constitucioun, constitucion (“edict, law, ordinance, regulation, rule, statute; body of laws or rules, or customs; body of fundamental principles; principle or rule (of science); creation”) from Old French constitucion (modern French constitution), a learned borrowing from Latin cōnstitūtiō, cōnstitūtiōnem (“character, constitution, disposition, nature; definition; point in dispute; order, regulation; arrangement, system”), from cōnstituō (“to establish, set up; to confirm; to decide, resolve”). Equivalent to constitute + -ion.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *steh₂-, constitucioun, constitucion, cōnstitūtiō
- Suffix: constitute
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌkɑn.stɪˈtu.ʃ(ə)n/
- British English: /ˌkɒn.stɪˈtjuː.ʃ(ə)n/
Usage
Inflected Forms
constitutions (plural)
the Constitution (canonical)