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Constitution definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CONSTITUTION, n.
1. The act of constituting, enacting, establishing, or appointing.
2. The state of being; that form of being or peculiar structure and connection of parts which makes or characterizes a system or body. Hence the particular frame or temperament of the human body is called its constitution. We speak of a robust or feeble constitution; a cold, phlegmatic, sanguine or irritable constitution. We speak of the constitution of the air, or other substance; the constitution of the solar system; the constitution of things.
3. The frame or temper of mind, affections or passions.
4. The established form of government in a state, kingdom or country; a system of fundamental rules, principles and ordinances for the government of a state or nation. In free states, the constitution is paramount to the statutes or laws enacted by the legislature, limiting and controlling its power; and in the United States, the legislature is created, and its powers designated, by the constitution.
5. A particular law, ordinance, or regulation, made by the authority of any superior, civil or ecclesiastical; as the constitutions of Justinian and his successors.
6. A system of fundamental principles for the government of rational and social beings.
The New Testament is the moral constitution of modern society.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: law determining the fundamental political principles of a government [syn: fundamental law, organic law, constitution]
2: the act of forming or establishing something; "the constitution of a PTA group last year"; "it was the establishment of his reputation"; "he still remembers the organization of the club" [syn: constitution, establishment, formation, organization, organisation]
3: the constitution written at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 and subsequently ratified by the original thirteen states [syn: United States Constitution, U.S. Constitution, US Constitution, Constitution, Constitution of the United States]
4: the way in which someone or something is composed [syn: constitution, composition, physical composition, makeup, make-up]
5: a United States 44-gun frigate that was one of the first three naval ships built by the United States; it won brilliant victories over British frigates during the War of 1812 and is without doubt the most famous ship in the history of the United States Navy; it has been rebuilt and is anchored in the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston [syn: Constitution, Old Ironsides]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 14th century 1. an established law or custom ; ordinance 2. a. the physical makeup of the individual especially with respect to the health, strength, and appearance of the body <a hearty constitution> b. the structure, composition, physical makeup, or nature of something <the constitution of society> 3. the act of establishing, making, or setting up 4. the mode in which a state or society is organized; especially the manner in which sovereign power is distributed 5. a. the basic principles and laws of a nation, state, or social group that determine the powers and duties of the government and guarantee certain rights to the people in it b. a written instrument embodying the rules of a political or social organization • constitutionless adjective

Britannica Concise

Set of doctrines and practices that form the fundamental organizing principle of a political state. It may be written (e.g., the Constitution of the U.S.) or partly written and uncodified (e.g., Britain's constitution). Its provisions usually specify how the government is to be organized, what rights it shall have, and what rights shall be retained by the people. Modern constitutional ideas developed during the Enlightenment, when such philosophers as T. Hobbes, J.-J. Rousseau, and J. Locke proposed that constitutional governments should be stable, adaptable, accountable, and open, should represent the governed, and should divide power according to its purpose. The oldest constitution still in force is that of the state of Massachusetts (1780). See also social contract.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 the act or method of constituting; the composition (of something). 2 a the body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a State or other organization is acknowledged to be governed. b a (usu. written) record of this. 3 a person's physical state as regards vitality, health, strength, etc. 4 a person's mental or psychological make-up. 5 hist. a decree or ordinance. Etymology: ME f. OF constitution or L constitutio (as constitute)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Constitution Con`sti*tu"tion, n. [F. constitution, L. constitute.] 1. The act or process of constituting; the action of enacting, establishing, or appointing; enactment; establishment; formation. 2. The state of being; that form of being, or structure and connection of parts, which constitutes and characterizes a system or body; natural condition; structure; texture; conformation. The physical constitution of the sun. --Sir J. Herschel. 3. The aggregate of all one's inherited physical qualities; the aggregate of the vital powers of an individual, with reference to ability to endure hardship, resist disease, etc.; as, a robust constitution. Our constitutions have never been enfeebled by the vices or luxuries of the old world. --Story. 4. The aggregate of mental qualities; temperament. He defended himself with . . . less passion than was expected from his constitution. --Clarendon. 5. The fundamental, organic law or principles of government of men, embodied in written documents, or implied in the institutions and usages of the country or society; also, a written instrument embodying such organic law, and laying down fundamental rules and principles for the conduct of affairs. Our constitution had begun to exist in times when statesmen were not much accustomed to frame exact definitions. --Macaulay. Note: In England the constitution is unwritten, and may be modified from time to time by act of Parliament. In the United States a constitution cannot ordinarily be modified, exept through such processes as the constitution itself ordains. 6. An authoritative ordinance, regulation or enactment; especially, one made by a Roman emperor, or one affecting ecclesiastical doctrine or discipline; as, the constitutions of Justinian. The positive constitutions of our own churches. --Hooker. A constitution of Valentinian addressed to Olybrius, then prefect of Rome, for the regulation of the conduct of advocates. --George Long. Apostolic constitutions. See under Apostolic.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(constitutions) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. The constitution of a country or organization is the system of laws which formally states people's rights and duties. The club's constitution prevented women from becoming full members. N-COUNT 2. Your constitution is your health. He must have an extremely strong constitution... N-COUNT: usu sing

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Formation, organization. 2. Quality, character, temper, temperament, spirit, humor, peculiarity, characteristic. 3. Charter of government, fundamental law, organic law.

Moby Thesaurus

Bill of Rights, act, allocation, allotment, anatomy, animus, apportionment, aptitude, architectonics, architecture, arrangement, array, arraying, assemblage, assembly, bent, bias, body-build, brand, build, building, buildup, cast, character, characteristic, characteristics, collation, collocation, combination, complexion, composition, compound, concurrent resolution, conformation, constituents, constitutional amendment, constitutional guarantees, construction, crasis, creation, deployment, design, dharma, diathesis, disposal, disposition, distribution, eccentricity, effectuation, embodiment, enaction, enactment, establishment, ethos, fabric, fabrication, fashion, fashioning, fiber, forging, form, format, formation, formulation, foundation, frame, genius, getup, grain, habit, hue, humor, humors, idiosyncrasy, ilk, inauguration, inception, inclination, incorporation, individualism, installation, institution, joint resolution, junction, kidney, kind, lawmaking, leaning, legislation, legislature, make, makeup, making, manufacture, marshaling, materialization, mental set, mettle, mind, mind-set, mixture, mold, molding, nature, order, ordering, organic structure, organism, organization, passage, passing, pattern, patterning, physique, piecing together, placement, plan, predilection, predisposition, preference, proclivity, production, propensity, property, putting together, quality, realization, regimentation, resolution, set, setting-up, setup, shape, shaping, slant, somatotype, sort, spirit, stamp, strain, streak, stripe, structure, structuring, suchness, syneresis, syntax, synthesis, system, tectonics, temper, temperament, tendency, tenor, texture, tissue, tone, turn, turn of mind, twist, type, unwritten constitution, vein, warp, warp and woof, way, weave, web, written constitution