Constitution

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Constitution \Con`sti*tu"tion\ (k[o^]n`st[i^]*t[=u]"sh[u^]n), n.
     [F. constitution, L. constitutio.]
     1. The act or process of constituting; the action of
        enacting, establishing, or appointing; enactment;
        establishment; formation.
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     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.
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              The physical constitution of the sun. --Sir J.
                                                    Herschel.
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     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.
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              Our constitutions have never been enfeebled by the
              vices or luxuries of the old world.   --Story.
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     4. The aggregate of mental qualities; temperament.
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              He defended himself with . . . less passion than was
              expected from his constitution.       --Clarendon.
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     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.
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              Our constitution had begun to exist in times when
              statesmen were not much accustomed to frame exact
              definitions.                          --Macaulay.
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     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.
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     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.
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              The positive constitutions of our own churches.
                                                    --Hooker.
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              A constitution of Valentinian addressed to Olybrius,
              then prefect of Rome, for the regulation of the
              conduct of advocates.                 --George Long.
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     {Apostolic constitutions}. See under {Apostolic}.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  constitution
       n 1: law determining the fundamental political principles of a
            government [syn: {fundamental law}, {organic law}]
       2: the act of forming 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: {establishment}, {formation}, {organization},
          {organisation}]
       3: the way in which someone or something is composed [syn: {composition},
           {makeup}]
       4: 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: {Old
          Ironsides}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  169 Moby Thesaurus words for "constitution":
     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
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  CONSTITUTION, contracts. The constitution of a contract, is the making of 
  the contract as, the written constitution of a debt. 1 Bell's Com. 332, 5th 
  ed. 
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  CONSTITUTION, government. The fundamental law of the state, containing the 
  principles upon which the government is founded, and regulating the 
  divisions of the sovereign powers, directing to what persons each of these 
  powers is to be confided, and the, manner it is to be exercised as, the 
  Constitution of the United States. See Story on the Constitution; Rawle on 
  the Const. 
       2. The words constitution and government (q.v.) are sometimes employed 
  to express the same idea, the manner in which sovereignty is exercised in 
  each state. Constitution is also the name of the instrument containing the 
  fundamental laws of the state. 
       3. By constitution, the civilians, and, from them, the common law 
  writers, mean some particular law; as the constitutions of the emperors 
  contained in the Code.