constitute

USKON-sti-toot/ˈkɑnstɪt(j)uːt/SayKON-sti-tyoot/ˈkɒnstɪtjuːt/AUS/ˈkɔnstɪtjʉːt/

Formsconstitutes, constituting, constituted

4 meanings of constitute

1
verbtransitive
To make up or form a whole when taken together.
Water and a few minerals constitute the bulk of the human body.
The new amendments constitute a significant change to the existing law.
Similarform, compose, represent, comprise
Note
Here the parts are the subject and the whole is the object. For Samuel Johnson, truth and reason constitute "intellectual gold"; elsewhere, seven hamlets together constitute Cornwall's most northerly parish. The direction is easy to reverse by mistake, because the whole never constitutes its parts. The verb takes a plain object with no "of": the hamlets constitute the parish.
2
verbtransitive
To set up, establish, or formally bring something into being.
The bylaws constitute a board of directors to manage the organization.
Parliament moved to constitute a special tribunal for the case.
Similarestablish, create, form, found, institute
Oppositeabolish, dissolve, disband
Note
The sense that stays nearest the Latin. Cōnstituō meant "to put in place; set up; establish," built from con- "with" and statuō "to put up." The object is something brought into being, such as a board, a tribunal or a body of laws. Jeremy Taylor's "Laws appointed and constituted by lawful authority" (1651) shows its formal, legal register, and the same idea of setting in place runs through the "make up" meaning.
3
verbtransitive
To appoint, elect, or empower a person to hold an office or carry out a role.
They voted to constitute her as their legal agent.
The council constituted three members as a panel of inquiry.
Similarappoint, name, designate, nominate, empower
Note
A verb of office that names the person first and then the role. Wordsworth's The Excursion (1814) has "Me didst Thou constitute a priest of thine," with no linking word. Current use may add as (constitute her as their legal agent) or leave it out (constituted three members a panel). Like the "establish" meaning, it belongs to formal, institutional language: votes, councils and solemn appointments.

Less common meaning

4
nounobsolete
A law or regulation that has been formally established.
The king's new constitute forbade hunting in the royal forest.
A naughty man that will not obey the kings constitute.
1569, Thomas Preston, Cambyses
Note
A noun taken straight from Latin cōnstitūtum, "a thing set up," the neuter participle behind the "establish" verb. Thomas Preston's Cambyses (1569) has a naughty man who will not obey the king's constitute, and the word belongs to that era. It is now obsolete as a noun, and constitute survives only as a verb. Outside historical pastiche, the noun will read as a mistake.

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English constituten, from Latin cōnstitūtum, the neuter past participle of cōnstituō ('to put in place; set up; establish'), which combines con- ('with') with statuō ('to put up; establish').