# establishment

Pronunciation: say "i-STAB-lish-muhnt" /ɪˈstæblɪʃmənt/

## Noun

1. Something that has been set up to last, such as a form of government, a permanent organization or business, or a fixed place of residence.
   - Simple: A business, organization, or place that has been set up to last.
   - _The hotel is one of the oldest establishments in the city._
   - _She runs a respected establishment near the harbor._
2. The founding or setting up of something, or its formal confirmation, ratification, or ordaining.
   - Simple: The act of setting something up or making it official.
   - _The establishment of the colony required careful planning and steady support._
   - _Historians date the establishment of the republic to that turbulent year._
3. The ruling class or group that holds power in a society, especially an entrenched authority determined to preserve the existing order.
   - Simple: The group of powerful people who control a society and want to keep things as they are.
   - _The movement defined itself against the establishment and its tired conventions._
   - _Critics argued that the establishment would never permit real reform._
4. The condition of being firmly founded and settled; a fixed, lasting state.
   - Simple: The condition of being firmly set up and lasting.
   - _After a century of establishment, the bank seemed as fixed as the hills around it._
   - _The faith's deep establishment in the region made it part of daily life._
5. The staffing level judged necessary for running a department or organization, a measure used especially in health care and other public services.
   - Simple: The number of staff needed to run a department or service.
   - _The trust reported that several wards were operating below their agreed establishment._
   - _Managers reviewed the establishment to decide how many posts they could fund._
6. The official standing of a church as a nation's state church, or the act of giving it that standing, as with the Church of England and formerly the Church of Ireland.
   - Simple: The official position of a church as the state's own church.
   - _Debates over the church's establishment in England continue in Parliament._
   - _Critics argued that the establishment gave the church unfair political privileges._

## Origin

From Middle English establishment, from Old French establissement (Modern French établissement), from the verb establir. It is equivalent to 'establish' plus the suffix '-ment'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/establishment (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).