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Webster 1913 Edition

Constituent

Con-stit′u-ent

(kŏn-stĭt′ū̍-ē̍nt)
,
Adj.
[L.
constituens
,
-entis
, p. pr. See
Constitute
.]
1.
Serving to form, compose, or make up; elemental; component.
Body, soul, and reason are the three parts necessarily
constituent
of a man.
Dryden.
2.
Having the power of electing or appointing.
A question of right arises between the
constituent
and representative body.
Junius.

Con-stit′u-ent

,
Noun.
1.
The person or thing which constitutes, determines, or constructs.
Their first composure and origination require a higher and nobler
constituent
than chance.
Sir M. Hale
2.
That which constitutes or composes, as a part, or an essential part; a component; an element.
We know how to bring these
constituents
together, and to cause them to form water.
Tyndall.
3.
One for whom another acts; especially, one who is represented by another in a legislative assembly; – correlative to
representative
.
The electors in the district of a representative in Congress, or in the legislature of a State, are termed his
constituents
.
Abbot.
To appeal from the representatives to the
constituents
.
Macaulay.
4.
(Law)
A person who appoints another to act for him as attorney in fact.
Burrill.

Webster 1828 Edition

Constituent

CONSTITUENT

,
Adj.
[L., to set. See Statue, Statute.] Setting; constituting; applied to parts of a thing that are essential to it. Hence, necessary or essential; elemental; forming, composing or making as an essential part.
Body, soul, and reason, are the three constituent parts of a man.
Oxygen and hydrogen are the constituent parts of water.

CONSTITUENT

,
Noun.
1.
He or that which sets, fixes or forms; he or that which constitutes or composes.
Their first composure and origination requires a higher and nobler constituent than chance.
2.
That which constitutes or composes, as a part, or an essential part.
The lymph in those glands is a necessary constituent of the aliment.
3.
One who appoints or elects another to an office or employment.

Definition 2024

constituent

constituent

English

Adjective

constituent ‎(not comparable)

  1. Being a part, or component of a whole.
    • Dryden
      Body, soul, and reason are the three parts necessarily constituent of a man.
  2. Authorized to make a constitution.
    • Junius
      A question of right arises between the constituent and representative body.

Related terms

Translations

Noun

constituent ‎(plural constituents)

  1. A part, or component of a whole.
    • Tyndall
      We know how to bring these constituents together, and to cause them to form water.
  2. The person or thing which constitutes, determines, or constructs.
    • Sir M. Hale
      Their first composure and origination require a higher and nobler constituent than chance.
  3. A resident of a place represented by an elected official.
    • Macaulay
      To appeal from the representatives to the constituents.
    • 2012 April 19, Josh Halliday, “Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised?”, in the Guardian:
      But the purported rise in violent videos online has led some MPs to campaign for courts to have more power to remove or block material on YouTube. The Labour MP Heidi Alexander said she was appalled after a constituent was robbed at knifepoint, and the attackers could be found brandishing weapons and rapping about gang violence online.
  4. (law) One who appoints another to act for him as attorney in fact.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Burrill to this entry?)
  5. (grammar) A functional element of a phrase or clause.
    • 1988, Andrew Radford, Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-34750-5, page 65:
      Thus, the postulation of a Noun Phrase constituent is justified on morphological grounds, since it is not obvious how we could describe the grammar of the genitive 's inflection in English without saying that it's a Noun Phrase inflection.

Translations

See also

French

Verb

constituent

  1. third-person plural present indicative of constituer
  2. third-person plural present subjunctive of constituer

Latin

Verb

cōnstituent

  1. third-person plural future active indicative of cōnstituō

Etymology

From Latin constituens, present participle of constituo ‎(“I establish”), from com- ‎(“together”) + statuo ‎(“I set, place, establish”); see statute or statue, and compare institute and restitute.

Pronunciation

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