Con"sti*tute (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Constituted; p.pr. & vb.n. Constituting.] [L. constitutus, p.p. of constiture to constitute; con- + statuere to place, set, fr. status station, fr. stare to stand. See Stand.]
1.
To cause to stand; to establish; to enact.
Laws appointed and constituted by lawful authority.
Jer. Taylor.
2.
To make up; to compose; to form.
Truth and reason constitute that intellectual gold that defies destruction.
Johnson.
3.
To appoint, depute, or elect to an offie; to make and empower.
Me didst Thou constitute a priest of thine.
Wordsworth.
Constituted authorities, the officers of government, collectively, as of a nation, city, town, etc.
Bartlett.
© Webster 1913.
Con"sti*tute (?), n.
An established law.
[Obs.]
T. Preston.
© Webster 1913.