English
constitution
Constitution comes from Old French constitucion, from Latin cōnstitūtiō ‘constitution, nature’, from cōnstituō ‘to establish’, ultimately from Proto-Italic *statuō ‘to set up’.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*statuō1‘to erect’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstatuō1‘set up’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnstituō2‘to establish’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnstitūtiō2‘character’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400constitucion2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500constitucioun2‘edict’
- Englishearliest quotation 1702–1704constitution2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin constituo
- 2 Wiktionary, English constitution
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, Begun in the Year 1641. […]: “He defended himself with [...] less passion than was…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*statuōWiktionary, Latin constituo‘to erect’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstatuōWiktionary, Latin constituo‘set up’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnstituōWiktionary, English constitution‘to establish’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnstitūtiōWiktionary, English constitution‘character’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400constitucionWiktionary, English constitution
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500constituciounWiktionary, English constitution‘edict’
- Englishearliest quotation 1702–1704constitutionWiktionary, English constitution. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, Begun in the Year 1641. […]: “He defended himself with [...] less passion than was…”
The story
From Middle English constitucioun, constitucion (‘edict, law, ordinance, regulation, rule, statute; body of laws or rules, or customs; body of fundamental principles; principle or rule (of science); creation’) from Old French constitucion (modern French constitution), a learned borrowing from Latin cōnstitūtiō, cōnstitūtiōnem (‘character, constitution, disposition, nature; definition; point in dispute; order, regulation; arrangement, system’), from cōnstituō (‘to establish, set up; to confirm; to decide, resolve’).
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with constitution, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ‘to stand (up)’
- system ← sisteme ← systēma ← σύστημα ← σῠνίστημῐ
- post ← postis ← *postis ← *h₂pó-sth₂-i-s
- stay ← steyen ← estayer ← staeye
- rest ← reste ← reste ← rester ← restō
- stand ← stonden ← standan ← *standan ← *standaną
- distance ← distantia ← distāns ← distō ← stō
- assistant ← assistent ← assister ← assistō ← sistō
- stadium ← στάδιον ← στάδιος
- assistance ← assistentia ← assistō ← sistō ← *sistō
- stood ← stod ← stōd ← *stōþ ← *standaną
- establish ← establissen ← establir ← stabilīre ← stabilis
- stable ← stab(u)lum ← *staðlom ← *sth₂dʰlóm
206 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
noun The act, or process of setting something up, or establishing something; the composition or structure of such a thing; its makeup.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “constitution”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin constituo. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *statuō / constitution