constituo

Latin

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ḱe-?

Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm

Proto-Italic *kom

Old Latin com

Latin cum

Latin con-

Proto-Indo-European *steh₂-

Latin status

Latin statuō

Latin cōnstituere

From con- (“with”) +‎ statuō (“set up; establish”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /konˈsti.tu.oː/, [kõːˈs̠t̪ɪt̪uoː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /konˈsti.tu.o/, [konˈst̪iːt̪uo]

Verb

cōnstituō (present infinitive cōnstituere, perfect active cōnstituī, supine cōnstitūtum); third conjugation

1. to place, put, locate, lay

   Synonyms: ponō, colloco, loco, statuo, sisto, figo, struō, impono, defigo

2. to set up, establish, constitute, found
3. to build, erect, construct

   Synonyms: aedificō, exaedificō, inaedificō, struō, cōnstruō, condō, compōnō, fundō, statuō, exstruō, mōlior

4. (military) to line up, deploy, order
5. to deliberate, decide, resolve

   Synonyms: statuō, dēcernō, placet

6. to nominate, appoint, elect

   Synonyms: designo, assigno, demando, mando, delego, lego, discribo, ordino, addico

   (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Conjugation

   Conjugation of cōnstituō (third conjugation)

indicative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	cōnstituō	cōnstituis	cōnstituit	cōnstituimus	cōnstituitis	cōnstituunt
	imperfect	cōnstituēbam	cōnstituēbās	cōnstituēbat	cōnstituēbāmus	cōnstituēbātis	cōnstituēbant
	future	cōnstituam	cōnstituēs	cōnstituet	cōnstituēmus	cōnstituētis	cōnstituent
	perfect	cōnstituī	cōnstituistī	cōnstituit	cōnstituimus	cōnstituistis	cōnstituērunt, cōnstituēre
	pluperfect	cōnstitueram	cōnstituerās	cōnstituerat	cōnstituerāmus	cōnstituerātis	cōnstituerant
	future perfect	cōnstituerō	cōnstitueris	cōnstituerit	cōnstituerimus	cōnstitueritis	cōnstituerint
passive	present	cōnstituor	cōnstitueris, cōnstituere	cōnstituitur	cōnstituimur	cōnstituiminī	cōnstituuntur
	imperfect	cōnstituēbar	cōnstituēbāris, cōnstituēbāre	cōnstituēbātur	cōnstituēbāmur	cōnstituēbāminī	cōnstituēbantur
	future	cōnstituar	cōnstituēris, cōnstituēre	cōnstituētur	cōnstituēmur	cōnstituēminī	cōnstituentur
	perfect	cōnstitūtus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	cōnstitūtus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	cōnstitūtus + future active indicative of sum
subjunctive		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	cōnstituam	cōnstituās	cōnstituat	cōnstituāmus	cōnstituātis	cōnstituant
imperfect	cōnstituerem	cōnstituerēs	cōnstitueret	cōnstituerēmus	cōnstituerētis	cōnstituerent
perfect	cōnstituerim	cōnstituerīs	cōnstituerit	cōnstituerīmus	cōnstituerītis	cōnstituerint
pluperfect	cōnstituissem	cōnstituissēs	cōnstituisset	cōnstituissēmus	cōnstituissētis	cōnstituissent
passive	present	cōnstituar	cōnstituāris, cōnstituāre	cōnstituātur	cōnstituāmur	cōnstituāminī	cōnstituantur
imperfect	cōnstituerer	cōnstituerēris, cōnstituerēre	cōnstituerētur	cōnstituerēmur	cōnstituerēminī	cōnstituerentur
perfect	cōnstitūtus + present active subjunctive of sum
pluperfect	cōnstitūtus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	—	cōnstitue	—	—	cōnstituite	—
	future	—	cōnstituitō	cōnstituitō	—	cōnstituitōte	cōnstituuntō
passive	present	—	cōnstituere	—	—	cōnstituiminī	—
	future	—	cōnstituitor	cōnstituitor	—	—	cōnstituuntor
non-finite forms		active			passive
		present	perfect	future	present	perfect	future
infinitives		cōnstituere	cōnstituisse	cōnstitūtūrum esse	cōnstituī	cōnstitūtum esse	cōnstitūtum īrī
participles		cōnstituēns	—	cōnstitūtūrus	—	cōnstitūtus	cōnstituendus
verbal nouns		gerund				supine
		genitive	dative	accusative	ablative	accusative	ablative
		cōnstituendī	cōnstituendō	cōnstituendum	cōnstituendō	cōnstitūtum	cōnstitūtū

Derived terms

• cōnstitūtiō f
• cōnstitūtum n
• cōnstitūtus

Related terms

• cōnstitūtiōnārius
• cōnstitūtōrius

Descendants

• Albanian: kushtetuta
• Catalan: constituir
• English: constitute
• French: constituer
• Galician: constituír
• Italian: costituire
• Portuguese: constituir
• Romanian: constitui
• Spanish: constituir

References

• constituo in Enrico Olivetti, editor (2003-2024), Dizionario Latino, Olivetti Media Communication
• “constituo”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “constituo”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• constituo in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to finish, complete, fulfil, accomplish a thing: finem imponere, afferre, constituere alicui rei
    
  • to set up a statue in some one's honour: statuam alicui ponere, constituere
    
  • to determine the nature and constitution of the subject under discussion: constituere, quid et quale sit, de quo disputetur
    
  • to set a limit to a thing: modum facere, statuere, constituere alicui rei or alicuius rei
    
  • to impose fixed limitations: fines certos terminosque constituere
    
  • to take up one's abode in a place, settle down somewhere: sedem ac domicilium (fortunas suas) constituere alicubi
    
  • to fix a price for a thing: pretium alicui rei statuere, constituere (Att. 13. 22)
    
  • to build, found a city: oppidum constituere, condere
    
  • to give the state a constitution: rem publicam constituere
    
  • to make laws (of a legislator): leges scribere, facere, condere, constituere (not dare)
    
  • to establish some one as king, tyrant: aliquem regem, tyrannum constituere
    
  • to found a colony: coloniam constituere (Leg. Agr. 1. 5. 16)
    
  • to ordain as punishment that..: hanc poenam constituere in aliquem, ut...
    
  • to decree the penalty of death: supplicium alicui decernere, in aliquem constituere
    
  • to fix a day for the engagement: diem pugnae constituere (B. G. 3. 24)
    
  • to draw up forces in battle-order: aciem (copias, exercitum) instruere or in acie constituere
    
  • to make fast boats to anchors: naves (classem) constituere (in alto)
    

Portuguese

Verb

constituo

1. first-person singular present indicative of constituir