Crossword clues for constitution
constitution
- It won brilliant victories over British frigates during the War of 1812 and is without doubt the most famous ship in the history of the United States Navy
- It has been rebuilt and is anchored in the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston
- United States 44-gun frigate that was one of the first three naval ships built by the United States
- The way in which someone or something is composed
- The act of forming something
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Constitution \Con`sti*tu"tion\ (k[o^]n`st[ict]*t[=u]"sh[u^]n), n. [F. constitution, L. constitutio.]
The act or process of constituting; the action of enacting, establishing, or appointing; enactment; establishment; formation.
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The state of being; that form of being, or structure and connection of parts, which constitutes and characterizes a system or body; natural condition; structure; texture; conformation.
The physical constitution of the sun.
--Sir J. Herschel. -
The aggregate of all one's inherited physical qualities; the aggregate of the vital powers of an individual, with reference to ability to endure hardship, resist disease, etc.; as, a robust constitution.
Our constitutions have never been enfeebled by the vices or luxuries of the old world.
--Story. -
The aggregate of mental qualities; temperament.
He defended himself with . . . less passion than was expected from his constitution.
--Clarendon. -
The fundamental, organic law or principles of government of men, embodied in written documents, or implied in the institutions and usages of the country or society; also, a written instrument embodying such organic law, and laying down fundamental rules and principles for the conduct of affairs.
Our constitution had begun to exist in times when statesmen were not much accustomed to frame exact definitions.
--Macaulay.Note: In England the constitution is unwritten, and may be modified from time to time by act of Parliament. In the United States a constitution cannot ordinarily be modified, exept through such processes as the constitution itself ordains.
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An authoritative ordinance, regulation or enactment; especially, one made by a Roman emperor, or one affecting ecclesiastical doctrine or discipline; as, the constitutions of Justinian.
The positive constitutions of our own churches.
--Hooker.A constitution of Valentinian addressed to Olybrius, then prefect of Rome, for the regulation of the conduct of advocates.
--George Long.Apostolic constitutions. See under Apostolic.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
mid-14c., "law, regulation, edict," from Old French constitucion (12c.) "constitution, establishment," and directly from Latin constitutionem (nominative constitutio) "act of settling, settled condition, anything arranged or settled upon, regulation, order, ordinance," from constitut-, past participle stem of constituere (see constitute).\n
\nMeaning "action of establishing" is from 1580s; that of "way in which a thing is constituted" is from c.1600; that of "physical health, strength and vigor of the body" is from 1550s; of the mind, "temperament, character" from 1580s. Sense of "mode of organization of a state" is from c.1600; that of "system of principles by which a community is governed" dates from 1730s; especially of a document of written laws since the U.S. and French constitutions, late 18c.
Wiktionary
n. 1 The act, or process of setting something up, or establishing something; the composition or structure of such a thing; its makeup. 2 The formal or informal system of primary principles and laws that regulates a government or other institutions. 3 A legal document describing such a formal system. 4 The general health of a person. 5 A person's physique or temperament.
WordNet
n. law determining the fundamental political principles of a government [syn: fundamental law, organic law]
the act of forming something; "the constitution of a PTA group last year"; "it was the establishment of his reputation"; "he still remembers the organization of the club" [syn: establishment, formation, organization, organisation]
the way in which someone or something is composed [syn: composition, makeup]
United States 44-gun frigate that was one of the first three naval ships built by the United States; it won brilliant victories over British frigates during the War of 1812 and is without doubt the most famous ship in the history of the United States Navy; it has been rebuilt and is anchored in the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston [syn: Old Ironsides]
Wikipedia
Constitution or constitutional may refer to:
- Constitution, the highest laws of a sovereign state, a federated state, a country or other polity
- Constitution (corporate), the regulations governing the affairs of a legal person
A constitution is the set of regulations which govern the conduct of non-political entities, whether incorporated or not. Such entities include corporations and voluntary associations.
ru:устав
Category:Corporate law
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is. When these principles are written down into a single document or set of legal documents, those documents may be said to embody a written constitution; if they are written down in a single comprehensive document, it is said to embody a codified constitution. Some constitutions (such as the constitution of the United Kingdom) are uncodified, but written in numerous fundamental Acts of a legislature, court cases or treaties.
Constitutions concern different levels of organizations, from sovereign states to companies and unincorporated associations. A treaty which establishes an international organization is also its constitution, in that it would define how that organization is constituted. Within states, a constitution defines the principles upon which the state is based, the procedure in which laws are made and by whom. Some constitutions, especially codified constitutions, also act as limiters of state power, by establishing lines which a state's rulers cannot cross, such as fundamental rights.
The Constitution of India is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world, containing 444 articles in 22 parts, 12 schedules and 118 amendments, with 146,385 words in its English-language translation, while the Constitution of Monaco is the shortest written constitution, containing 10 chapters with 97 articles, and a total of 3,814 words.
In Roman law, a constitution is a generic name for a legislative enactment by a Roman emperor. It includes edicts, decrees (judicial decisions) and rescripts (written answers to officials or petitioners). Mandata (instructions) given by the Emperor to officials were not Constitutions but created legal rules that could be relied upon by individuals.
One of the most important constitutions issued by a Roman emperor was Caracalla's Constitutio Antoniniana of 212, also called the Edict of Caracalla or the Antonine Constitution, which declared that all free men of the Roman Empire were to be given theoretical Roman citizenship and all free women in the Empire were to be given the same rights as Roman women.
Usage examples of "constitution".
Nor can a State withdraw Indians within its borders from the operation of acts of Congress regulating trade with them by conferring on them rights of citizenship and suffrage, whether by its constitution or its statutes.
It denied, in the second place, that there is any principle of law, common or otherwise, which pervades the Union except such as are embodied in the Constitution and the acts of Congress.
The Warrens were among those who had adamantly opposed the Constitution, convinced it would only encourage speculation and vice.
Warrens were among those who had adamantly opposed the Constitution, convinced it would only encourage speculation and vice.
The people of Massachusetts were to have the sole and exclusive right of governing themselves, and in an article intended to prevent the formation of a hereditary monarchy, an expanded version of a similar article in the Virginia constitution, Adams wrote: No man, nor corporation or association of men have any other title to obtain advantages or particular and exclusive privileges distinct from those of the community, than what arises from the consideration of services rendered to the public.
Constitution of Massachusetts was to proclaim, suggesting that such delight in life as Adams had found in the amiable outlook of the French had had a decided influence.
John Luzac of Leyden, a lawyer, scholar, and editor, published in his Gazette de Leyde a steady variety of material supplied by Adams, including the first European translation of the new Massachusetts Constitution, which was to have an important effect in the Netherlands.
The English constitution, Adams declared--and knowing he would be taken to task for it--was the ideal.
While Jefferson would have much to say about the Constitution and the need for a bill of rights in subsequent private correspondence with Madison, he made no public statement for the time being, whereas Adams sent off a strong endorsement to John Jay that was to be widely quoted at home.
Such republics of the past as Adams had written about in his Defence of the Constitutions were small in scale--so what hope was there for one so inconceivably large?
The suspicion that Adams was a monarchist at heart grew stronger, and understandably, as in his Defence of the Constitutions of Government he did seem to lean in that direction.
That Jefferson himself had once praised his Defence of the Constitutions, apparently finding no heresies therein, Adams, to his credit, made no mention.
It was hardly what Adams had called for, but it was a start, providing funds to equip and man three frigates, the Constitution, the United States, and the Constellation, which had been built during the Washington administration but remained unequipped for service.
Though it was clearly a violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing freedom of speech, its Federalist proponents in Congress insisted, like Adams, that it was a war measure, and an improvement on the existing common law in that proof of the truth of the libel could be used as a legitimate defense.
On July 23, Adams watched from an upstairs window as the Constitution headed out to sea from Boston under full sail.