constituent
Etymology

From Latin cōnstituēns, present participle of cōnstituō, from com- + statuo; see statute or statue, and compare institute and restitute.

Pronunciation
  • IPA: /kənˈstɪtjuənt/, /kənˈstɪt͡ʃuənt/
Adjective

constituent (not comparable)

  1. being a part, or component of a whole
    • 1695, C[harles] A[lphonse] du Fresnoy, translated by John Dryden, De Arte Graphica. The Art of Painting, […], London: […] J[ohn] Heptinstall for W. Rogers, […], →OCLC ↗:
      Body, soul, and reason are the three parts necessarily constituent of a man.
  2. constitutive or constituting; (politics) authorized to make a constitution
    the Constituent Assembly
    • 1769, Junius, letter on 19 December, 1769, (part of Letters of Junius)
      A question of right arises between the constituent and representative body.
Translations Translations Noun

constituent (plural constituents)

  1. A part, or component of a whole
  2. A person or thing which constitutes, determines, or constructs
    • a. 1677 (date written), Matthew Hale, The Primitive Origination of Mankind, Considered and Examined According to the Light of Nature, London: […] William Godbid, for William Shrowsbery, […], published 1677, →OCLC ↗:
      whose first composure and origination requires a higher and nobler Constituent than either Chance or the ordinary method of meer Natural causes.
  3. A resident of an area represented by an elected official, particularly in relation to that official.
    • 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 25, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC ↗:
      To appeal from the representatives to the constituents.
  4. A voter who supports a (political) candidate; a supporter of a cause.
  5. (law) One who appoints another to act for him as attorney in fact
  6. (grammar) A functional element of a phrase or clause
Related terms Translations Translations Translations


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