Institute

How to spell institute

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce institute

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does institute mean?

1. nounAn organisation founded to promote education, research, or a particular cause.
2. verbTo set up, establish, or begin something such as a policy, system, or legal action.

Institute in a sentence

• noun

  She enrolled at a respected research institute after finishing her degree.

• verb

  The company plans to institute stricter safety checks next month.

• noun

  The institute published its annual report on housing costs.

• verb

  The council may institute legal proceedings against the developer.

Where does institute come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb instituere, which meant 'to set up', 'to arrange', or 'to establish'. That verb was formed from the prefix in-, here carrying the sense of 'upon' or 'in', joined to statuere, meaning 'to set up' or 'to cause to stand', which itself grows from stare, 'to stand'. The original idea was therefore something firmly set in place, and from that came senses of founding a body, beginning a practice, and laying down a system of teaching. English took it up in the 1400s, first as a verb meaning to establish or initiate, with the noun for an organisation devoted to learning or research arriving a few centuries later. The same Latin family gives us 'statue', 'station', and 'constitution', all sharing the notion of standing or being set firmly, and that hidden -stitu- spelling, with its 'i' you cannot hear clearly when speaking, is the part writers most often trip over.

How the word is built

• in- (in, upon)
• -stitu- (from Latin statuere: to set up, establish, related to stare 'to stand')
• -te (verb/noun ending)