Statute

How to spell statute

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce statute

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does statute mean?

1. nounA formal written law passed by a legislative body.

Statute in a sentence

• The new statute requires every employer to keep accurate wage records.

• Parliament passed the statute after months of debate.

Where does statute come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin statutum, the neuter past participle of statuere, a verb meaning 'to set up' or 'to establish'. That verb was itself built on status, meaning 'condition' or 'standing position', which traces back to stare, 'to stand'. The underlying image is of a law that has been firmly set up and made to stand. English borrowed the word through Old French statut in the 1300s, when it referred to an established ordinance or written enactment. The same stare root for standing stands behind a whole family of relatives, including 'statue', 'stature', 'station' and 'status', which is exactly why statute is so easily confused in writing with the look-alike 'statue'; remembering that a statute is something firmly set up to stand as law helps fix the final -ute ending.

How the word is built

• statu- (from Latin statuere: to set up, establish)
• -te