Constituent

Pronunciation

Origin

From Latin constituens, present participle of constituo ("I establish"), from com- ("together") + statuo ("I set, place, establish"); see statute or statue, and compare institute and restitute.

Full definition of constituent

Adjective

1. being a part, or component of a whole
• DrydenBody, soul, and reason are the three parts necessarily constituent of a man.
2. authorized to make a constitution
• JuniusA question of right arises between the constituent and representative body.

Related terms

• constitute
• constituency
• constitution
• constitutional
• constitutive

Noun

1. a part, or component of a whole
• TyndallWe know how to bring these constituents together, and to cause them to form water.
2. The person or thing which constitutes, determines, or constructs.
• Sir M. HaleTheir first composure and origination require a higher and nobler constituent than chance.
3. A resident of a place represented by an elected official.
• MacaulayTo appeal from the representatives to the constituents.
• 2012, April 19, Josh Halliday, Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised?, But the purported rise in violent videos online has led some MPs to campaign for courts to have more power to remove or block material on YouTube. The Labour MP Heidi Alexander said she was appalled after a constituent was robbed at knifepoint, and the attackers could be found brandishing weapons and rapping about gang violence online.
4. (legal) One who appoints another to act for him as attorney in fact.
5. (grammar) A functional element of a phrase or clause.
• 1988, Andrew Radford, Transformational grammar: a first courseThus, the postulation of a Noun Phrase constituent is justified on morphological grounds, since it is not obvious how we could describe the grammar of the genitive 's inflection in English without saying that it's a Noun Phrase inflection.