1. (p. a.) Established; organized; founded.

2. (v. t.) To set up; to establish; to ordain; as, to institute laws, rules, etc.

3. (v. t.) To originate and establish; to found; to organize; as, to institute a court, or a society.

4. (v. t.) To nominate; to appoint.

5. (v. t.) To begin; to commence; to set on foot; as, to institute an inquiry; to institute a suit.

6. (v. t.) To ground or establish in principles and rudiments; to educate; to instruct.

7. (v. t.) To invest with the spiritual charge of a benefice, or the care of souls.

8. (n.) The act of instituting; institution.

9. (a.) That which is instituted, established, or fixed, as a law, habit, or custom.

10. (a.) Hence: An elementary and necessary principle; a precept, maxim, or rule, recognized as established and authoritative; usually in the plural, a collection of such principles and precepts; esp., a comprehensive summary of legal principles and decisions; as, the Institutes of Justinian; Coke's Institutes of the Laws of England. Cf. Digest, n.

11. (n.) An institution; a society established for the promotion of learning, art, science, etc.; a college; as, the Institute of Technology; also, a building owned or occupied by such an institute; as, the Cooper Institute.

12. (n.) The person to whom an estate is first given by destination or limitation.

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