institution

From Middle English institucioun, from Old French institution, from Latin institūtiō, from instituō (“to set up”), from in- (“in, on”) + statuō (“to set up, establish”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌɪnstɪˈtjuːʃən/, /ˌɪnstɪˈtʃuːʃən/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌɪnstɪˈtuːʃən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

institution (countable and uncountable, plural institutions)

1. A custom or practice of a society or community.

   The institution of marriage is present in many cultures but its details vary widely across them.

2. A long established and respected organization, particularly one involved with education, public service, or charity work.

   The University of the South Pacific is the only internationally accredited institution of higher education in Oceania.

3. The building or buildings which house such an organization.

   He's been in an institution since the crash.

4. (informal) Ellipsis of mental institution.
5. (informal) Any long established and respected place or business.

   Over time, the local pub has become something of an institution.

   • 2009 February 19, Gareth Lewis, “Giles Coren slams Winchester pub The Wykeham Arms”, in Southern Daily Echo‎:

     [quoting Giles Coren] "The Wykeham Arms [a pub] is destroyed. They have turned a great old English institution into a shameful clip-joint. It's a shuddering, howling tragedy."

6. (informal) A person long established in a place, position, or field.

   She's not just any old scholar; she is an institution.

7. The act of instituting something.

   The institution of higher speed limits was a popular move but increased the severity of crashes.

   • 1894, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough‎:

     Accordingly if we can show that a barbarous custom, like that of the priesthood of Nemi, has existed elsewhere; if we can detect the motives which led to its institution; if we can prove that these motives have operated widely, perhaps universally, in human society...

8. (Christianity) The act by which a bishop commits a cure of souls to a priest. (Can we clean up⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)
9. (obsolete) That which institutes or instructs, particularly a textbook or system of elements or rules.
10. (informal) Ellipsis of correctional institution.

• establishment

• institute
• institutional
• institutionalism
• institutionalist

• “institution”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• institution in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• "institution" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 168.
• “institution”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “institution”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

From Latin īnstitūtiō.

institution c (singular definite institutionen, plural indefinite institutioner)

1. institution

• “institution” in Den Danske Ordbog

From Latin īnstitūtiōnem.

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃s.ti.ty.sjɔ̃/

• Audio: "contre institution"

  (file)

institution f (plural institutions)

1. institution

• “institution”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

From Latin īnstitūtiō.

institution c

1. an institution (an established organization)
2. an institution (a habit)
3. an institution (a person)
4. a department (at a university)

   datavetenskapliga institutionen

   department of computer science

   institutionen för fysik

   department of physics

• instituera
• institut
• institutionalisera
• institutionell
• kulturinstitution

• institution in Svensk ordbok.