institute
Definitions
General English
- noun an organisation set up for a special purpose
Accounting
- noun a society or organisation which represents a particular profession or activity
Commerce
- verb to start a new custom or procedure
Information & Library Science
- noun an organisation set up for a particular group of people with a shared interest
- verb to set up or establish something such as a policy or programme
Politics
- noun an official organisation
- noun the title of a professional organisation
Origin & History of “institute”
An institute is etymologically something ‘established’ or ‘set up’. Its ancestor is Latin instituere ‘establish’, a compound verb formed from the prefix in- and statuere ‘set up’ (itself a derivative of stāre ‘stand’ and source of English prostitute, statute, etc). The noun derived from this was institūtum, which meant ‘purpose, plan, practice’. word and senses were taken over as a package by English, but these meanings are now dead or dying, having been taken over since the 19th century by ‘organization that promotes a particular cause or pursuit’ (this originated in French at the end of the 18th century). The verb institute, however, remains far closer to the original Latin meaning.
