institution

Definitions

1. 1.That which instituted or established; as: (a) Established order, method, or custom; enactment; ordinance; permanent form of law or polity. The nature of our people, Our city's institutions. Shak. (b) An established or organized society or corporation; an establishment, especially of a public character, or affecting a community; a foundation; as, a literary institution; a charitable institution; also, a building or the buildings occupied or used by such organization; as, the Smithsonian Institution. (c) Anything forming a characteristic and persistent feature in social or national life or habits. We ordered a lunch (the most delightful of English institutions, next to dinner) to be ready against our return. Hawthorne.
2. 2.That which institutes or instructs; a textbook; a system of elements or rules; an institute. [Obs.] There is another manuscript, of above three hundred years old, . . . being an institution of physic. Evelyn.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Synonyms

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