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DictionaryRoot: statuere
Latin

statuere

set up or establish

Forms

  • statuere
  • statut- — The form used for completed action.

Origin

Built within the Latin family of stare, “stand,” and status, “position.”

Note

Setting something in place can become establishing a rule or decision.

5 / 13
A young man sheltering in a bare doorway with an empty food bowl, worn-through shoes, and only a thin, frayed blanket over cardboard bedding.
adjective

destitute

DES-tuh-toot/ˈdestɪtuːt/

Lacking the basic necessities of life.

Etymology
deLatindown, away; removal
+stituteLatinset up or establish

The combination of ‘away’ and ‘place’ meant ‘forsake,’ giving an early sense of ‘abandoned.’ The meaning shifted through ‘forlorn, hopeless’ to lacking resources or means—the material deprivation expressed today.

Full entry

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