In″sti‐tute, n. [L. institutum: cf. F. institut. See Institute, v. t. & a.]
1. The act of instituting; institution. “Water sanctified by Christ's institute.” Milton.
2. That which is instituted, established, or fixed, as a law, habit, or custom. Glover.
3. 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.
They made a sort of institute and digest of anarchy. Burke.
To make the Stoics' institutes thy own. Dryden.
4. 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.
5. (Scots Law) The person to whom an estate is first given by destination or limitation. Tomlins.
Institutes of medicine, theoretical medicine; that department of medical science which attempts to account philosophically for the various phenomena of health as well as of disease; physiology applied to the practice of medicine. Dunglison.