To be the parts that form something, or to officially create or establish something.
From Latin *constituere*, meaning "to set up, establish" (*con-* "together" + *statuere* "to set, place"). It originally referred to setting something firmly in place.
When we say "these actions constitute a crime," we’re saying together they add up to the thing itself. The word sits right at the boundary between describing what something is and declaring it official.
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