Serving to establish or make up something; being an essential part that together with others forms a whole.
From Latin 'constitutivus,' from 'constituere' (to set up, establish). The suffix '-ive' indicates an adjective showing that something has the quality or effect of the verb. This word is common in philosophy and law.
In philosophy and science, 'constitutive' is key—it describes the things that literally make something what it is, like carbon is constitutive of diamonds because diamonds can't exist without it!
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