statute

English

Etymology

From Middle English statut, from Old French statut, from Late Latin statutum (“a statute”), neuter singular of Latin statutus, past participle of statuō (“I set up, establish”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈstatjuːt/, /ˈstat͡ʃuːt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈstæt͡ʃuːt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

statute (countable and uncountable, plural statutes)

1. A written law or ordinance passed by a legislative body. [from ca. 1300s]

   The new statute limited working hours.

   Parliament passed a statute on environmental protection.

   criminal statute

   statute book

   • 1958 January, 'Borderer', “Ten Years of British Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 13:

     Despite criticisms which were made of the Railway Executive, it must be recalled that the general framework of the new railway set-up was established by statute, while this form of organisation was particularly well adapted for carrying out the unification of the railways—a very different thing from the purely political act of nationalisation, but an essential part of the objective of nationalisation.

2. A rule of an organization or institution. [from 1389]
3. (archaic, biblical) A law or decree made by a sovereign, or by God.
4. (law, historical) A (theoretical) type of statutory law specified as regulating a person or thing. [from 1791]
   1. Legal status of being subject to this.
5. (historical) A statute fair. [from before 1600]

Coordinate terms

• (written law as laid down by the legislature): regulation (written law as laid down by a regulatory agency of a governmental executive body)

Derived terms

• creature of statute
• laughing heir statute
• long arm statute
• long-arm statute
• nonclaim statute
• slayer statute
• statute book
• statute law
• statute mile
• statute of frauds
• statute of limitations
• statute of repose
• statutorily
• statutory
• statutory rape
• survival statute
• wrongful death statute

Translations

written law as laid down by the legislature

• Bulgarian: закон (bg) m (zakon), статут (bg) m (statut)
• Catalan: estatut (ca) m
• Estonian: põhikiri
• Finnish: säädös (fi)
• French: statut (fr) m
• German: Statut (de) n
• Hindi: अधिनियम (hi) m (adhiniyam), क़ानून m (qānūn), कानून (hi) m (kānūn)
• Hungarian: alapokmány (hu), statútum (hu), törvény (hu), rendelet (hu)
• Indonesian: undang-undang (id), statuta (id)
• Irish: reacht m
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: یاسا (yasa)

• Latin: scītum (la) n
• Malay: statut
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: statutt m or n, vedtekt m or f

• Persian: قانون (fa) (qânun)
• Polish: statut (pl) m, ustawa (pl) f
• Russian: уста́в (ru) m (ustáv), стату́т (ru) m (statút)
• Spanish: estatuto (es) m

legislated rule of society which has been given the force of law

• Catalan: estatuts (ca) m pl
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 法令 (zh) (fǎlìng)

• Finnish: säädös (fi)
• French: statut (fr) m
• German: Statut (de) n
• Hindi: अधिनियम (hi) m (adhiniyam)
• Hungarian: alapszabály (hu), alapító okirat, szabályzat (hu), szabályrendelet (hu), rendtartás (hu)
• Indonesian: ketetapan hukum
• Irish: reacht m
• Japanese: 律令 (ja) (りつりょう, ritsuryō)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: یاسا (yasa)

• Russian: уста́в (ru) m (ustáv), стату́т (ru) m (statút)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} statuto

References

• “statute, n.¹”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
• “statute, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

• tautest

Latin

Participle

statūte

1. vocative masculine singular of statūtus

References

• “statute”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers

Romanian

Noun

statute n

1. plural of statut

Serbo-Croatian

Noun

statute (Cyrillic spelling статуте)

1. inflection of statut:
   1. accusative plural
   2. vocative singular