Institution /(?)/

In·sti·tu·tion

Institution

n.
  1. The act or process of instituting; as: (a) Establishment; foundation; enactment; as, the institution of a school.
    The institution of God's law is described as being established by solemn injunction.
  2. Instruction; education. (Eccl. Law) [Obs.]
  3. That which instituted or established
    The nature of our people, Our city's institutions.
  4. An established or organized society or corporation; an establishment, especially of a public character, or affecting a community; a foundation; as, a literary institution; a charitable institution; also, a building or the buildings occupied or used by such organization; as, the Smithsonian Institution.
    We ordered a lunch (the most delightful of English institutions, next to dinner) to be ready against our return.
  5. That which institutes or instructs; a textbook; a system of elements or rules; an institute. [Obs.]
    There is another manuscript, of above three hundred years old, . . . being an institution of physic.