state

English Online Dictionary. What means state‎? What does state mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English stat (as a noun); adopted c. 1200 from both Old French estat and Latin status (“manner of standing, attitude, position, carriage, manner, dress, apparel; and other senses”), from stare (“to stand”). Doublet of estate and status. The sense of "polity" develops in the 14th century. Compare French être, Greek στέω (stéo), Italian stare, Portuguese estar, Romanian sta, and Spanish estar.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /steɪt/
• Rhymes: -eɪt

Noun

state (plural states)

2. A condition; a set of circumstances applying at any given time.

   a state of being

   a state of emergency

   1. (physics) A complete description of a system, consisting of parameters that determine all properties of the system.
   3. (colloquial, in the singular) A mess; disorder; a bad condition or set of circumstances.

      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:difficult situation

      absolute state

      in a state

      in a bit of a state
   4. (computing) The stable condition of a processor during a particular clock cycle.

   5. (computing) The set of all parameters relevant to a computation.

   6. (computing) The values of all parameters at some point in a computation.

   7. (sciences) The physical property of matter as solid, liquid, gas or plasma.
   8. (obsolete) Highest and stationary condition, as that of maturity between growth and decline, or as that of crisis between the increase and the abating of a disease; height; acme.
3. High social standing or circumstance.
   1. Pomp, ceremony, or dignity.

      in state

   2. Rank; condition; quality.
   3. Condition of prosperity or grandeur; wealthy or prosperous circumstances; social importance.
   4. A chair with a canopy above it, often standing on a dais; a seat of dignity; also, the canopy itself.
   5. (obsolete) A great person, a dignitary; a lord or prince.
   6. (obsolete) Estate, possession.
5. A polity or community.
   1. (historically often capitalized) Any sovereign polity or community; the government of a country or city-state.
      • a. 1949, Albert Einstein, as quoted by Virgil Henshaw in Albert Einstein: Philosopher Scientist (1949)

        Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.
   2. A political division of a federation retaining a notable degree of autonomy, as in the United States, Mexico, Nigeria, or India.
   3. (obsolete) A form of government other than a monarchy.
   4. (anthropology) A society larger than a tribe. A society large enough to form a state in the sense of a government.
6. (mathematics, stochastic processes) An element of the range of the random variables that define a random process.
7. (grammar, semantics) The lexical aspect (aktionsart) of verbs or predicates that do not change over time.

   Antonym: occurrence

Hyponyms

Derived terms

English terms starting with “state”

Translations

Verb

state (third-person singular simple present states, present participle stating, simple past and past participle stated)

1. (transitive) To declare to be a fact.
2. (transitive) To make known.

Usage notes

State is stronger or more definitive than say. It is used to communicate an absence of reasonable doubt and to emphasize the factual or truthful nature of the communication.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:communicate

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

state (comparative more state, superlative most state)

1. (obsolete) Stately.

Related terms

• estate
• statistics
• status
• State

See also

• department
• province

References

• “state”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• state in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• “state”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “state”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Further reading

• state on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Tates, Teats, teats, Tetas, taste, atest, Testa, testa, aetts, Satet

Afrikaans

Noun

state

1. plural of staat

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsta.te/
• Rhymes: -ate
• Hyphenation: stà‧te

Etymology 1

Apheretic form of estate.

Noun

state f (plural stati)

1. (Tuscan) Alternative form of estate

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

state

1. inflection of stare:
   1. second-person plural present indicative
   2. second-person plural imperative

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Participle

state f pl

1. feminine plural of stato

Further reading

• state in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication

Anagrams

• Setta, setta, testa

Latin

Verb

stāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of stō

Participle

state

1. vocative masculine singular of status

Romanian

Noun

state

1. plural of stat

Yola

Etymology

From Middle English stat, from Old French estat, from Latin status.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /stɔːt/

Noun

state

1. condition

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 116