Etymology

From Middle EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Middle English#STATECategory:English terms derived from Middle English#STATE stat (as a noun); adopted c. 1200 from both Old FrenchCategory:English terms derived from Old French#STATE estat and LatinCategory:English terms derived from Latin#STATE stātus (“manner of standing, attitude, position, carriage, manner, dress, apparel; and other senses”), from stāre (“to stand”). Doublet of estate and statusCategory:English doublets#STATE. The sense of "polity" develops in the 14th century. Compare French être, Greek στέω (stéo), Italian stare, Portuguese estar, Romanian sta, and Spanish estar. The verb is first attested around the beginning of the 16th century. Related to English stand.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /steɪt/Category:English 1-syllable words#STATECategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#STATE

• Audio (Received Pronunciation):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#STATE

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#STATE
• Rhymes: -eɪtCategory:Rhymes:English/eɪt#STATECategory:Rhymes:English/eɪt/1 syllable#STATE

Noun

state (plural states)Category:English lemmas#STATECategory:English nouns#STATECategory:English countable nouns#STATECategory:English entries with incorrect language header#STATECategory:Pages with entries#STATECategory:Pages with 6 entries#STATE

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

   a state of beingCategory:English terms with usage examples#STATE

   a state of emergencyCategory:English terms with usage examples#STATE

   • 1697, “Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil‎, volume III, Londo: Jacob Tonson, published 1721, page 713:

     Relate what Latium was, her ancient Kings : / Declare the paſt, and preſent State of things, / When firſt the Trojan Fleet Auſonia ſought ; / And how the Rivals lov’d, and how they fought.

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   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     I corralled the judge, and we started off across the fields, in no very mild state of fear of that gentleman's wife, whose vigilance was seldom relaxed.

     Category:English terms with quotations#STATE

   1. (physicsCategory:en:Physics#STATE) A complete description of a system, consisting of parameters that determine all properties of the system.
      • 1977, J. B. Sykes; John Stewart Bell, translating Lev Landau; Evgeny Lifshitz, Course of Theoretical Physics Vol. 3: Quantum Mechanics: Non-relativistic Theory, page 28:

        States in which the energy has definite values are called stationary states of a system; they are described by wave functions Ψₙ which are the eigenfunctions of the Hamiltonian operator, i.e. which satisfy the equation ĤΨₙ = EₙΨₙ, where Eₙ are the eigenvalues of the energy.

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   2. (colloquialCategory:English colloquialisms#STATE, in the singular) A mess; disorder; a bad condition or set of circumstances.

      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:difficult situation

      absolute stateCategory:English terms with collocations#STATE

      in a stateCategory:English terms with collocations#STATE

      in a bit of a stateCategory:English terms with collocations#STATE

      • 1994 [1993], Irvine Welsh, “Traditional Sunday Breakfast”, in Trainspotting, London: Minerva, →ISBN, page 92:

        Who the fuck undressed me? Try tracing back. It's now Sunday. Yesterday was Saturday. The semi-final at Hampden. I had got myself into some fucking state before and after the match.

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      • 2019 June 3, Hannah Jane Parkinson, “An absolute state of a visit: what the Trump and Windsor snapshots tell us”, in The Guardian‎:

        An absolute state of a visit: what the Trump and Windsor snapshots tell us [title]

        Category:English terms with quotations#STATE

   3. (computingCategory:en:Computing#STATE) The stable condition of a processor during a particular clock cycle.

      In the fetch state, the address of the next instruction is placed on the address bus.

      Category:English terms with usage examples#STATE

   4. (computingCategory:en:Computing#STATE) The set of all parameters relevant to a computation.

      The state here includes a set containing all names seen so far.

      Category:English terms with usage examples#STATE

   5. (computingCategory:en:Computing#STATE) The values of all parameters at some point in a computation.

      A debugger can show the state of a program at any breakpoint.

      Category:English terms with usage examples#STATE

   6. (sciencesCategory:en:Sciences#STATE) The physical property of matter as solid, liquid, gas or plasma.
   7. (obsoleteCategory:English terms with obsolete senses#STATE) 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 stateCategory:English terms with collocations#STATE

      The President's body will lie in state at the Capitol.Category:English terms with usage examples#STATE

   2. Rank; condition; quality.
      • c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

        And leſned by that ſmall, God I beſeech him, / Thy honor, ſtate, and ſeate, is due to me.

        Category:English terms with quotations#STATE

   3. Condition of prosperity or grandeur; wealthy or prosperous circumstances; social importance.
      • 1616, Francis Bacon, The History of Henry VII, of England, published 1786, page 139:

        Firſt, in princely behaviour and geſture, teaching him how he ſhould keep of a kind of ſtate, and yet, with a modeſt ſenſe of his misfortunes.

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      • 1703, “The Thebais of Statius”, in Alexander Pope, transl., The Works of Alexander Pope, volume II, London: H. Lintont et al., published 1751, book I, page 145:

        Can this imperious lord forget to reign, / Quit all his ſtate, deſcend, and ſerve again ?

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   4. A chair with a canopy above it, often standing on a dais; a seat of dignity; also, the canopy itself.
      • 1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 443–447:

        […] and from the dore / Of that Plutonia Hall, inviſible / Aſcended his high Throne, which under ſtate / Of richeſt texture ſpred, at th’ upper end / Was plac’t in regal luſtre.

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      • 1712, John Arbuthnot, Jonathan Swift [uncertain], “Jack’s Charms, or the Method by which he gain’d Peg’s Heart”, in John Bull Still In His Senses, London: John Morphew, page 13:

        He invented a way of coming into a Room backwards, which he ſaid ſhew’d more Humility, and leſs Affectation ; where other People ſtood, he ſat ; when he went to Court, he us’d to kick away the State, and ſit down by his Prince, Cheek by Choul […]

        Category:English terms with quotations#STATE

   5. (obsoleteCategory:English terms with obsolete senses#STATE) A great person, a dignitary; a lord or prince.
      • c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene i:

        We in the name of other Perſean ſtates,
        And commons of this mightie Monarchy,
        Preſent thee with the Emperiall Diadem.

        Category:English terms with quotations#STATE

      • 1644, John Milton, Areopagitica, page 1:

        They who to States and Governours of the Commonwealth direct their Speech, High Court of Parlament, or wanting ſuch acceſſe in a private condition, write that which they foreſee may advance the publick good ; I ſuppoſe them as at the beginning of no meane endeavour, not a little alter’d and mov’d inwardly in their mindes […]

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   6. (obsoleteCategory:English terms with obsolete senses#STATE) Estate, possession.
      • 1595, Samuel Daniel, “The Civile Wars between the Two Houses of Lancaster and Yorke”, in Alexander Balloch Grosart, editor, The Complete Works in Verse and Prose of Samuel Daniel, volume II, book IV, stanza 20, page 142:

        Their parties great, meanes good, the ſeaſon fit, / Their practice cloſe, their faith ſuſpected not, / Their ſtates far off, and they of wary wit : / Who, with large promiſes, ſo wooe the Scot / To aide their Cauſe, as he conſents to it ; / And glad was to diſturne that furious ſtreame / Of warre, on vs, that elſe had ſwallowed them.

        Category:English terms with quotations#STATE

      • c. 1619, Philip Massinger, Nathan Field, “The Fatal Dowry”, in The Works of Philip Massinger, volume II, London: T. Davies, published 1761, [Act V, scene ii], page 271:

        Your ’State, my Lord, again is yours.

        Category:English terms with quotations#STATE

5. A polity or community.
   1. (historically often capitalized) A sovereign country or city state, with the central government acting as its visible instrument.
      • 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.

      His alibi is that he was out of state the night of the murder.

      Category:English terms with usage examples#STATE

      • 1789, United States Bill of Rights:

        The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

        Category:English terms with quotations#STATE

      • 1839, John Beach, Thomas Clap Perkins, The public statute laws of the state of Connecticut, page 35:

        You do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that you will support the constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the state of Connecticut, so long as you continue a citizen thereof; and that you will faithfully discharge, according to law, the duties of the office of […] to the best of your abilities.

        Category:English terms with quotations#STATE

      • 1993, Charles E. McLure, Vertical fiscal imbalance and the assignment of taxing powers in Australia, →ISBN:

        As Australia considers whether to allow states greater latitude in the indirect tax field, it must ask what it will do when (not if) it finally decides that the federal government should enact a modern general sales tax.

        Category:English terms with quotations#STATE

      • 2001, Angus Macleod Gunn, The Impact of Geology on the United States, page 0313314446:

        The Central Lowlands is often referred to as the heart of America — and with good reason: If we look at the names of the eight states with populations of 10 million or more, this region has three of them, Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan, more than any one of the other five.

        Category:English terms with quotations#STATE

   3. (obsoleteCategory:English terms with obsolete senses#STATE) A form of government other than a monarchy.
      • 1662, John Dryden, “Satire on the Dutch”, in The Works of the English Poets, volume XIII, London: R. Hett, published 1779, page 41:

        Well monarchies may own religion’s name, / But ſtates are atheiſts in their very frame.

        Category:English terms with quotations#STATE

   4. (anthropologyCategory:en:Anthropology#STATE) A society larger than a tribe. A society large enough to form a state in the sense of a government.
6. (mathematicsCategory:en:Mathematics#STATE, stochastic processes) An element of the range of the random variables that define a random process.
8. (grammarCategory:en:Grammar#STATE, semanticsCategory:en:Semantics#STATE) The lexical aspect (aktionsart) of verbs or predicates that do not change over time.

   Antonym: occurrence

   • 1997, Robert van Valin, Randy LaPolla, Syntax‎, page 92:

     […] distinctions among states of affairs are reflected to a striking degree in distinctions among Aktionsart types. That is, situations are expressed by state verbs or predicates, events by achievement verbs or predicates, and actions by activity verbs or predicates.

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   • 2010, Nick Riemer, Introducing Semantics‎, page 320:

     The most basic Aktionsart distinction is between states and occurrences.

     Category:English terms with quotations#STATE

Verb

state (third-person singular simple present states, present participle stating, simple past and past participle stated)Category:English lemmas#STATECategory:English verbs#STATECategory:English entries with incorrect language header#STATECategory:Pages with entries#STATECategory:Pages with 6 entries#STATE

1. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#STATE) To declare to be a fact.

   He stated that he was willing to help.Category:English terms with usage examples#STATE

   • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter II, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations. It is easily earned repetition to state that Josephine St. Auban's was a presence not to be concealed.

     Category:English terms with quotations#STATE

   • 1994, Congress of the United States, United States Statutes at Large, volume 108, part 4:

     A provision of law may not be construed as requiring a new grant to be awarded to a specified non-Federal Government entity unless that provision of law (1) specifically refers to this subsection; specifically identifies the particular non-Federal Government entity involved; and (3) specifically states that the award to that entity is required by such provision of law in contravention of the policy set forth in subsection (a).

     Category:English terms with quotations#STATE

   • 1996, Konrad Lorenz, chapter 5, in Robert D. Martin, transl., The Natural Science of the Human Species‎, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, page 93:

     The species-preserving purposivity of higher organisms is no greater than that of the lowest forms of life, and Jakob von Uexküll was entirely justified in stating that all living organisms are equally well adapted to their environments.

     Category:English terms with quotations#STATE

   • 2017, K R Wadhwaney, Indian Cricket Controversies:

     When Tony Greig, in a meaningful and provocative interview, asked Sarfaraz background of betting and match-fixing, the Pakistan "superbat" categorically stated that it should start with Asif Iqbal and Gavaskar who, according to him, were the "original fixers"..

     Category:English terms with quotations#STATE

2. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#STATE) To make known.

   State your intentions.Category:English terms with usage examples#STATE