Constitutive
[KAHN-stə-tyoo-div]
Part of speech: adjective
Origin: Latin, 17th century
1.
Forming an essential element of something.
2.
Having the power to establish or give organized existence to something.
Examples of Constitutive in a sentence
"Having the right language to express ideas is constitutive to being a good writer."
"The new leaders had the constitutive power to enact laws."
About Constitutive
This word comes from the medieval Latin “constitutivus.” This originates from “constituere,” which means “to cause to stand, set up, fix, place, establish, set in order.”
Did you Know?
In biochemistry, constitutive genes are genes that are always “on,” meaning they are transcribed continually. These genes control the ability of DNA to replicate, express, and repair itself. They also control protein synthesis and much of an organism's central metabolism. Regulated genes, by contrast, are needed only occasionally. They are activated and deactivated by regulatory proteins.