[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

state \state\ st=at, n. oe. stat, of. estat, f. 'etat,
   fr. l. status a standing, position, fr. stare, statum, to
   stand. see stand, and cf. estate, status.
   1. the circumstances or condition of a being or thing at any
      given time.
      1913 webster

            state is a term nearly synonymous with "mode," but
            of a meaning more extensive, and is not exclusively
            limited to the mutable and contingent. --sir w.
                                                  hamilton.
      1913 webster

            declare the past and present state of things.
                                                  --dryden.
      1913 webster

            keep the state of the question in your eye. --boyle.
      1913 webster

   2. rank; condition; quality; as, the state of honor.
      1913 webster

            thy honor, state, and seat is due to me. --shak.
      1913 webster

   3. condition of prosperity or grandeur; wealthy or prosperous
      circumstances; social importance.
      1913 webster

            she instructed him how he should keep state, and yet
            with a modest sense of his misfortunes. --bacon.
      1913 webster

            can this imperious lord forget to reign,
            quit all his state, descend, and serve again?
                                                  --pope.
      1913 webster

   4. appearance of grandeur or dignity; pomp.
      1913 webster

            where least of state there most of love is shown.
                                                  --dryden.
      1913 webster

   5. a chair with a canopy above it, often standing on a dais;
      a seat of dignity; also, the canopy itself. obs.
      1913 webster

            his high throne, . . . under state
            of richest texture spread.            --milton.
      1913 webster

            when he went to court, he used to kick away the
            state, and sit down by his prince cheek by jowl.
                                                  --swift.
      1913 webster

   6. estate; possession. obs. --daniel.
      1913 webster

            your state, my lord, again is yours.  --massinger.
      1913 webster

   7. a person of high rank. obs. --latimer.
      1913 webster

   8. any body of men united by profession, or constituting a
      community of a particular character; as, the civil and
      ecclesiastical states, or the lords spiritual and temporal
      and the commons, in great britain. cf. estate, n., 6.
      1913 webster

   9. the principal persons in a government.
      1913 webster

            the bold design
            pleased highly those infernal states. --milton.
      1913 webster

   10. the bodies that constitute the legislature of a country;
       as, the states-general of holland.
       1913 webster

   11. a form of government which is not monarchial, as a
       republic. obs.
       1913 webster

             well monarchies may own religion's name,
             but states are atheists in their very fame.
                                                  --dryden.
       1913 webster

   12. a political body, or body politic; the whole body of
       people who are united under one government, whatever may
       be the form of the government; a nation.
       1913 webster

             municipal law is a rule of conduct prescribed by
             the supreme power in a state.        --blackstone.
       1913 webster

             the puritans in the reign of mary, driven from
             their homes, sought an asylum in geneva, where they
             found a state without a king, and a church without
             a bishop.                            --r. choate.
       1913 webster

   13. in the united states, one of the commonwealths, or bodies
       politic, the people of which make up the body of the
       nation, and which, under the national constitution, stand
       in certain specified relations with the national
       government, and are invested, as commonwealths, with full
       power in their several spheres over all matters not
       expressly inhibited.
       1913 webster

   note: the term state, in its technical sense, is used in
         distinction from the federal system, i. e., the
         government of the united states.
         1913 webster

   14. 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.
       obs.
       1913 webster

   note: when state is joined with another word, or used
         adjectively, it denotes public, or what belongs to the
         community or body politic, or to the government; also,
         what belongs to the states severally in the american
         union; as, state affairs; state policy; state laws of
         iowa.
         1913 webster

   nascent state. chem. see under nascent.

   secretary of state. see secretary, n., 3.

   state bargea royal barge, or a barge belonging to a
      government.

   state bed, an elaborately carved or decorated bed.

   state carriage, a highly decorated carriage for officials
      going in state, or taking part in public processions.

   state paper, an official paper relating to the interests or
      government of a state. --jay.

   state prison, a public prison or penitentiary; -- called
      also state's prison.

   state prisoner, one in confinement, or under arrest, for a
      political offense.

   state rights, or states' rights, the rights of the
      several independent states, as distinguished from the
      rights of the federal government. it has been a question
      as to what rights have been vested in the general
      government. u.s.

   state's evidence. see probator, 2, and under evidence.
      

   state sword, a sword used on state occasions, being borne
      before a sovereign by an attendant of high rank.

   state trial, a trial of a person for a political offense.
      

   states of the church. see under ecclesiastical.
      1913 webster

   syn: state, situation, condition.

   usage: state is the generic term, and denotes in general the
          mode in which a thing stands or exists. the situation
          of a thing is its state in reference to external
          objects and influences; its condition is its internal
          state, or what it is in itself considered. our
          situation is good or bad as outward things bear
          favorably or unfavorably upon us; our condition is
          good or bad according to the state we are actually in
          as respects our persons, families, property, and other
          things which comprise our sources of enjoyment.
          1913 webster

                i do not, brother,
                infer as if i thought my sister's state
                secure without all doubt or controversy.
                                                  --milton.
          1913 webster

                we hoped to enjoy with ease what, in our
                situation, might be called the luxuries of life.
                                                  --cook.
          1913 webster

                and, o, what man's condition can be worse
                than his whom plenty starves and blessings
                curse?                            --cowley.
          1913 webster
see also:
stand estate status nascent state nascent secretary of state 
secretary state barge state bed state carriage state paper 
state prison state's prison state prisoner state rights states' rights 
state's evidence probator evidence state sword state trial 
states of the church ecclesiastical state situation condition 

Financial State >> F Words
Financial State, definition of term: Financial State
financial+state_pag1.html

Garden State >> G Words
Garden State, definition of term: Garden State
garden+state_pag1.html

Gem State >> G Words
Gem State, definition of term: Gem State
gem+state_pag1.html

Granite State >> G Words
Granite State, definition of term: Granite State
granite+state_pag1.html

Empire State >> E Words
Empire State, definition of term: Empire State
empire+state_pag1.html

Coyote State >> C Words
Coyote State, definition of term: Coyote State
coyote+state_pag1.html

Buckeye State >> B Words
Buckeye State, definition of term: Buckeye State
buckeye+state_pag1.html

Badger State >> B Words
Badger State, definition of term: Badger State
badger+state_pag1.html

City State >> C Words
City State, definition of term: City State
city+state_pag1.html

Civil Rights >> C Words
Civil Rights, definition of term: Civil Rights
civil+rights_pag1.html

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