Institution
Institution , noun
[Latin institutio: compare French institution.]
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.
(b)
(Ecclesiastical Law) Instruction; education.
(c)
(Ecclesiastical Law) The act or ceremony of investing a clergyman with the spiritual part of a benefice, by which the care of souls is committed to his charge. [Obsolete] — Bentley
2.
That which instituted or established
(a)
Established order, method, or custom; enactment; ordinance; permanent form of law or polity.
The nature of our people,
Our city's institutions.
(b)
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.
(c)
Anything forming a characteristic and persistent feature in social or national life or habits.
We ordered a lunch (the most delightful of English institutions, next to dinner) to be ready against our return.
3.
That which institutes or instructs; a textbook; a system of elements or rules; an institute. [Obsolete]
There is another manuscript, of above three hundred years old,... being an institution of physic.