▪ I. statute, n.
(ˈstætjuːt)
Forms: 3, 5–6 statuit, 4 statout, 4–7 statut, 6 statuytt, 4– statute. (Also estatute 1514–1610.) pl. 3–4 statuz (z = ts), 4 statutz, 5 statutez, statuitz, 6 statewes, 9 dial. (sense 6) stattice, stattits.
[a. F. statut (OF. also estatut, whence estatute), ad. late L. statūtum decree, decision, law, subst. use of neut. pa. pple. of statuĕre to set up, establish, decree, f. sta- root of stāre to stand. Cf. Pr. statut-s, Sp., Pg. estatuto, It. statuto.]
I. 1. a. A law or decree made by a sovereign or a legislative authority. Now rare or Obs. in general sense.
| c 1290 Beket 759 in S. Eng. Leg. 128, I not ȝwat is þe newe statuit þat þu þencst forth to drawe. 13.. Cursor M. 13613 (Gött.) Þe Iuus..had mad..A statute again iesus crist, If ani wold him leue or loute, Þair synagoge suld be put vte. c 1325 Song Flemish Insurr. in Pol. Songs (1839) 188 The Kyng of Fraunce made statuz newe In the lond of Flaundres. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 365 [Aristotle] made statutes to iustefie þe citees of Grees [orig. justificationes urbium Graecarum]. c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. i. §10. 6 The names of thise Monthes were cleped in Arabycus, somme for hir propretes, & some by statutz of lordes, some by other lordes of Rome. c 1400 Pilgr. Sowle iv. xxix. (1859) 61 Ordynaunces of pryuate lawes in Reames..ben cleped statutes, for they sholde be stabelly kepte. 1520 Caxton's Chron. Eng. iii. 20 b, They made this statut that 2 consules sholde be chosen, and they sholde governe the cyte and the people. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 222 b, To this article also perteyneth the decrees, counseyles & statutes of the chirche. 1535 Coverdale Dan. vi. 13 Daniel..(O kynge) regardeth nether the ner thy statute, that thou hast made. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, iv. i. 213 All Pompe and Maiestie I doe forsweare:..My Acts, Decrees, and Statutes I denie. c 1670 Hobbes Dial. Com. Laws (1681) 30 The Positive Laws of all places are Statutes. 1725 Pope Odyss. ix. 127 By these no statutes and no rights are known. 1764 Goldsm. Trav. 385 When I behold..Each wanton judge new penal statutes draw. |
b. Applied to an ordinance or decree of God, a deity, fate, etc.
| c 1381 Chaucer Parl. Foules 387 Ȝe knowe wel how seynt volantynys day By myn statute..Ȝe come for to cheese..Ȝoure makis. c 1393 ― Envoy to Scogan 1 To-brokene ben þe statutis in heuene Þat creat were eternally to dure. 1513 Douglas æneis xii. xiii. 72 Quhilk, weill I wait, is Na wys include in statutis of the fatis. 1535 Coverdale Ps. cxviii. 12 Praysed be thou O Lorde, O teach me thy statutes. a 1631 Donne Holy Sonn. xvi, Men argue yet, Whether a man those statutes can fulfill. 1707 Watts Hymns, ‘How honourable is the Place’ iii, Enter ye Nations that obey The Statutes of our King. |
c. A law made by a guild or corporation for the conduct of its members; a by-law of a borough; a provision in a municipal charter.
| 1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 100 These been ye statuz of ye gylde of ye holy prophete Seynt Jon baptist. 1429 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 346/2 In the Statuitz of the honourable Ordre of the Gartier. 1509 in Star Chamber Cases (Selden Soc.) I. 277 They bothe offendid the statute of the Cyte thervppon made. 1538 Latimer in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. III. 204 Hytt were gode you wolde sum tyme sende for Masters of Collegis in Cambryge and Oxforde with there Statuytts, ande yf the Statuytts be natt god and to the furtherance of god lettres, change them. 1546 in J. Bulloch Pynours (1887) 64 Tha chesit Johne Vodman and Hungre Jok decanis of the said craft to causs this present Statut to be obseruit. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. i. ii. 6 This very day a Syracusian Marchant Is apprehended..And not being able to buy out his life, According to the statute of the towne, Dies ere the wearie sunne set in the West. 1641 in Verney Mem. (1907) I. 204 Local statutes to appoint sermons almost every day. 1702 Charlett in Pepys' Diary (1879) VI. 251 At a weekly meeting, which by our statutes is every Monday, consisting of the V.C., Heads of Colleges and Halls, and the two Proctors, I moved [etc.]. 1785 Paley Mor. Philos. iii. i. xxi, The statutes of some colleges forbid the speaking of any language but Latin within the walls. 1808 Scott Marm. ii. xix, The statutes of whose order strict On iron table lay. 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Universities Wks. (Bohn) II. 90 Oxford..is still governed by the statutes of Archbishop Laud. |
† d. gen. An authoritative rule or direction.
| c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. Prol. 3/68 The .5. partie shal ben an introductorie aftur the statutz of owre doctours. Ibid. ii. §4. 18/10 After the statutz of Astrologiens. 1605 A. Warren Poor Man's Pass. B 1 b, And I shall die vntested in my death, Doubting least mine Executors refuse The statute of my Testament to vse. |
2. a. An enactment, containing one or more legislative provisions, made by the legislature of a country at one time, and expressed in a formal document; the document in which such an enactment is expressed.
In England, Scotland, and Ireland,
statute is in general synonymous with ‘Act of Parliament’ (see, however,
quot. 1765), but the designation is applied also to certain early enactments by the king and his council before the rise of regular parliaments.
| c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 327 Euery statut koude he pleyn by rote. 1386 Rolls of Parlt. III. 226/1 The Statut ordeigned and made bi Parlement. 1434 Ibid. V. 438/2 Lawes, custumes and Statutes of his Reaume. a 1475 Ashby Active Policy 522 Aftur the statutes autorised By noble Kynges your progenitours. 1532 Dial. on Laws Eng. ii. xlvi. 116 b, Sometyme in diuers statutes penalles they y{supt} be ignoraunt be excused. 1552 Bury Wills (Camden) 142 Y⊇ booke of y⊇ Kings Statuts. 1556 Ir. Act 3 & 4 Ph. & Mary c. 14 The moost auncynt statuits of this realme. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxxxi. §16 A testimonie vpon the credite whereof sundry statutes of the Realme are built. c 1645 Howell Lett. (1655) IV. xlix. 117 To Dye once is that uncancell'd debt Which Nature claymes, and raiseth by Eschet On all Mankind by an old Statute past Primo Adami. 1683 Col. Rec. Pennsylv. I. 21 Other duties by any law or statute due to vs. 1765 Blackstone Comm. i. Introd. §3. 85 note, All the acts of one session of parliament taken together make properly but one statute; and therefore when two sessions have been held in one year, we usually mention stat. 1. or 2. Thus the bill of rights is cited, as 1 W. & M. st. 2. c. 2. 1790 Burke Fr. Rev. 44 The famous statute, called the Declaration of Right. 1817 Selwyn Law Nisi Prius (ed. 4) II. 795 But (after argument) it was holden, that the case was not within the statute. 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Ability Wks. (Bohn) II. 43 Their social classes are made by statute. 1858 Ld. St. Leonards Handy-Bk. Prop. Law xiii. 80 A remedy is afforded by statute. 1871 C. Davies Metric Syst. iii. 116 By this statute the ale gallon was expressly declared to be the eighth part of the measure of the bushel. Ibid. 230 Rhode Island has no statute on the subject. 1875 Stubbs Const. Hist. II. xvii. 585 The statute is a law or an amendment of law, enacted by the king in parliament, and enrolled in the statute roll. 1910 J. Dowden Medieval Ch. Scot. ii. 27 In 1390 another Act was passed by Parliament strengthening the earlier statute. |
† b. by († the) statute: according to the measure, price, or rate appointed by statute. Hence, by fixed rule, strictly.
Obs.| c 1450 Bk. Curtasye 377 in Babees Bk., Be statut he schalle take þat on þe day. 1523–34 Fitzherb. Husb. §12 An acre of grounde, by the statute, that is to say xvi. fote and a half to the perche or pole. a 1630 J. Taylor (Water P.) Wks. ii. 174/2 Hee will pay him by the Statute. 1642 Milton Apol. Smect. 4 One who makes sentences by the Statute, as if all above three inches long were confiscat. 1781 Cowper Table-T. 72 Nor judge by statute a believer's hope. |
c. With identifying designation.
Certain early statutes are currently designated from the place at which the parliament was held, as
Statute of Acton Burnell,
Statute of Lincoln,
Statute of Westminster, etc. Others are named from their subject, as
Statute of Labourers,
of Limitations,
of Provisors,
of Treasons of Uses, etc. (see those words).
Bloody Statute: a popular name for the Act 31
Hen. VIII. c. 4, called the
Law of the Six Articles, imposing severe penalties on all who disputed certain articles of faith (see
six a. 1 d).
| a 1325 tr. Hengham Parva MS. Rawl. B. 520 lf. 70 b, Seche þe auctorite in þe furste statut of Westmunstre. a 1648 Ld. Herbert Hen. VIII (1649) 446 The Six Articles, called by some the Bloody Statute, were also enacted this Parliament [1539]. 1766 Blackstone Comm. II. xx. 324 The statute of frauds 29 Car. II. 1860 Forster Gr. Remonstr. 41 The long and remarkable reign of Edward the First's grandson is the date of the Statute of Treasons, one of the greatest gains to constitutional freedom. 1902 W. T. S. Hewett Terms & Phr. Eng. Hist. 34 Statute of Fines... (4 Henry VII)..intended to put a check on suits for the recovery of lands... Statute of Grace. A Bill of Indemnity for all political offences, passed in 1690 (William and Mary)... Statute of Kilkenny. This statute, passed in 1366 (Edward III), forbade the adoption of the Irish language, name or dress by any man of English blood. |
3. In international law, [
= F.
statut personnel, réel]
personal statute: the system of law to which an alien party to a process is personally subject, as distinguished from
real statute, the system of law to which the particular transaction is otherwise subject.
| 1907 E. J. Schuster Princ. Ger. Civ. Law 26 The question as to what law is to be applied for the determination of any particular crime frequently depends upon the so-called ‘personal statute’ of one of the parties. 1907 Parl. Papers, Rep. Egypt & Soudan 20 The foreigner resident in Egypt is fully entitled to retain his Consular Court as a Court of Personal Statute. 1907 E. H. Young in Law Q. Rev. XXIII. 155 The true province of the ‘real statute’ and of the ‘personal statute’. |
II. Uses originating in ellipsis.
† 4. Applied to certain legal instruments or procedures based on the authority of a statute.
a. A
statute merchant or
statute staple; a bond or recognizance by which the creditor had the power of holding the debtor's lands in case of default.
b. statute of bankrupt,
statute of lunacy: the process by which a person was declared a bankrupt or a lunatic.
Obs.| a. 1475 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 120/2 By any statut or recouvere extended. 1596 Bacon Maxims Com. Law i. (1636) 2 If I be bound to enter into a statute before the Mayor of the Staple at such a day. 1598 Chapman Blinde Begger C 3 b, He onely did agree that paying him foure thousand pound at the day I should receiue my statute safely. c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. cxxxiv. 9. 1602 ― Ham. v. i. 113 This fellow might be in's time a great buyer of Land, with his Statutes, his Recognizances, his Fines. a 1625 Fletcher Noble Gent. i. i, Take up at any Use, give Band, or Land, Or mighty Statutes, able by their strength, To tye up Sampson. 1668 Sir J. Denham in Wills from Doctor's Comm. (Camden) 121 Three judgments or statuts which I have upon the manor of Thorpe. 1678 Butler Lady's Answ. 88 What tender Sigh and Trickling tear, Longs for a Thousand Pound a year. And Languishing Transports, are Fond Of Statute, Mortgage, Bill and Bond. 1701 Sedley Mulberry Gard. v. 1, He that marries her shall give the other a statute upon his estate for two thousand pounds. |
| b. 1707 Hearne Collect. 7 June (O.H.S.) II. 19 A Statute of Bankrupt was out against him. 1742 C. Yorke in G. Harris Life Ld. Hardwicke (1847) II. 20 Dean Swift has had a statute of lunacy taken out against him. |
† 5. A kind of cloth, of breadth fixed by statute.
Cf. statute-galloon,
-lace in 8 b.
| 1466 Mann. & Househ. Exp. (Roxb.) 328 For xxiij. narow clothes called statutes. 1545 Rates Custom Ho. d iij, vi. Statutes for a clothe. 1583 Ibid. G ij, Rates for clothes... Statewes. 1599 Hakluyt Voy. II. i. 96 Certaine clothes called Statutes, and others called Cardinal-whites. |
6. (
sing. and pl.) [Short for
† statute-sessions: see 9.] A fair or gathering held annually in certain towns and villages for the hiring of servants. Also called
statute-fair,
-hiring (see 9).
| a 1600 Deloney Thomas of Reading Wks. (1912) 223, I heare that at the Statute, folkes do come of purpose to hire seruants. 1656 Blount Glossogr., Statutes is also used in our vulgar talk, for the petit Sessions, which are yearly kept for the disposing of Servants in service, by the Statutes of 1, and 5 Eliz. cap. 4. 1668 O. Heywood Diaries (1883) III. 101, 14 persons were going over the boate to Normanton statutes. 1763 Bickerstaff Love in Village i. vi, You must know there is a statute, a fair for hiring servants, held upon my green to-day. 1770 C. Jenner Placid Man iv. vii, What then are we to hire lovers at a statute? 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 33 Statute and feast his village yearly knew. 1847 T. Miller Pict. Country Life 157 A Country Statute (or ‘Stattice’, as it is always pronounced by the villagers) is a rural feast or wake, where farmers hire their assistants,..held both in villages and small market towns. 1859 Geo. Eliot A. Bede vi, I hired you at Treddles'on stattits, without a bit o' character. 1897 Sheffield Chron. 16 Dec. 9 Ashbourne Statutes.—The Annual Statutes fair for hiring farm servants was held yesterday. |
III. 7. Misused for
statue n. Now only an illiterate blunder; in some early instances the confusion may have been helped by the knowledge of the literal sense of L.
statutum, ‘something set up’.
| a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 5641 With ilk a statute þat þar stude stoutely enarmed. c 1440 Gesta Rom. x. 25 This Virgilie made by his crafte an ymage or a statute. 1615 A. Stafford Heavenly Dogge 89 Suffer not sycophants to perswade thee to the erecting of thy statutes. 1649 Fabric Rolls York Minster (Surtees) 334 A statute of brasse. 1650 Earl of Monmouth tr. Senault's Man bec. Guilty 345 They..put their trust in Gods made of clay and wood, and consulted with statutes. 1719 D'Urfey Pills (1872) IV. 277 Their statutes with garlands adorning. [1880 Tennyson Village Wife vii, An' 'e bowt little statutes all-naäkt an' which was a shaame to be seen.] |
IV. attrib. and
Comb. 8. a. quasi-adj., with the senses ‘fixed by statute’, ‘recognized by statute’, ‘statutory’. Also
transf. of what is prescribed by custom.
| 1643 Sir T. Browne Relig. Med. i. §46 Not only convincible and statute madnesse, but also manifest impiety. 1650 Bulwer Anthropomet. 91 These Nations are well ring'd for rooting, and enjoy the Statute beauty of our Swine. a 1687 Petty Polit. Arith. (1690) Pref. a 3, Those who can give good Security, may have Money under the Statute-Interest. 1831 W. L. Bowles Life Bp. Ken II. 229 note, Informator is the statute-name of the head-master [of Winchester]. 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Result Wks. (Bohn) II. 134 At home they have a certain statute hospitality. |
b. designating a unit of measure or weight as fixed by statute, as in
statute acre,
statute mile,
statute perch,
statute pole,
statute ton; articles of merchandise of size regulated by statute, as
† statute brick,
† statute fringe,
† statute galloon,
† statute lace,
† statute yarn.
| 1590 Lucar Lucarsolace i. ii. 8 marg., A *statute acar of land doth contain..4840 square yardes. 1861 Times 16 Oct., More than 6l. per statute acre. |
| 1703 T. N. City & C. Purchaser 43 *Statute-bricks. 1771 Encycl. Brit. I. 676/1 Statute bricks, or small common bricks. |
| 1594 in Archæol. Cant. (1886) XVI. 191 For 6 oz. and ½ *statute fringe, ijs. ijd. |
| 1882 Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlework 460/2 *Statute galloon. These are narrow cotton or silk ribbons, employed for the binding of flannels. |
| 1590 in Antiquary XXXII. 118, xij yeards *stattute lace, xii d. 1592 Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees) II. 211, ij grose of statute lace 12s. 1612 W. Parkes Curtaine-Drawer (1876) 23 A Curtaine..and that a gawdy one, imbrodred with Statute-lace. a 1652 Brome Queen & Concubine iv. i. (1659) 76 And can you handle the Bobbins well, good Woman? Make statute-Lace? |
| 1610 Hopton Baculum Geodæt. vi. lii. 263 To reduce *Statute measure into customary measure. 1889 Skrine Mem. Thring 122 The statute measures of things were startlingly discredited. |
| 1862 Ansted Channel Isl. i. v. 92 It is about eleven *statute miles in length. |
| 1590 Lucar Lucarsolace i. ii. 8, 5 meating yards and ½ meating yeard make a *statute pearch. |
| 1766 Complete Farmer s.v. Surveying 7 F 1 b/1 Four *statute-poles or perches. |
| 1883 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 457/1, 418 *statute tons. |
| 1598 Florio, Accia,..spinning cruell or *statute yearne. |
c. objective, as
statute-breaker,
statute-drawer.
| a 1831 Bentham Nomogr. iii. Wks. 1843 III. 242 The productions of an official statute-drawer. 1909 Q. Rev. Oct. 386 A statute-breaker is but little oppressed with a sense of moral guilt. |
9. Special comb.:
statute-barred a., (of debts, claims) barred by the statute of limitations;
† statute-cap, the woollen cap ordered by the Act of 13
Eliz. c. 19 (1571) to be worn on Sundays and holy days by all persons not of a certain social or official rank;
† statute congregation, a separatist designation for a congregation of the established church;
statute duty = statute-labour;
statute-execution, the summary execution of a statute-merchant (see 4 a);
statute fair,
statute hiring = sense 6;
† statute hall, a building open at the ‘statutes’ (see 6) for hiring of servants;
statute labour, a definite amount of labour on works of public utility, formerly required by statute to be performed by the residents in the district interested (also
attrib.); so
statute labourer;
statute law, a law contained in a statute; also in generalized sense, the system of law contained in statutes, as distinguished from common law;
statute money, money paid as commutation for statute labour;
† statute-Protestant (see
quot. a 1591);
statute-roll, the roll on which the statutes are engrossed; often
= statute-book 2;
† statute-sessions = sense 6 (see
quot. 1607);
statute-work = statute labour.
| 1905 Daily Chron. 8 Aug. 2/7 A desire to liquidate debts that were *statute-barred. |
| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 281 Better wits haue worne plain *statute caps. |
| 1594 Hooker Eccl. Pol. Pref. viii. §1 [The separatists say:] we thinke the *statute-congregations in Englande to be no true Christian Churches. |
| c 1830 Pract. Treat. Roads 25 in Libr. Usef. Knowl., Husb. III, The system of *statute-duty naturally induces a larger outlay to take place in horse labour, than would otherwise occur. |
| 1766 Blackstone Comm. ii. xxxi. 487 It hath also been held, that under a commission of bankrupt, which is in the nature of a *statute-execution, the landlord shall be allowed his arrears of rent..in preference to other creditors. |
| 1826 Hor. Smith Tor Hill (1838) I. 89 The *statute-fair had a few days before completely exhausted their little hoards of half-pence and farthings. 1863 Mrs. Gaskell Sylvia's L. i, Many a rustic went to a statute fair or ‘mop’, and never came home to tell of his hiring. |
| 1772 Town & Country Mag. 33 She..resolved..to repair to one of the *Statute-halls, in order to obtain a place in quality of servants. |
| 1878 J. H. Gray China i. x. 240 For these servants there are what in England are termed *statute hirings. |
| 1800 Local Act 39 & 40 Geo. III, c. xxxii, An Act for levying a Conversion Money in lieu of the *Statute Labour [on roads]. 1831 M. O'Brien Jrnl. 16 Feb. (1968) xvi. 155 We shall have a share as the statute labour employed on the Street will then come upon the side lines. 1845 W. Pagan Road Reform iii. 208 There is an excellent statute labour road diverging at Leslie. 1847 Jrnl. Agric. 1847–49, 65 The 8th and 9th Vict. c. 41 (the general statute labour act,) which §9 enacts [etc.]. 1895 W. Elkington Five Years in Canada vi. 52 Every person owning property is required to put in a certain amount of work every year on Government roads or fireguards; it is called Statute Labour. 1968 E. Russenholt Heart of Continent iv. xii. 223 The Council of Assiniboia for 1901..abolishes statute labor, that time-honored method of doing road-work. |
| 1612 R. Daborne Christian turn'd Turke 886 He would haue me a cuckold by law forsooth, by *statute law. a 1637 B. Jonson Discov., Poesis, There is no Statute Law of the Kingdome bidds you bee a Poet, against your will. a 1653 Sir R. Filmer Patriarcha iii. §11 (1680) 115 What is hitherto affirmed of the Dependency and Subjection of the Common Law to the Soveraign Prince, the same may be said as well of all Statute Laws. 1818 Hallam Mid. Ages viii. iii. (1819) III. 225 Though the statute law is full of authorities in their favour. 1863 Cox Instit. i. ii. 10 The system of jurisprudence..is in a great measure independent of statute-law. |
| 1799 J. Robertson Agric. Perth 363 That the commissioners of supply, as public bodies in separate counties,..should borrow money, upon the credit of the *statute money. |
| a 1591 H. Smith Serm. (1622) 544 *Statute-Protestants, which goe to the Church and heare an Homily, and receiue once a yeere. |
| 1818 Hallam Mid. Ages viii. iii. (1819) III. 71 These petitions..were..entered upon the *statute-roll. 1875 Stubbs Const. Hist. iii. xviii. 274 His statute-roll contains no acts for securing or increasing public liberties. |
| 1607 J. Cowell Interpr., *Statute sessions..are a meeting in every hundred..vnto the which the constables doe repaire, and others both householders and seruants, for the debating of differences between masters and their seruants, the rating of seruants wages, and the bestowing of such people in seruice, as being fit to serue, either refuse to seeke, or cannot get Masters. |
| 1726 in Picton L'pool Munic. Rec. (1886) II. 63 The roads..cannot be sufficiently repair'd by the *statute work. 1807 Beverley & Kexby Road Act 7 All persons who by law are or shall be liable to do Statute Work. |
▪ II. † ˈstatute, v.1 Chiefly
Sc. Obs. Pa. pple. often
† statut(e (
statuit).
[f. L. statūt-, ppl. stem of statuĕre: see statute n.] 1. trans. To ordain, decree. Chiefly with clause as
obj.| c 1435 in Three 15th Cent. Chron. (Camden) 91 It was enactyd, statuted, and decrede by all the hole counsel of the saide cite. c 1470 Henry Wallace iv. 133 Than statute thai, in ilk steide of the west, In thar boundis Wallace suld haiff no rest. c 1500 Lancelot 2527 The day that vas Y-statut and ordanit for to bee. 1513 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford (1880) 10 It was enacted, established and statuted. c 1530 L. Cox Rhet. (1899) 46 Superyours whiche haue power to make, or statute, lawes to the inferiours. 1560–1 1st & 2nd Bks. Discipl. Ch. Scot. (1621) 18 For better execution of the said Act, It is statute, that [etc.]. 1594 in Maitl. Club Misc. I. 67 The presbiterie of Glasgow statutis and ordenis, that [etc.]. 1629 Descr. S'hertogenbosh 7 The Burgers..began to statute Lawes, and to make a Magistrate. 1640–1 Kirkcudbr. War-Comm. Min. Bk. (1855) 151 The said Committie of Estates..have, be thir presents, fund and resolvit, statuit and ordainit, that [etc.]. 1661 Sc. Acts Parlt. (1814) VII. 235 It is heirby statute that the Commissioners shall be releived of the pryces therof. 1678 Sir G. Mackenzie Crim. Laws Scot. i. xiv. §v. (1699) 79 Seing this pain is only statuted in the case of Paracide. 1698 in R. M. Fergusson Logie (1905) II. 300 The Session..statuts and appoints all these in the Congregation who hath pipers or fiddlers at their weddings to lose their Dollars. 1730 Kames Decis. Crt. Sess. 1730–52 (1799) 5 An Act..which statutes, That the acting [etc.]. 1756 T. Amory Buncle (1770) III. 53 He..statuted that men should maintain the dignity of the conjugal state. 1880 Skene Celtic Scot. III. 241 In another law the King statutes that if any [etc.]. |
2. To appoint (a term, time of payment, etc.).
| 1557 Knox Let. Sel. Writ. (1845) 350 Statuted it is to all men once to die. 1560 Maitl. Club Misc. III. 221 In the terme statut to ansuer to the said Williames petitioun Compered Elizabeth. 1563 Ibid. III. 315 The superintendent statutis wednesdaye nixt to cum to pronunc in presens of Jhon & decernis his summondis to summond Barbara yarto. |
3. To set in order (a kingdom, country).
| c 1470 Henry Wallace iv. 13 A gret consell was sett..Off Inglis lordis, to statute this cuntre. Ibid. viii. 1594 Scotlande atour, fra Ross till Soloway sand, He raid it thrys, and statut all the land. |
Hence
ˈstatuted ppl. a.,
ˈstatuting vbl. n.| 1755 T. Amory Mem. (1769) I. 284 The statuted appointment of mercy rejoices us. 1843 Carlyle Past & Pr. ii. 13 Enforce it by never such statuting, three readings, royal assents,..it will not stand. 1891 F. Thompson Sister-Songs (1895) 39 [The soul] ripe for kingship, yet must be Captive in statuted minority! |
▪ III. † ˈstatute, v.2 [f. statute n.] trans. To include in the scope of a ‘statute’ or bond (see
statute n. 4).
| 1681 T. Flatman Heraclitus Ridens No. 10. (1713) I. 63 He has nothing to shew for his Money but an Order of a Committee, and that's Statuted too. |