the act or process of instituting; as: (a) establishment; foundation; enactment; as, the institution of a school.-instruction; education.-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.-that which instituted or established-established order, method, or custom; enactment; ordinance; permanent form of law or polity.-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.-anything forming a characteristic and persistent feature in social or national life or habits.-that which institutes or instructs; a textbook; a system of elements or rules; an institute.