Consistere

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To come to a halt; to take a stand; to consist or be composed of certain elements
2. To cease movement and stop; to maintain a fixed position; to be made up or formed from specific parts
3. To bring oneself to a stop; to hold a place firmly; to have a composition or constituent nature of particular components

Etymology: "Consistere" is a Latin verb formed from the prefix "con-" ("together") and "sistere," meaning "to stand" or "to cause to stand," which itself comes from "stare," "to stand." Literally, it meant "to stand together" or "to take a stand in one place," and from that physical sense came the idea of stopping, halting, or settling down. Roman writers used it of troops making a halt and of people taking up a position, so the notion of coming to rest in one spot is built into the word from the start. Its English descendant is "consist," which entered the language in the 15th century, but the meaning drifted far from the original. Where the Latin stressed stillness in a place, English "consist" came to mean "to be composed of" or "to lie in" something, as in "happiness consists in virtue." The shift from standing still to being made up of parts is a notable leap, and it happened in English rather than in Latin.

Synonyms: stand, stop, pause, remain

Antonyms: move, run, leave