Founded

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈfaʊndɪd/

Definitions

1. To initiate and establish an organization, institution, or community with a specific purpose or foundation in mind
2. To create an enduring entity, establishment, or movement that is based on particular principles or objectives
3. To have set up a group or company with a clear purpose or goal

Etymology: "Founded" is the past tense and past participle of "found," and the verb has two separate origins that happen to have merged in English. One branch comes from Latin "fundare," meaning to lay a foundation, from "fundus," base or bottom. That sense passed through Old French "fonder" into Middle English, where it meant to establish something on a firm base, as in building a town or an institution. The other branch comes from Latin "fundere," to pour, which gave Old French "fondre" and the sense of melting or casting metal. Metalworkers "founded" objects by pouring molten material into a mould, and English took that sense too. Over time the two verbs fell together in English, so the idea of pouring a base and the idea of building on one ended up sharing a single past form.

Synonyms: established, created, instituted, formed, set up

Antonyms: dissolved, destroyed, disbanded, abolished, terminated