ESTABLISH
establish, base, ground, found
(verb) use as a basis for; found on; “base a claim on some observation”
prove, demonstrate, establish, show, shew
(verb) establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment; “The experiment demonstrated the instability of the compound”; “The mathematician showed the validity of the conjecture”
install, instal, set up, establish
(verb) place; “Her manager had set her up at the Ritz”
establish, found, plant, constitute, institute
(verb) set up or lay the groundwork for; “establish a new department”
establish, give
(verb) bring about; “The trompe l’oeil-illusion establishes depth”
build, establish
(verb) build or establish something abstract; “build a reputation”
establish, set up, found, launch
(verb) set up or found; “She set up a literacy program”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
establish (third-person singular simple present establishes, present participle establishing, simple past and past participle established)
(transitive) To make stable or firm; to confirm.
(transitive) To form; to found; to institute; to set up in business.
(transitive) To appoint or adopt, as officers, laws, regulations, guidelines, etc.; to enact; to ordain.
(transitive) To prove and cause to be accepted as true; to establish a fact; to demonstrate.
Source: Wiktionary
Es*tab"lish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Established; p. pr. & vb. n.
Establishing.] Etym: [OE. establissen, OF. establir, F. Ă©tablir, fr.
L. stabilire, fr. stabilis firm, steady, stable. See Stable, a., -
ish, and cf. Stablish.]
1. To make stable or firm; to fix immovably or firmly; to set (a
thing) in a place and make it stable there; to settle; to confirm.
So were the churches established in the faith. Acts xvi. 5.
The best established tempers can scarcely forbear being borne down.
Burke.
Confidence which must precede union could be established only by
consummate prudence and self-control. Bancroft.
2. To appoint or constitute for permanence, as officers, laws,
regulations, etc.; to enact; to ordain.
By the consent of all, we were established The people's magistrates.
Shak.
Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be
not changed. Dan. vi. 8.
3. To originate and secure the permanent existence of; to found; to
institute; to create and regulate; -- said of a colony, a state, or
other institutions.
He hath established it [the earth], he created it not in vain, he
formed it to be inhabited. Is. xlv. 18.
Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and establisheth a city
by iniquity! Hab. ii. 12.
4. To secure public recognition in favor of; to prove and cause to be
accepted as true; as, to establish a fact, usage, principle, opinion,
doctrine, etc.
At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses,
shall the matter be established. Deut. xix. 15.
5. To set up in business; to place advantageously in a fixed
condition; -- used reflexively; as, he established himself in a
place; the enemy established themselves in the citadel.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition