'Statute' is Latin for 'a thing set up' — from 'statuere.' A law that stands firm.
A written law passed by a legislative body; a rule or regulation made by an organization or institution.
From Old French 'estatut' (later 'statut'), from Late Latin 'statūtum' (a decree, an ordinance), the neuter past participle of Latin 'statuere' (to set up, to establish, to decree), from 'status' (a standing, a condition), from 'stāre' (to stand). The PIE root is *steh₂- (to stand). A statute is literally something 'set up' or 'established' — a law that stands firm
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