institution

n. institute, organization; place where people are confined and treated (i.e. prison or mental hospital); custom, convention; law or activity which is accepted in a society; act of instituting

Institutions are structures and mechanisms of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of two or more individuals. Institutions are identified with a social purpose and permanence, transcending individual human lives and intentions, and with the making and enforcing of rules governing cooperative human behavior. The term, institution, is commonly applied to customs and behavior patterns important to a society, as well as to particular formal organizations of government and public service. As structures and mechanisms of social order among humans, institutions are one of the principal objects of study in the social sciences, including sociology, political science and economics. Institutions are a central concern for law, the formal regime for political rule-making and enforcement. The creation and evolution of institutions is a primary topic for history.
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Noun
1. an organization founded and united for a specific purpose
(synonym) establishment
(hypernym) organization, organisation
(hyponym) medical institution
2. an establishment consisting of a building or complex of buildings where an organization for the promotion of some cause is situated
(hypernym) establishment
(hyponym) home, nursing home, rest home
3. a custom that for a long time has been an important feature of some group or society; "the institution of marriage"; "the institution of slavery"; "he had become an institution in the theater"
(hypernym) custom, tradition
(hyponym) levirate
4. the act of starting something for the first time; introducing something new; "she looked forward to her initiation as an adult"; "the foundation of a new scientific society"; "he regards the fork as a modern introduction"
(synonym) initiation, founding, foundation, origination, creation, innovation, introduction, instauration
(hypernym) beginning, start, commencement
(hyponym) authorship, paternity
(derivation) establish, found, plant, constitute, institute
5. a hospital for mentally incompetent or unbalanced person
(synonym) mental hospital, psychiatric hospital, mental institution, mental home, insane asylum, asylum
(hypernym) hospital, infirmary
(hyponym) Bedlam, booby hatch, crazy house, cuckoo's nest, funny farm, funny house, loony bin, madhouse, nut house, nuthouse, sanatorium, snake pit
(derivation) commit, institutionalize, institutionalise, send, charge

n. institution, organization, establishment, foundation, organization which provides a certain service or supports a particular cause

n. institution, establishment