ENGLISH
REFERENCE

constitutional

n. countable
C1 Advanced Oxford US //ˌkɑnstəˈtuʃənəɫ// UK //kˌɒnstɪtjˈuːʃənəl// con·sti·tu·tion·al Humorous

n. a short walk you take every day to stay healthy. It is an old-fashioned way to talk about exercise.

n. a walk taken regularly for the purpose of maintaining or improving physical health. Often carries a slightly formal or humorous tone in modern usage.


SIMPLE

He takes a brisk constitutional every morning before breakfast.

CONTEXTUAL

After a heavy Sunday lunch, the whole family went for a short constitutional around the local park.

COMPLEX

The elderly professor was a creature of habit, never failing to complete his daily constitutional regardless of the biting wind or torrential rain.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

PIE word *ḱóm From constitution + -al (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Constitution is derived from Middle English constitucioun, constitucion (“edict, law, ordinance, regulation, rule, statute; body of laws or rules, or customs; body of fundamental principles; principle or rule (of science); creation”) from Old French constitucion (modern French constitution), a learned borrowing from Latin cōnstitūtiō, cōnstitūtiōnem (“character, constitution, disposition, nature; definition; point in dispute; order, regulation; arrangement, system”), from cōnstituō (“to establish, set up; to confirm; to decide, resolve”) (from con- (prefix indicating a being or bringing together of several objects) + statuō (“to set up, station; to establish; to determine, fix”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand (up)”))) + -tiō (suffix forming nouns relating to actions or the results of actions), -tiōnem (accusative singular of -tiō).

Usage

Typically used with the verb 'take' or 'go for'.

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