The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Institute \In"sti*tute\, n. [L. institutum: cf. F. institut. See
   Institute, v. t. & a.]
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   1. The act of instituting; institution. [Obs.] "Water
      sanctified by Christ's institute." --Milton.
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   2. That which is instituted, established, or fixed, as a law,
      habit, or custom. --Glover.
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   3. Hence: An elementary and necessary principle; a precept,
      maxim, or rule, recognized as established and
      authoritative; usually in the plural, a collection of such
      principles and precepts; esp., a comprehensive summary of
      legal principles and decisions; as, the Institutes of
      Justinian; Coke's Institutes of the Laws of England. Cf.
      Digest, n.
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            They made a sort of institute and digest of anarchy.
                                                  --Burke.
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            To make the Stoics' institutes thy own. --Dryden.
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   4. An institution; a society established for the promotion of
      learning, art, science, etc.; a college; as, the Institute
      of Technology; The Massachusetts Institute of Technology;
      also, a building owned or occupied by such an institute;
      as, the Cooper Institute.
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   5. (Scots Law) The person to whom an estate is first given by
      destination or limitation. --Tomlins.
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   Institutes of medicine, theoretical medicine; that
      department of medical science which attempts to account
      philosophically for the various phenomena of health as
      well as of disease; physiology applied to the practice of
      medicine. --Dunglison.
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