different between state vs borough

English

Etymology

Middle English (as a noun); adopted c. 1200 from both Old French estat and Latin status (“manner of standing, attitude, position, carriage, manner, dress, apparel; and other senses”), from stare (“to stand”). Doublet of estate and status. The sense of "polity" develops in the 14th century. Compare French être, Greek ???? (stéo), Italian stare, Portuguese estar, Romanian sta, and Spanish estar.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ste?t/
• Rhymes: -e?t

Noun

state (plural states)

2. A condition; a set of circumstances applying at any given time.
   1. (physics) A complete description of a system, consisting of parameters that determine all properties of the system.
      • 1977, J. B. Sykes and John Stewart Bell, translating Lev Landau and Evgeny Lifshitz, Course of Theoretical Physics Vol. 3: Quantum Mechanics: Non-relativistic Theory, p.28:

        States in which the energy has definite values are called stationary states of a system; they are described by wave functions ?_n which are the eigenfunctions of the Hamiltonian operator, i.e. which satisfy the equation ??_n = E_n?_n, where E_n are the eigenvalues of the energy.

   2. (computing) The stable condition of a processor during a particular clock cycle.

   3. (computing) The set of all parameters relevant to a computation.

   4. (computing) The values of all parameters at some point in a computation.

   5. (sciences) The physical property of matter as solid, liquid, gas or plasma.
   6. (obsolete) Highest and stationary condition, as that of maturity between growth and decline, or as that of crisis between the increase and the abating of a disease; height; acme.
3. High social standing or circumstance.
   1. Pomp, ceremony, or dignity.

   2. Rank; condition; quality.
      • c. 1593, William Shakespeare, Richard III, [Act I, Scene iii]:

        And le?ned by that ?mall, God I be?eech him, / Thy honor, ?tate, and ?eate, is due to me.

   3. Condition of prosperity or grandeur; wealthy or prosperous circumstances; social importance.
   4. A chair with a canopy above it, often standing on a dais; a seat of dignity; also, the canopy itself.
   5. (obsolete) A great person, a dignitary; a lord or prince.
      • 1644, John Milton, Aeropagitica, page 1:

        They who to States and Governours of the Commonwealth direct their Speech, High Court of Parlament, or wanting ?uch acce??e in a private condition, write that which they fore?ee may advance the publick good?; I ?uppo?e them as at the beginning of no meane endeavour, not a little alter’d and mov’d inwardly in their mindes […]

   6. (obsolete) Estate, possession.
5. A polity.
   1. Any sovereign polity; a national or city-state government.
      • a. 1949, Albert Einstein, as quoted by Virgil Henshaw in Albert Einstein: Philosopher Scientist (1949)

        Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.
   2. A political division of a federation retaining a notable degree of autonomy, as in the United States, Germany, or Australia.
   3. (obsolete) A form of government other than a monarchy.
   4. (anthropology) A society larger than a tribe. A society large enough to form a state in the sense of a government.
6. (mathematics, stochastic processes) An element of the range of the random variables that define a random process.
7. (grammar, semantics) The lexical aspect (aktionsart) of verbs or predicates that do not change over time.

   Antonym: occurrence

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Pages starting with “state”.

Translations

Verb

state (third-person singular simple present states, present participle stating, simple past and past participle stated)

1. (transitive) To declare to be a fact.

   • Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations. It is easily earned repetition to state that Josephine St. Auban's was a presence not to be concealed.

2. (transitive) To make known.

Usage notes

State is stronger or more definitive than say. It is used to communicate an absence of reasonable doubt and to emphasize the factual or truthful nature of the communication.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:communicate

Translations

Adjective

state (comparative more state, superlative most state)

1. (obsolete) Stately.

Related terms

• estate
• statistics
• status
• State

See also

• department
• province

Further reading

• state on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References

• state at OneLook Dictionary Search
• state in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• state in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• state in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Satet, Testa, Tetas, aetts, atest, taste, teats, testa

Afrikaans

Noun

state

1. plural of staat

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?sta.te/
• Rhymes: -ate
• Hyphenation: stà?te

Etymology 1

Apheretic form of estate.

Noun

state f (plural stati)

1. (Tuscany) Alternative form of estate

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

state

1. inflection of stare:
   1. second-person plural present indicative
   2. second-person plural imperative

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the main entry.

Participle

state

1. feminine plural of stato

Anagrams

• setta, testa

References

• state in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti

Latin

Verb

st?te

1. second-person plural present active imperative of st?

Participle

state

1. vocative masculine singular of status

English

Alternative forms

• boro (some US speakers)
• bourg, burough, burrow (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English borwe, borgh, burgh, buruh, from Old English burh, from Proto-West Germanic *burg, from Proto-Germanic *burgz (“stronghold, city”).

Cognate with Dutch burcht, German Burg, Swedish borg, French bourg. Doublet of burgh.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?b???/
  • Homophone: burgh
• (US) IPA^(key): /?b??o?/, /?b??o?/
• Rhymes: -?r?, -?r??

Noun

borough (plural boroughs)

1. (obsolete) A fortified town.
2. (rare) A town or city.
3. A town having a municipal corporation and certain traditional rights.
4. An administrative district in some cities, e.g., London.
5. An administrative unit of a city which, under most circumstances according to state or national law, would be considered a larger or more powerful entity; most commonly used in American English to define the five counties that make up New York City.
6. Other similar administrative units in cities and states in various parts of the world.
7. A district in Alaska having powers similar to a county.
8. (historical, Britain, law) An association of men who gave pledges or sureties to the king for the good behaviour of each other.
9. (historical, Britain, law) The pledge or surety thus given.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Blackstone to this entry?)

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Tomlins to this entry?)

Derived terms

Related terms

• Brough
• burg
• burgh
• -bury

Translations

References

borough in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.