statute
stat.ute \'stach-(.)u:t, -*t\ n [ME, fr. OF statut, fr. LL statutum law, regulation, fr. L, neut. o] often attrib f statutus, pp. of statuere to set up, station, fr. status position, condition, state 1: a law enacted by the legislative branch of a government 2: an act of a corporation or of its founder intended as a permanent rule 3: an international instrument setting up an agency and regulating its scop e or authority