*state*

a. [ L. angustatus, p. p. of angustare to make narrow. ] Narrowed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. apostata, Gr. &unr_;, fr. &unr_;. See Apostasy. ] 1. One who has forsaken the faith, principles, or party, to which he before adhered; esp., one who has forsaken his religion for another; a pervert; a renegade. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (R. C. Ch.) One who, after having received sacred orders, renounces his clerical profession. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to, or characterized by, apostasy; faithless to moral allegiance; renegade. [ 1913 Webster ]

So spake the apostate angel. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

A wretched and apostate state. Steele. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ L. apostatare. ] To apostatize. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

We are not of them which apostate from Christ. Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. aristatus, fr. arista. See Arista. ] 1. (Bot.) Having a pointed, beardlike process, as the glumes of wheat; awned. Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) Having a slender, sharp, or spinelike tip. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Estate; state. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

. Wisconsin; -- a nickname. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

Mississippi; -- a nickname, from its numerous bayous. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. Massachusetts, which had been called the Colony of Massachusetts Bay; -- a nickname. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. Arkansas; -- a nickname, from the many bears once inhabiting its forests. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. Oregon; -- a nickname. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ Pref. bi- + costate. ] (Bot.) Having two principal ribs running longitudinally, as a leaf. [ 1913 Webster ]

. Tennessee; -- a nickname. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. Nebraska; -- a nickname alluding to the dark color of the water of its rivers, due to the presence of a black vegetable mold in the soil. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. The Sate of Kentucky; -- a nickname alluding to the blue-grass region, where fine horses are bred. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. The State of Delaware; -- a popular sobriquet. It is said, though the story lacks proof, to have taken its origin from the insistence of a Delaware Revolutionary captain, named Caldwell, that no cock could be truly game unless the mother was a blue hen, whence
Blue Hen's Chickens came to be a nickname for the people of Delaware. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. Colorado; -- a nickname alluding to the fact that it was admitted to the Union in the centennial year, 1876. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. Washington -- a nickname. See Chinook, n. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. Joint estate. Smolett. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ F. constater; L. con- + stare to stand. ] To ascertain; to verify; to establish; to prove. F. P. Cobbe. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. & i. [ L. contristatus, p. p. of contristare to sadden; con- + tristis sad. ] To make sorrowful. [ Obs. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ L. costatus, fr. costa rib. ] Having ribs, or the appearance of ribs; (Bot.) having one or more longitudinal ribs. [ 1913 Webster ]

. Alabama; -- a nickname. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. South Dakota; -- a nickname. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. Georgia; -- a nickname. See Cracker, n. 5. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ L. creber close + costa rib. ] (Zool.) Marked with closely set ribs or ridges. [ 1913 Webster ]

. Louisiana; -- a nickname. See Creole, n. & a. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ L. ctistatus, fr. crista crest. ] (Bot. & Zool.) Crested. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. crustatus, p. p. of crustare, fr. crusta. See Crust. ] Covered with a crust; as, crustated basalt. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. curvus + E. costate. ] (Bot.) Having bent ribs. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. dehonestatus, p. p. of dehonestare to dishonor; de- + honestare to make honorable. Cf. Dishonest, and see Honest. ] To disparage. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To detest. [ Obs. ] Udall. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Devastated; p. pr. & vb. n. Devastating. ] [ L. devastatus, p. p. of devastare to devastate; de + vastare to lay waste, vastus waste. See Vast. ] To lay waste; to ravage; to desolate. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whole countries . . . were devastated. Macaulay.

Syn. -- To waste; ravage; desolate; destroy; demolish; plunder; pillage. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. same as desolated.
Syn. -- blasted, desolate, desolated, ravaged, ruined, wasted. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

v. t. [ L. devenustatus, p. p. of devenustare to disfigure; de + venustus lovely, graceful. ] To deprive of beauty or grace. [ Obs. ]

. Delaware; -- a nickname alluding to its small size. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ Pref. e- + costate. ] (Bot.) Having no ribs or nerves; -- said of a leaf. [ 1913 Webster ]

. New York; -- a nickname alluding to its size and wealth. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. Georgia; -- a nickname. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. Missouri; -- a nickname. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

v. t. See Instate. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. estat, F. état, L. status, fr. stare to stand. See Stand, and cf. State. ] 1. Settled condition or form of existence; state; condition or circumstances of life or of any person; situation. “When I came to man's estate.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Romans xii. 16. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Social standing or rank; quality; dignity. [ 1913 Webster ]

God hath imprinted his authority in several parts, upon several estates of men. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A person of high rank. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

She's a duchess, a great estate. Latimer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee. Mark vi. 21. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A property which a person possesses; a fortune; possessions, esp. property in land; also, property of all kinds which a person leaves to be divided at his death. [ 1913 Webster ]

See what a vast estate he left his son. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. The state; the general body politic; the common-wealth; the general interest; state affairs. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

I call matters of estate not only the parts of sovereignty, but whatsoever . . . concerneth manifestly any great portion of people. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. pl. The great classes or orders of a community or state (as the clergy, the nobility, and the commonalty of England) or their representatives who administer the government; as, the estates of the realm (England), which are (1) the lords spiritual, (2) the lords temporal, (3) the commons. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Law) The degree, quality, nature, and extent of one's interest in, or ownership of, lands, tenements, etc.; as, an estate for life, for years, at will, etc. Abbott. [ 1913 Webster ]

The fourth estate, a name often given to the public press. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To establish. [ Obs. ] Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Tom settle as a fortune. [ Archaic ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To endow with an estate. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Then would I . . .
Estate them with large land and territory. Tennyson.

. Washington; -- a nickname alluding to the abundance of evergreen trees. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ L. flexus bent + E. costate. ] (Anat.) Having bent or curved ribs. [ 1913 Webster ]

. Florida; -- a nickname, alluding to sense of L. floridus, from florida flowery. See Florid. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. California; -- a nickname alluding to its rich gold deposits. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. Minnesota; -- a nickname alluding to the abundance of gophers. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]