I. -shmənt noun
( -s )
1. : something that has been established:
a. : a settled arrangement ; especially : a code of laws : rule , decree , law
b. : established church
c. : a permanent civil or military force or organization
d. : a more or less fixed and usually sizable place of business or residence together with all the things that are an essential part of it (as grounds, furniture, fixtures, retinue, employees)
e. : a public or private institution (as a school or hospital)
2. : the act of establishing something or the state of being established: as
a.
(1) : the act of bringing into existence, creating, founding, originating, or setting up so that a certain continuance is assured
the establishment of a custom
the establishment of a factory
the establishment of a new set of laws
(2) : the act of settling or achieving (as a record)
b. obsolete : a settled or stable condition : calm security
c. : the making of a church into an established church
d. : a permanent settled position (as in life or business)
3. archaic : a regular means of support : an assured income
4. also establishment of the port : vulgar establishment
5. : the naturalization of a plant or sometimes an animal in a new habitat or range typically involving successful growth, survival, and reproduction — called also ecesis
II. noun
Usage: often capitalized
1. : a group of social, economic, and political leaders who form a ruling class (as of a nation)
by them he meant not the English, but the governing classes, the Establishment — A.J.P.Taylor
2. : a controlling group
the Welsh literary Establishment … kept him out of everything — Keidrych Rhys