Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
verb (used with object), in·stat·ed, in·stat·ing.
- to put or place in a certain state or position, as in an office; install.
- Obsolete. to endow with something.
verb
- (tr) to place in a position or office; install
“to put someone in a certain state or condition,” c.1600, from in + state (n.1). Related: Instated; instating.
With pomp and ceremony, as in The foreign leaders were dining in state at the White House. This expression, dating from the late 1600s, also appears in lie in state, said of a dead body ceremoniously exposed to public view before being interred. This latter usage, dating from about 1700, is generally confined to important public figures, as in His Majesty lay in state in the palace.