Other forms: established, establishing, establishes
To establish something is to set it up so that it lasts. A company established in 1904, a charity established after the flood, a rule established in the first week of term and never broken since.
The second use is about proof: to establish a fact is to settle it beyond argument — the inquiry established that the alarm had been switched off. People establish themselves too, meaning they win a solid position: she established herself as the best translator in the city. The adjective established carries the weight of time behind it, an established writer, established practice, and the noun establishment means both the founding of a thing and, with the in front, the people who run everything. The word never suits small quick jobs: you set up a table, you establish an institution.
1verbestablishTo set something up so that it continues into the future.
“They established a small library in the village hall.”
2verbproveTo prove something so that it is no longer in doubt.
“The tests established that both samples came from the same source.”
3verbgainTo gain a firm and recognised position.
“He established himself as the team's first-choice keeper.”
Also accepted in games: set up
Establish comes from Old French establir, from Latin stabilio, and behind that stabilis, 'firm, steady' — the ancestor of stable. To establish something is to make it stand still. Everything solid in the word, a company that outlives its founder or a fact that will not move, comes from that one idea of standing.
Old French
establir
Middle English
establissen
English, today
establish
Built from
From Middle English establissen, from Old French establir. Middle English establissen, from Old French establiss-, stem of some of the conjugated forms of establir (modern French établir), from Latin stabilio, from stabilis (“firm, steady, stable”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA