WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Con*sist"
Part of Speech : v.
Etymology : [L. consistere to stand still or firm; con- + sistere to stand, cause to stand, stare to stand: cf. F. consister. See Stand.]
Definition : 1. To stand firm; to be in a fixed or permanent state, as a body composed of parts in union or connection; to hold together; to be; to exist; to subsist; to be supported and maintained. He is before all things, and by him all things consist. Col. i. 17.

2. To be composed or made up; -- followed by of. The land would consist of plains and valleys. T. Burnet.

3. To have as its substance or character, or as its foundation; to be; -- followed by in. If their purgation did consist in words. Shak. A man's life consisteth not in the abudance of the things which he possesseth. Luke xii. 15.

4. To be cosistent or harmonious; to be in accordance; -- formerly used absolutely, now followed by with. This was a consisting story. Bp. Burnet. Health consists with temperance alone. Pope. For orders and degrees Jar not with liberty, but well consist. Milton.

5. To insist; -- followed by on. [Obs.] Shak.

Syn. -- To Consist, Consist of, Consist in. The verb consist is employed chiefly for two purposes, which are marked and distinguished by the prepositions used. When we wish to indicate the parts which unite to compose a thing, we use of; as when we say, "Macaulay's Miscellanies consist chiefly of articles which were first published in the Edinburgh Review." When we wish to indicate the true nature of a thing, or that on which it depends, we use in; as, "There are some artists whose skill consists in a certain manner which they have affected." "Our safety consists in a strict adherence to duty."

i. [imp. & p.p. Consisted; p.pr. & vb.n. Consisting.]
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913