Con*sist" (k&obreve;n*s&ibreve;st"), v.
i. [imp. & p. p. Consisted;
p. pr. & vb. n. Consisting.] [L.
consistere to stand still or firm; con- +
sistere to stand, cause to stand, stare to stand:
cf. F. consister. See Stand.] 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 abundance of
the things which he possesseth.
Luke xii. 15.
4. To be consistent 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."
