institution (
http://definr.com/institution)
n 1: an organization founded and united for a specific purpose
[syn:
establishment]
2: an establishment consisting of a building or complex of
buildings where an organization for the promotion of some
cause is situated
3: a custom that for a long time has been an important feature
of some group or society; "the institution of marriage";
"he had become an institution in the theater"
4: starting something for the first time [syn:
initiation,
founding,
foundation,
origination,
creation,
instauration]
5: a hospital for mentally incompetent or unbalanced person
[syn:
mental hospital,
psychiatric hospital, {mental
institution},
mental home,
insane asylum,
asylum]