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Main Entry: ex · ist
Pronunciation: ig-'zist
Function: intransitive verb
Etymology: Latin exsistere to come into being, exist, from ex- + sistere to stand, stop;
akin to Latin stare to stand - more at STAND
Date: 1602
1 a : to have real being whether material or spiritual [did unicorns exist] [the largest galaxy known to exist]
b : to have being in a specified place or with respect to understood limitations or conditions [strange ideas existed in his mind]
2 : to continue to be [racism still exists in society]
3 a : to have life or the functions of vitality [we cannot exist without oxygen]
b : to live at an inferior level or under adverse circumstances [the hungry existing from day to day]
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