Establish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Established; p. pr. & vb. n. Establishing.] — Webster enters it under “establish”
Etymology: [OE. establissen, OF. establir, F. établir, fr. L. stabilire, fr. stabilis firm, steady, stable. See Stable, a., - ish, and cf. Stablish.]
1. To make stable or firm; to fix immovably or firmly; to set (a thing) in a place and make it stable there; to settle; to confirm. So were the churches established in the faith. Acts xvi. 5. The best established tempers can scarcely forbear being borne down. Burke. Confidence which must precede union could be established only by consummate prudence and self-control. Bancroft.
2. To appoint or constitute for permanence, as officers, laws, regulations, etc.; to enact; to ordain. By the consent of all, we were established The people's magistrates. Shak. Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed. Dan. vi. 8.
3. To originate and secure the permanent existence of; to found; to institute; to create and regulate; -- said of a colony, a state, or other institutions. He hath established it [the earth], he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited. Is. xlv. 18. Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and establisheth a city by iniquity! Hab. ii. 12.
4. To secure public recognition in favor of; to prove and cause to be accepted as true; as, to establish a fact, usage, principle, opinion, doctrine, etc. At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. Deut. xix. 15.
1 more senses
5. To set up in business; to place advantageously in a fixed condition; -- used reflexively; as, he established himself in a place; the enemy established themselves in the citadel.
Shades of meaning
Fernald lists established only as an antonym, under absurd.
Where he writes about it:
Testimony is corroborated by concurrent testimony or by circumstances; confirmed by established facts. — from confirm
That which is thoroughly proved is said to be established; so is that which is official and has adequate power behind it; as, the established government; the established church. — from confirm
That which has been either demonstrated or proved so as to secure general acceptance is said to be established. — from reason