Statue vs statute

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Grammarist

A statue is a cast or a sculpture of a person or an animal. Usually, a statue is life-sized or larger. A statue may be plaster, wood, marble, metal or many other materials. Related words are the adjective forms statued and statuesque, and the noun form statuary. Statue comes from the Latin word statua which means image, monumental figure, to stand.

A statute is a law enacted by a legislative body or a rule enacted by an institution. Statute also refers to the physical document that expresses the law enacted by a legislative body or the rule enacted by an institution. A related word is the adjective form, statutory. Statute comes into the English language from the Late Latin word statutum, meaning a law, a decree.

Examples

As a tribute to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, this chocolate boutique in Puducherry just sculpted a 5 feet 11 inches tall statue of the missile man – and it’s made entirely of chocolate! (The India Times)

Welcome to Twitter, my sister,” said the Statue of Liberty, the giant statue on an island off New York, which was designed by a French sculptor and built by Eiffel before being shipped off to the United States as a gift from the people of France in the late 19th century. (The Telegraph)

The statue will straddle the port entrance on the island, allowing ships to sail in between its legs. (The Daily Mail)

The South Korean government lodged a protest with Japan on Saturday over Japanese media reports that say Seoul is considering relocating a statue of a girl symbolising the issue of so-called comfort women from in front of the Japanese Embassy in the South Korean capital. (The Bangkok Post)

The current California statute of limitations on prosecuting felony rape and sexual assault cases is 10 years after the crime occurs — or for incidents involving minors, the age of 26.  (The Vallejo Times-Herald)

“(The statute) says if you have a building on the registry you may create a commission for preservation,” she said. (The La Crosse Tribune)