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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Consist \Con*sist"\ (k[o^]n*s[i^]st"), verb (used without an object) [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}.
Usage: 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.''
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