An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics. An institute can also be a professional body, or an educational unit imparting vocational training—see Mechanics' Institutes. The word "institute" comes from a Latin word institutum meaning "facility" or "habit"; from instituere meaning "build", "create", "raise" or "educate".
In some countries, institutes can be part of a university or other institutions of higher education, either as a group of departments or an autonomous educational institution without a traditional university status such as a "university Institute" (see Institute of Technology). Also, private schools are sometimes referred to as institutes—rather than schools—in some other countries, such as South Korea and India. In Spain, secondary schools are referred to as institutes.