<P> The English noun state in the generic sense "condition, circumstances" predates the political sense . It is introduced to Middle English c. 1200 both from Old French and directly from Latin . </P> <P> With the revival of the Roman law in 14th - century Europe, the term came to refer to the legal standing of persons (such as the various "estates of the realm"--noble, common, and clerical), and in particular the special status of the king . The highest estates, generally those with the most wealth and social rank, were those that held power. The word also had associations with Roman ideas (dating back to Cicero) about the "status rei publicae", the "condition of public matters". In time, the word lost its reference to particular social groups and became associated with the legal order of the entire society and the apparatus of its enforcement . </P> <P> The early 16th - century works of Machiavelli (especially The Prince) played a central role in popularizing the use of the word "state" in something similar to its modern sense . The contrasting of church and state still dates to the 16th century . The North American colonies were called "states" as early as the 1630s . The expression L'Etat, c'est moi ("I am the State") attributed to Louis XIV of France is probably apocryphal, recorded in the late 18th century . </P> <P> There is no academic consensus on the most appropriate definition of the state . The term "state" refers to a set of different, but interrelated and often overlapping, theories about a certain range of political phenomena . The act of defining the term can be seen as part of an ideological conflict, because different definitions lead to different theories of state function, and as a result validate different political strategies . According to Jeffrey and Painter, "if we define the' essence' of the state in one place or era, we are liable to find that in another time or space something which is also understood to be a state has different' essential' characteristics". </P>

Who used the term state in modern sense for the first time