means A person's or thing's relative standing, rank, or current condition within a system or society.

from Straight from Latin status, 'a standing, position, condition,' from stare, 'to stand' — the same root that braces statue, stable, and state. The image is literal: where you stand. English borrowed it whole, unchanged in spelling, and the social-rank flavor (as in 'status symbol') grew up around it later, while the plain 'current state' sense (a flight's status, your status update) kept the original Latin standing.