Sentence:  It became the sole `` subject '' of `` international law '' ( a term which , it <WSD>is</WSD> pertinent to remember , was coined by Bentham ) , a body of legal principle which by and large was made up of what Western nations could do in the world arena . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)