INSTANCING

Verb

instancing

present participle of instance

Source: Wiktionary


INSTANCE

In"stance, n. Etym: [F. instance, L. instantia, fr. instans. See Instant.]

1. The act or quality of being instant or pressing; urgency; solicitation; application; suggestion; motion. Undertook at her instance to restore them. Sir W. Scott.

2. That which is instant or urgent; motive. [Obs.] The instances that second marriage move Are base respects of thrift, but none of love. Shak.

3. Occasion; order of occurrence. These seem as if, in the time of Edward I., they were drawn up into the form of a law, in the first instance. Sir M. Hale.

4. That which offers itself or is offered as an illustrative case; something cited in proof or exemplification; a case occurring; an example. Most remarkable instances of suffering. Atterbury.

5. A token; a sign; a symptom or indication. Shak. Causes of instance, those which proceed at the solicitation of some party. Hallifax.

– Court of first instance, the court by which a case is first tried.

– For instance, by way of example or illustration.

– Instance Court (Law), the Court of Admiralty acting within its ordinary jurisdiction, as distinguished from its action as a prize court.

Syn.

– Example; case. See Example.

In"stance, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Instanced; p. pr. & vb. n. Instancing.]

Definition: To mention as a case or example; to refer to; to cite; as, to instance a fact. H. Spenser. I shall not instance an abstruse author. Milton.

In"stance, v. i.

Definition: To give an example. [Obs.] This story doth not only instance in kingdoms, but in families too. Jer. Taylor.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

11 June 2025

LIGHT

(adjective) having relatively few calories; “diet cola”; “light (or lite) beer”; “lite (or light) mayonnaise”; “a low-cal diet”


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Coffee Trivia

The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.

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