[ˈɪnst(ə)ns], (Noun)

Definitions:
- an example or single occurrence of something
(e.g: a serious instance of corruption)


Phrases:
- at first instance
- at the instance of
- for instance
- in the first instance

Origin:
Middle English: via Old French from Latin instantia ‘presence, urgency’, from instare ‘be present, press upon’, from in- ‘upon’ + stare ‘to stand’. The original sense was ‘urgency, urgent entreaty’, surviving in at the instance of. In the late 16th century the word denoted a particular case cited to disprove a general assertion, derived from medieval Latin instantia ‘example to the contrary’ (translating Greek enstasis ‘objection’); hence the meaning ‘single occurrence’

[ˈɪnst(ə)ns], (Verb)

Definitions:
- cite (a fact, case, etc.) as an example
(e.g: I instanced Bob as someone whose commitment had certainly got things done)


Phrases:
- at first instance
- at the instance of
- for instance
- in the first instance

Origin:
Middle English: via Old French from Latin instantia ‘presence, urgency’, from instare ‘be present, press upon’, from in- ‘upon’ + stare ‘to stand’. The original sense was ‘urgency, urgent entreaty’, surviving in at the instance of. In the late 16th century the word denoted a particular case cited to disprove a general assertion, derived from medieval Latin instantia ‘example to the contrary’ (translating Greek enstasis ‘objection’); hence the meaning ‘single occurrence’