instance
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Alternative forms
[edit] Etymology
From Middle French instance, from Latin instantia (“a being near, presence, also perseverance, earnestness, importunity, urgency”), from instans (“urgent”); see instant.
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
instance (plural instances)
- (obsolete) Urgency of manner or words; an urgent request; insistence. [14th-19th c.]
- 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.8:
- I know one very well alied, to whom, at the instance of a brother of his [...], I spake to that purpose [...].
- 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.8:
- A case offered as an exemplification or a precedent; an illustrative example. [from 16th c.]
- 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy:
- sometimes we love those that are absent, saith Philostratus, and gives instance in his friend Athenodorus, that loved a maid at Corinth whom he never saw [...].
- 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy:
- A recurring occasion, case etc.
- 2010, The Guardian, 11 Oct 2010:
- The organisations claim fraudsters are targeting properties belonging to both individuals and companies, in some instances using forged documents.
- 2010, The Guardian, 11 Oct 2010:
- (obsolete) A piece of evidence; a proof or sign (of something). [16th-18th c.]
- c. 1594, William Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors:
- The reason that I gather he is mad, Besides this present instance of his rage, Is a mad tale he told to day at dinner [...].
- c. 1594, William Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors:
- (computing) In object-oriented programming: a created object, one that has had memory allocated for local data storage; an instantiation of a class. [from 20th c.]
- (computer science) A question that can be asked in the context of a computational problem.[1]
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
case occurring, a case offered as an exemplification, an example
recurring occurrence occasion, case
in computing
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[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Instances are questions that we can ask, and solutions are desired answers to these questions. See Models
[edit] Verb
instance (third-person singular simple present instances, present participle instancing, simple past and past participle instanced)
- (transitive) To mention as a case or example; to refer to; to cite; as, to instance a fact.
- (intransitive) To cite an example as proof; to exemplify.
[edit] References
- instance in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- instance in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
[edit] Statistics
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Most common English words before 1923: lead · wouldn't · success · #905: instance · sake · justice · offer
[edit] Anagrams
[edit] French
[edit] Etymology
- From Latin instantia. For the computing sense, reborrowed from English instance.
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
instance f. (plural instances)
