Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “instance” come from?

Instance comes from French instance, from Latin instantia, meaning urgency or insistence, derived from Latin instans, the present participle of instare, composed of Latin in- and the Proto-Indo-European root steh₂- meaning to stand.

instance (English): Urgency of manner or words; an urgent request;...

Definitions

  1. Urgency of manner or words; an urgent request;...

Ancestry of “instance”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchinstance—
2Latininstāntia—
3Latinīnstāns—
4Latinstō—
5Proto-Italicstaēōstand
6Proto-Indo-Europeansth₂éh₁yeti—
7Proto-Indo-European*steh₂-—

Words derived from “instance”

  • counterinstance
  • instanceth
  • noninstance
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- →