Middle English: via Old French from Latin instantiapresence, urgency, from instarebe present, press upon, from in-upon + stareto stand. The original sense was urgency, urgent entreaty, surviving in at the instance of. In the late 16th cent. the word denoted a particular case cited to disprove a general assertion, derived from medieval Latin instantiaexample to the contrary (translating Greek enstasisobjection); hence the meaning ‘single occurrence’
英英释义网络释义
noun
1.an occurrence of something;
it was a case of bad judgment
2.an item of information that is representative of a type;
this patient provides a typical example of the syndrome