- Causes of instance
- Instance In"stance, n. [F. instance, L. instantia, fr.
instans. See {Instant}.]
[1913 Webster]
1. The act or quality of being instant or pressing; urgency;
solicitation; application; suggestion; motion.
[1913 Webster]
Undertook at her instance to restore them. --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]
2. That which is instant or urgent; motive. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
The instances that second marriage move Are base respects of thrift, but none of love. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
3. Occasion; order of occurrence. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
4. That which offers itself or is offered as an illustrative case; something cited in proof or exemplification; a case occurring; an example; as, we could find no instance of poisoning in the town within the past year. [1913 Webster +PJC]
Most remarkable instances of suffering. --Atterbury. [1913 Webster]
5. A token; a sign; a symptom or indication. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
{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; for example.
{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}. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
