Etymologically
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instanter

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Forms

īnstanter (comparative īnstantius, superlative īnstantissimē)[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin īnstāns (“pressing, urgent”) + -ter,[2] from the present participle of īnstō (“to press on, urge”),[3][4] a compound of in- and stō (“to stand”).[1] De Vaan traces the simple verb to Proto-Italic *sta-ē-je/o- and Proto-Indo-European *sth₂-eh₁-ie/o- (“to stand”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It appears in Quintilian and Pliny the Younger;[3] Quintilian speaks of beginning several clauses “sharply and insistently” (ācriter et instanter).[3]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it means vehemently, urgently, insistently;[2][3] Tacitus has the comparative of men fighting more fiercely, and Gellius the superlative of eager desire.[3]

Medieval Latin kept the sense “urgently, insistently”, as in a papal letter in the correspondence of Boniface and in Bede,[6] and added the sense “immediately, instantly”: British sources use it in this sense from 1217 on.[7][6][1]

Timeline

  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of speaking insistently.[3][4]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses the comparative.[3][4]
  • c. 165 AD – Gellius uses the superlative.[3][4]
  • 722 – A papal letter to Boniface uses the superlative.[6]
  • 1217 – An English Patent Roll uses it in the sense “immediately”.[6]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Vehemently, urgently, insistently.[2][3]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Immediately, instantly.[7][6][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d e Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill