Etymologically
Log in

insto

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 14:21. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈĩː.stoː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈin.sto][1]

Forms

īnstō (present infinitive īnstāre, perfect active īnstitī, supine īnstātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from in- “on, after” and stō “to stand”, developing from “to stand behind” to “to pursue, be imminent” and “to press, urge”.[2][1][3] Its perfect forms cannot be told from those of īnsistō.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Plautus, of setting foot on, pressing a person and of situations being upon one.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

Transitively it meant to set foot on, and in Virgil to press on with a task, in Nepos to press hard in battle, and in Plautus to urge a person.[2] Intransitively it meant to take a stand, as Pacuvius' figure standing on a stone ball, and in Livy vestīgiīs īnstāre to follow hard on someone's tracks.[2][5] In Virgil it meant to press in a hostile way, and in Cicero of events to threaten, of a task to be pressing, and of a date to be at hand.[2] From Plautus it meant to be insistent, press hard, and in Virgil to apply oneself to a task.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to insist, persist, threaten, press upon, approach.[6] Its present participle gave French instant and English instant, recorded in the late 14th century as a moment of time.[1][7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of urging.[2][4]
  • 220–130 BC – Pacuvius uses it of standing on something.[2][5][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of events threatening.[2][4]
  • late 14th century – English instant is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To set foot on; to press on with.[2]
  2. To press hard; to urge.[2]
  3. To take a stand; to follow close.[2]
  4. To press in a hostile way.[2]
  5. To threaten; to be pressing; to be at hand.[2]
  6. To insist, press hard.[2]
  7. To apply oneself.[2]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com