instant English · revision 5856

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1398|origins=la instans}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɪn.stənt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is probably [[bor|fro|instant|t=near, imminent; urgent, assiduous]], and directly from Medieval Latin instans (accusative instantem), as in instans tempus “the present moment”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) from [[la|instāns|t=present, pressing, urgent]], literally “standing near”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the present participle of [[m|la|instāre|t=to stand near, be present; to urge]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from in- “in, at” and stāre “to stand”, from the PIE root [[ine-pro|*steh₂-|alt=*sta-|t=to stand]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) See [[stand]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As a noun, a particular moment: before 1398, in Trevisa, in Barnhart; the late 14th century in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The adjective, “urgent, pressing”, is from about 1443 in Barnhart and the 15th century in Hoad.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The adjective first meant pressing or urgent, of persons from about 1477 in the OED;^(OED 1989) the sense of the present time, now existing, is from 1549,^(OED 1989) and of the current month from 1547.^(OED 1989) Close at hand or imminent is from before 1520.^(OED 1989) Immediate, done at once, is from the 1590s, 1596 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Of processed foods it is from 1912, when instant coffee was advertised as a novelty.^(Etymonline) Instant replay in televised sports is attested by 1965 and instant messaging by 1994.^(Etymonline) ''Instantly'' first meant urgently, then just now, and in the 16th century came to mean forthwith.^(Hoad 1986) ''Instantaneous'' is from 1644, on the model of Latin momentaneus.^(Barnhart 1988) In Scots, instant still meant urgent or persistent in the 19th century.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1398 – a particular moment.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1443 – the adjective.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1547 – of the current month.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1590s – immediate.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1644 – ''instantaneous''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1912 – instant coffee.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1965 – instant replay.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A very short space of time; a [[moment]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A particular point in time: ''at the same instant''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Instant [[coffee]] or another instant food.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Happening at once; [[immediate]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of food, prepared so that it can be made ready very quickly: ''instant coffee''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(dated)'' Urgent or pressing.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(dated)'' Of the current month, in dates of letters.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[instantness]]

+ * [[instantize]]

+ * [[instantly]]

+ * [[instant replay]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[instance]]

+ * [[inst]]

+ * [[instancy]]

+ * [[instantaneous]]

+ * [[instanter]]

+ * [[instantiate]]

+ * [[stand]]

+ * [[constant]]

+ * [[distant]]

+ * [[instate]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In 18th- and 19th-century correspondence instant, often shortened to inst., was used in dates for the current month, as in “the 10th instant”.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}