instanță

Forms

instanță f (plural instanțe)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French instance, and directly borrowed from Latin instantia.^[2][3][4][1] Tiktin takes it from the neo-Latin noun through several intermediaries, and Marcu and Maneca also compare Italian istanza.^[5][6] The DA separates the senses: the old Transylvanian sense “petition” is borrowed from German Instanz, from chancery Latin, and the legal sense follows French.^[7] The Latin noun is formed on īnstāns, the present participle of īnstō (“to stand on, press on”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is a Brașov document of 1724, with a form -stomcie.^[5] In 1735 Transylvanian petitioners wrote „nici îştanţie nu am dat” “nor have we filed a petition”, because they knew the land was theirs.^[7][3]

Semantic evolution

In 18th-century Transylvania the word meant a petition or request, and a written plea to an authority to settle a dispute;^[8][9] a băga instanție meant “to lodge a complaint”.^[3][7] A document of 1767 records that „această îştanţie s-au făcut înaintea sfântului săbor” “this petition was made before the holy synod”.^[7] Under French influence the word came to mean a legal proceeding and then the court that judges it, as in tribunal de primă instanță “court of first instance”.^[7][8][9] In modern use it is the court itself, and the phrase în ultimă instanță means “in the last resort, in the end”.^[2][6]

Timeline

• 1724 – a form in -stomcie in a Brașov document.^[5]
• 1735 – îștanție “petition” in a Transylvanian document.^[7][3]
• 1767 – îștanție for a petition before the synod.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (also instanță judecătorească) A court: a body of jurisdiction that settles disputes between individuals, or between them and legal persons.^[2][3]
2. În ultimă instanță: in the end, in the last resort, having no other way left.^[2][6]
3. (Transylvania, obsolete) A petition, request; a written plea to a judicial authority.^[3][7]
4. (regional, rare) A district court.^[3]

Usage notes

Old texts spell it instanție, inștanție, istanție and îștanție.^[3][5]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 511
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1143
4. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual
5. ^ a b c d Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. instánță
6. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română (1913–1949), Dicționarul limbii române (DA), ed. Sextil Pușcariu, tom I (A–B, C, D–De) and tom II (F–I, J–Lojniță), București: Socec / Universul / Monitorul Oficial și Imprimeriile Statului; page scans at cflr-scans.solirom.ro, p. s.v. instánță
8. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 646
9. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească