Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Instance \In"stance\, n. [F. instance, L. instantia, fr.
   instans. See {Instant}.]
   1. The act or quality of being instant or pressing; urgency;
      solicitation; application; suggestion; motion.

            Undertook at her instance to restore them. --Sir W.
                                                  Scott.

   2. That which is instant or urgent; motive. [Obs.]

            The instances that second marriage move Are base
            respects of thrift, but none of love. --Shak.

   3. Occasion; order of occurrence.

            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.

   4. That which offers itself or is offered as an illustrative
      case; something cited in proof or exemplification; a case
      occurring; an example.

            Most remarkable instances of suffering. --Atterbury.

   5. A token; a sign; a symptom or indication. --Shak.

   {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.

   {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}.