Re: OT: German reputation

caeruleancentaur wrote at 2004-12-16 13:23:41 (-0000)
 > Benct Philip Jonsson <bpj@M...> wrote:
 >
 > >...very few if any will actually instantiate.
 >
 >
 > Please forgive me, but I can't find "instantiate" in either the
 > American Heritage Dictionary or the Oxford English Dictionary.  What
 > do you mean by it?
 >

I'm surprised you can't find it in the OED.  It's here in the _Concise
Oxford Dictionary_ (10th edition) and the _New Oxford Dictionary of
English_.

 | Instantiate /In'stanSIeit/ >verb [with obj.] represent as or by an
 | instance: _a study of two groups who seemed to instantiate productive
 | aspects of this_.
 | *(be instantiated) Philosophy (of a universal or abstract concept)
 |  have an instance;  be represented by an actual example.
 | -DERIVATIVES instantiation noun
 | -ORIGIN 1940s: from Latin _instantia_ (see INSTANCE) + -ATE^3

Benct's use strikes me as a little odd, though probably not incorrect.
I've rarely encountered the word in the active voice.

Replies