different between instance vs happening

English

Alternative forms

• enstance, enstaunce, instaunce (all obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle French instance, from Latin instantia (“a being near, presence, also perseverance, earnestness, importunity, urgency”), from instans (“urgent”); see instant.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??nst?ns/

Noun

instance (plural instances)

1. (obsolete) Urgency of manner or words; an urgent request; insistence. [14th-19th c.]
2. (obsolete) A token; a sign; a symptom or indication.

   It sends some precious instance of itself/ After the thing it loves. Hamlet IV. v. ca. 1602

3. (obsolete) That which is urgent; motive.
4. (obsolete) A piece of evidence; a proof or sign (of something). [16th-18th c.]
   • c. 1594, William Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors:

     The reason that I gather he is mad, Besides this present instance of his rage, Is a mad tale he told to day at dinner […]

5. Occasion; order of occurrence.
   • 1713, Matthew Hale, The History of the Common Law of England

     These seem as if, in the time of Edward I., they were drawn up into the form of a law, in the first instance.

6. A case offered as an exemplification or a precedent; an illustrative example. [from 16th c.]
   • August 30, 1706, Francis Atterbury, a sermon preach'd in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, at the funeral of Mr. Tho. Bennet

     most remarkable instances of suffering

   • :

     sometimes we love those that are absent, saith Philostratus, and gives instance in his friend Athenodorus, that loved a maid at Corinth whom he never saw […]

7. One of a series of recurring occasions, cases, essentially the same.
   • 2010, The Guardian, 11 Oct 2010:

     The organisations claim fraudsters are targeting properties belonging to both individuals and companies, in some instances using forged documents.

8. (computing) A specific occurrence of something that is created or instantiated, such as a database, or an object of a class in object-oriented programming. [from 20th c.]
   • 2000, Dov Bulka, David Mayhew, Efficient C++: Performance Programming Techniques (page 149)

     Some compilers will allow statics to be inlined, but then incorrectly create multiple instances of the inlined variable at run-time.

9. (massively multiplayer online games) A dungeon or other area that is duplicated for each player, or each party of players, that enters it, so that each player or party has a private copy of the area, isolated from other players.
   • 2006 September 1, "Dan" (username), "Re: DPS Classes: Why should I heal you?", in alt.games.warcraft, Usenet:

     As long as the most difficult instance you've tried is Gnomeregan, you're never going to be credible talking about 'difficult encounters'.

   • 2010, William Sims Bainbridge, Online Multiplayer Games, Morgan & Claypool, ?ISBN, page 26:

     For example, when a team of five players enters the Sunken Temple instance in World of Warcraft, they will battle many monsters, but they will not encounter other players even though several teams of players may be experiencing the Sunken Temple at the same time.

   • 2012, anonymous gamer quoted in Andrew Ee & Hichang Cho, "What Makes an MMORPG Leader? A Social Cognitive Theory-Based Approach to Understanding the Formation of Leadership Capabilities in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games", Eludamos, volume 6, page 31:

     Beating a difficult instance becomes second nature after running through it…a few times, with good leaders knowing exactly what to do and how to co-ordinate member actions.

10. (massively multiplayer online games) An individual copy of such a dungeon or other area.
    • 2005 January 11, Patrick B., "Re: Instance dungeons", in alt.games.warcraft, Usenet:

      The instance is created for the group that enters it.

    • 2005 December 6, "Rene" (username), "Re: Does group leader affect drops?", in alt.games.warcraft, Usenet:

      As soon as the first player enters (spawns) a new instance, it appears that the loottable is somehow chosen.

    • 2010, Anthony Steed & Manuel Fradinho Oliveira, Networked Graphics: Building Networked Games and Virtual Environments, Elsevier, ?ISBN, page 398:

      A castle on the eastern edge of the island spawns a new instance whenever a party of players enters.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

• (computing) closure, class, object

Verb

instance (third-person singular simple present instances, present participle instancing, simple past and past participle instanced)

1. (transitive) To mention as a case or example; to refer to; to cite
   • 1946, E. M. Butler, Rainer Maria Rilke, p. 404

     The poems which I have instanced are concrete and relatively glaring examples of the intangible difference which the change of language made in Rilke's visions .

2. (intransitive) To cite an example as proof; to exemplify.

References

• instance in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• instance in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Anagrams

• ancients, canniest, cantines, catenins, enactins, insectan, tenascin

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??s.t??s/
• Rhymes: -??s

Etymology 1

From Latin instantia

Noun

instance f (plural instances)

1. (often in the plural) urgent demand, insistence, plea
2. authority, forum, agency, body
3. (law) legal proceedings, prosecution process
4. (object-oriented programming) instance

Derived terms

• en instance
• tribunal d'instance
• première instance

Etymology 2

A derivative of etymology 1, but reborrowed from English.

Noun

instance f (plural instances)

1. (computing) instance

Anagrams

• cantines

Further reading

• “instance” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?hæp?n??/, /?hæpn??/, [hæpn?n]

Etymology 1

From Middle English *happenynge, *happnynge, equivalent to happen +? -ing.

Verb

happening

1. present participle of happen

Adjective

happening (comparative more happening, superlative most happening)

1. (slang, of a place) Busy, lively; vibrant, dynamic; fashionable.

   This is a happening place tonight!

   • 2005, Wendy Lawton, Less is More, page 13,

     “ […] San Francisco is not exactly the most happening place, you know.”

   • 2006, Eliot Greenspan, Neil E. Schlecht, Frommer's Cuba, page 165,

     When the show ends, the circular, sunken floor is one of the more happening dance clubs in town.

   • 2011, Bob Sehlinger, Menasha Ridge, Len Testa, The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World 2012, page 157,

     They're a little noisy if you open your balcony door but otherwise offer a glimpse of one of Disney World's more happening places.

2. (slang, of a person or product) Trendy, up-to-the-minute.

   He is a real happening guy.

   • 1987 November 16, Steve Gibson, Desktop Publishing, 386-Based Machines, ‘Happening’ Trends at Comdex, InfoWorld, page 42,

     Every show has its hottest, most happening trends. If I were to isolate just one for hardware and one for software, this year's hot hardware would be the 386 machines, and the happening software would be desktop publishing.

   • 2009, Nicola Williams, Oliver Berry, Steve Fallon, France, Lonely Planet, page 883,

     Going strong since 2006, this ephemeral nightclub (it's open only for 50 nights each year, in July and August) has become the hottest ticket in DJ land, a combination of the most happening names in music and its spectacular setting at the heart of the Palais des Festivals.

   • 2011, Nicholas Gill, Christie Pashby, Kristina Schreck, Frommer's Chile & Easter Island, unnumbered page,

     San Antonio is the newest, tiniest, and most “happening” wine appellation in Chile, with just four boutique wineries that focus on quality, not quantity, producing fine pinot noir, sauvignon blanc, and syrah.

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English happenyng, equivalent to happen +? -ing.

Noun

happening (plural happenings)

1. Something that happens.
2. A spontaneous or improvised event, especially one that involves audience participation.

Translations

See also

• happening on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Finnish

Noun

happening

1. happening (event)

Declension

Related terms

• häppeninki

French

Noun

happening m (plural happenings)

1. happening

Spanish

Noun

happening m (plural happenings)

1. happening