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instancia

instance

noun een-STAN-syah Less Common

Origin: From Latin instantia (urgency, presence), from instare (to press upon).

Also means

authority

Usage Note

Instancia has a legal and administrative meaning as a formal petition or stage of a judicial process (en primera instancia, 'in the first instance'). It also means a level of authority or jurisdiction (instancias superiores, higher authorities). In computing it shares the English tech sense of 'instance' (an instance of a program). The phrase a instancias de means 'at the urging of.' Feminine noun; plural instancias.

Examples

"El caso se resolverá en primera instancia."

Natural Translation

The case will be resolved at first instance.

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