noun · neuter
īnstar
īnstar n sg (indeclinable, no genitive)
Classical[ˈĩː.star]Ecclesiastical[ˈin.star]
Meaning
- indeclinableimage, likeness, resemblance
- indeclinablecounterpart
- indeclinableworth, value
- indeclinablean equal form (of)
- indeclinableof equal weight/size/form (to)
1539 CE, Olaus Magnus, Carta Marina, marginal note. Quia, optime lector, Scandiana insula apud Plinium alter orbis terrarum, et a Iordane Gotho ac Paulo Diacono vagina sive officina gentium appellatur, plurimique populi (ut omnis scriptorum turba testatur) ex ea instar apum vel inundantium aquarum exiere, utile putavi nomina aliquarum gentium inde egressarum subiecta pagina indicare.
Since, dear reader, the isle of Scandinavia is called another world in Pliny's works, and since it is called by Jordanes the Goth and Paul the Deacon a womb or manufacturing-room of ethnic groups, and since numerous peoples (as any group of scholars can attest) descended from there like a swarm of bees or floodwaters, I thought it useful to indicate, on the page below, the names of various ethnic groups that originated there.
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
similitūdō, in modumīnstar (n indēcl) — in IVLIANVS I: Gallia, ch. 14
ad similitūdinemīnstar (+gen) — in IVLIANVS II: Imperium, ch. 18, 21 and IVLIANVS III: Persia, ch. 4
similis magnitūdineīnstar (indēcl.) — in Aeneis, ch. 5
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | īnstar | — |
| accusative | īnstar | — |
instar, n. indecl. perh. in and root sta-; cf. Gr. ἵστημι, στήλη, etc..
I. A sketch, image, resemblance, likeness, kind, manner:
parvum instar eorum, quae, etc., Liv. 28, 17, 2.—B. Ad instar, or simply instar.
1. According to the likeness of, after the fashion of, like.
(a). Ad instar, with gen. (post-class.):
vallis continuis montibus ad instar castrorum clauditur, Just. 36, 3: ad instar proprietatis, non ad instar possessionis, Dig. 6, 2, 7. — (b). Instar, with gen. (class.):
Erana, quae fuit non vici instar, sed urbis, Cic. Fam. 15, 4, 8: instar muri, Caes. B. G. 2, 17: instar montis equus, Verg. A. 2, 15: nomina ea partium urbis et instal urbium sunt, Liv. 25, 25, 5 Weissenb.—2. Instar, with gen., about:
cohortes quaedam, quod instar legionis videretur, Caes. B. C. 3, 66; cf.: videretis vix duarum male plenarum legiuncularum instar in castris regis, Liv. 35, 49, 10: milites dati duarum instar legionum, id. 26, 28, 11: habet Tiro instar septuaginta (mearum epistularum), Cic. Att. 16, 5, 5: librorum octo, Varr. R. R. 1, 1, 10. — II. A form, figure, appearance:
quantum instar in ipso! Verg. A. 6, 865: terra ad universi caeli complexum quasi puncti instar obtinet, has almost the appearance of, looks almost like a point, Cic. Tusc. 1, 17, 40.— III. Worth, value:
omnia vix minimi momenti instar habent, Cic. Off. 3, 3, 11: unus ille dies mihi immortalitatis instar fuit, was worth immortality to me, id. Pis. 22, 52: unus is innumeri militis instar habet, is as good as, equivalent to, Ov. H. 16, 368: Plato mihi unus instar est omnium, is to me worth them all, Cic. Brut. 51, 191: clientes appellari, mortis instar putant, is as bad as death to them, id. Off. 2, 20, 69.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
īnstar n
indecl, an image, likeness, resemblance, appearance: terra quasi puncti instar obtinet, looks almost like: parvum instar eorum, quae concepisset, a small specimen, L.: omnia vix minimi momenti instar habent, the semblance of any importance whatever: quantum instar in ipso! What a presence! V.—With gen, like, in the form of, equal to, as large as, worth: Erana, non vici instar, sed urbis: ut instar muri hae saepes munimentum praebeant, Cs.: instar montis equus, as large as, V.: nomina ea partium urbis et instar urbium sunt, L.: unus ille dies mihi immortalitatis instar fuit, as good as: Plato mihi unus instar est omnium, worth them all.—About, nearly: cohortes quaedam, quod instar legionis videretur, Cs.: milites dati duarum instar legionum, L.
Origins
Of obscure origin. Perhaps from a metaphor meaning 'to stand close to', thereby semantically related to Ancient Greek ἔχθαρ (ékhthar).
Descendants
- Englishinstar
- Frenchinstar