Etymology

instead

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Today it means: In the place of something (usually mentioned earlier); as a substitute or alternative. Full definition →

Middle English ine
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The story

  1. Middle English · derived fromine“in”
  2. English todayinstead

From in + stead, from Middle English ine (“in”) + stede (“stead”). Related to German statt.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.