Meanings
- obsoleteInstinct, incitement, or inspiration.
And therfore Tulli in his Tusculane questyons supposeth that a poete can nat abundantly expresse verses sufficient and complete, or that his eloquence may flowe without labour wordes wel sounyng and plentuouse, without celestiall instinction, whiche is also by Plato ratified.
1531, Thomas Elyot, “The seconde and thirde decay of lernyng amonge gentilmen”, in Ernest Rhys, editor, The Boke Named the Governour […] (Everyman’s Library), London: J[oseph] M[alaby] Dent & Co; New York, N.Y.: E[dward] P[ayson] Dutton & Co, published [1907], →OCLC, 1st book, page 57
Origin
- Medieval Latinīnstīnctiō
- Middle Frenchinstincion
- Middle Englishinstinccion
- Englishinstinction
From Middle English instinccion, instyncyon, from Middle French instincion and its etymon Medieval Latin īnstīnctiō.
More words from Middle English, Middle French, Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
instinction. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/instinction
“instinction.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/instinction. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “instinction,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/instinction.
Source: instinction on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.