INSTEAD, insted'. [a compound of in and stead, place; but stead retains its character of a noun, and is followed by of; instead of, in the same manner as in the stead of.] In the place or room of. Let thistles grow instead of wheat. Job 31:40. Absalom made Amasa captain of the hose instead of Joab. 2 Samuel 17:25. This consideration is instead of a thousand arguments. In this use, instead may be equivalent to equal to. When instead is used without of following, there is an ellipsis, or some words are understood.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI