nonce /nɒns/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[nons] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
the present, or immediate, occasion or purpose (usually used in the phrase for the nonce).
[Origin: 1150–1200; ME nones, in phrase for the nones, by faulty division of for then ones for the once (ME then dat. sing. of the1; ones once)]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
nonce (nŏns) Pronunciation Key
n. The present or particular occasion: "Her tendency to discover a touch of sadness had for the nonce disappeared" (Theodore Dreiser).
[From Middle English for the nones, for the occasion, alteration of for then anes : for, for; see for + then : neuter dative sing. of the; see the1 + ones, anes, once; see once.]
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
nonce
abstracted from phrase for þe naness (c.1200) "for a special occasion, for a particular purpose," itself a misdivision of for þan anes "for the one," in reference to a particular occasion or purpose, the þan being from O.E. dative def. article þam. The phrase used from c.1315 as an empty filler in metrical composition. Hence, nonce-word "word coined for a special occasion," 1954.
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