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nonce
5 dictionary results for: Nonce
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
nonce 
[nons] Pronunciation Key
[nons] Pronunciation Key –noun
| the present, or immediate, occasion or purpose (usually used in the phrase for the nonce). |
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
nonce
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| nonce | |
noun | |
| the present occasion; "for the nonce" [syn: time being] |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Nonce
Nonce\ (n[o^]ns), n. [For the nonce, OE. for the nones, a corruption of for then ones, where n. in then is a relic of AS. m in [eth]am, dat. of the article and demonstrative pronoun, E. the. See For, Once, and The.] The one or single occasion; the present call or purpose; -- chiefly used in the phrase for the nonce. The miller was a stout carl for the nones. --Chaucer. And that he calls for drink, I 'll have prepared him A chalice for the nonce. --Shak. Nonce word, "a word apparently employed only for the nonce". --Murray (New English Dict.).
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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