nonce

1 of 2

noun

1
: the one, particular, or present occasion, purpose, or use
for the nonce
2
: the time being

nonce

2 of 2

adjective

: occurring, used, or made only once or for a special occasion
a nonce word

Did you know?

Nonce first appeared in Middle English as a noun spelled "nanes." The spelling likely came about from a misdivision of the phrase "then anes." ("Then" was the Middle English equivalent of "the" and anes meant "one purpose.") The word was especially used in the phrase for the nonce, meaning "for the one purpose," as in Geoffrey Chaucer's "Prologue" of Canterbury Tales: "A cook they hadde with hem for the nones To boille the chiknes with the marybones." The adjective "nonce" did not exist in print until the publication in 1884 of the New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (which later became the Oxford English Dictionary). The editor of that dictionary, James Murray, created the term "nonce-word" as a label for "words apparently employed for the nonce."

Examples of nonce in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
After using a brute-force attack methodology, which allowed the entire search space to be covered in about an hour, Aryal discovered that, for some users at least, the nonce code would be displayed right there on the notification itself. Davey Winder, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nonce.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English nanes, alteration (from misdivision of then anes in such phrases as to then anes for the one purpose) of anes one purpose, irregular from an, on one — more at one

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1884, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of nonce was in the 13th century

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near nonce

Cite this Entry

“Nonce.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nonce. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

nonce

noun
ˈnän(t)s
: the one, particular, or present occasion, purpose, or use
for the nonce

More from Merriam-Webster on nonce

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!