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nonce1

Pronunciation: /nɒns/

Definition of nonce

adjective

  • (of a word or expression) coined for one occasion:a nonce word

Phrases

for the nonce

for the present; temporarily:the room had been converted for the nonce into a nursery

Origin:

Middle English: from then anes 'the one (purpose') (from then, obsolete oblique form of the + ane 'one' + -s3), altered by wrong division; compare with newt and nickname

nonce in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of nonce in the US English dictionary
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