noncen.1
/nɒns/, U.S. /nɑns/ I. Phrases with for.† 2. for the very nonce: for the express purpose. Obsolete.
1. for the nonce.
a. For the particular purpose; on purpose; expressly. Frequently with infinitive or clause expressing the object or purpose. In quot. 1949: for the purpose of teasing or joking; for its own sake. Now English regional (southern) and Scottish.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > [adverb] > for a or the particular purpose
for the noncec1175
speciallyc1325
express1386
purposelyc1520
expresslya1616
for the very nonce1627
ad hoc1639
of the nonce1665
on the very nonce1665
determinately1862
the world > time > frequency > infrequency > [adverb] > on one occasion
eneOE
for onceOE
for the noncec1175
once1464
one time1942
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 7160 Wel itt mihhte ben þatt he. Wass gramm..All forr þe naness. forr þatt he. Swa wollde don hiss lede. To ben all þess te mare offdredd.
a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 87 (MED) Þe..stone..for þe nones was maked for to keruen þat fel biforen on his strenende lime.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 5795 He adde uor þe nones tueye suerdes bi is syde.
c1387–95 G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. 381 A cook they hadde with hem for the nones To boille the chiknes with the marybones.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 108 (MED) Steuen com for þe nons; þis lond to haf he þouht.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 173 (MED) For the nonys: Idcirco, ex proposito.
c1475 tr. C. de Pisan Livre du Corps de Policie (Cambr.) (1977) 109 (MED) For euery fete of armes wer propre iwellis ordeyned for the noneys.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin 420 (MED) For she dredde that theire beerdes sholde growe she lete a-noynte her chynnes with certeyn oynementes made for the nones.
1533 T. More Answere Poysened Bk. i. xii. f. xlviiv Thys brede is brede descendyng from heuyn for the nonys that who so maye eate and be fedde of that, shal not peryshe by euerlastyng deth.
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. John ii. f. cccxviiiv Jesus differred the miracle for the nones, because the lacke of wine should be the better perceiued of euery body.
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 i. ii. 178 I haue cases of Buckrom for the nonce, to immaske our noted outward garments. View more context for this quotation
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxiii. xxiii. 490 Trifling out the time for the nonce and of purpose [L. sedulo].
1670 S. Wilson Lassels's Voy. Italy (new ed.) ii. 128 They buryed her aliue in a low vault made for the nonce.
1766 H. Brooke Fool of Quality I. vi. 202 The least locomotive faculty, in the meanest reptile, must..be provided with..nerves, tubes, reservoirs, levers, and pulleys for the nonce.
1853 W. D. Cooper Gloss. Provincialisms Sussex (ed. 2) 63 Nonce, purpose, intent, design. ‘He did it for the nonce.’.. Still in frequent use in S. and Hants.
1880 M. A. Courtney W. Cornwall Words in M. A. Courtney & T. Q. Couch Gloss. Words Cornwall 40/1 Nones, Nonce, Nines, on purpose. ‘He didn't do it for the nauns,’, that is on purpose.
1949 in Sc. National Dict. at Nanes Never mind him: he's only saying it for 'e naince.
b. poetic. Verily, indeed. Also as a virtually meaningless metrical tag, or as an intensifier. Now archaic.
ΚΠ
c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) 9848 (MED) Þai him þrewe wiþ kniues and stones And ȝauen him woundes for þe nones.
c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 123 (MED) Þare he fond flesch and blod myd þe bones, An nou he gan to crye loude for þe nones: ‘My lord ich abbe y-founde.’
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. 3009 A stille water for the nones Rennende upon the smale stones.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) 844 (MED) A hoge haþel for þe nonez, & of hyghe eldee.
a1425 (?c1350) Ywain & Gawain (1964) 2051 (MED) Þe lyon hungerd for þe nanes; Ful fast he ete raw fless and banes.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) x. 58 The folk off lorne..tumlit on hym stanys, Richt gret and hevy for the nanys.
a1500 (a1450) Generides (Trin. Cambr.) 3289 His helme was wele ordeynyd for the nonys, Right wele garnysshed with perle & precious stonys.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) viii. i. 67 Eneas..hymself doun layd..for the nanis, And gave schort rest vnto his wery banis.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 1502 Of hir ffeturs & fairhed is ferly to telle, Alse noble for þe nonyst as nature cold deuyse.
1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes sig. X.i Behold my picture here well portrayed for the nones, With hart consumed and fallyng flesshe, lo here the very bones.
1568 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS f. 139 I reid thé for the nanis Keip stuff in pois.
1591 E. Spenser tr. J. du Bellay Visions vi, in Complaints sig. Y3 I saw her litle ones In wanton dalliance the teate to craue, While she her neck wreath'd from them for the nones.
a1635 R. Corbet Poems (1647) 50 Here for the nonce, Came Thomas Jonce, In St. Jileses Church to lye.
1832 L. Hunt Poems 289 A cup of good Corsican Does it at once; Or a glass of old Spanish Is neat for the nonce.
1928 J. G. Horne Lan'wart Loon 22 An', for the nanes, he was a reiver.
c. For the particular occasion; for the time being, temporarily; for once.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > particular time > [adverb] > at a particular or certain time > for the occasion
for the noncec1400
occasionallya1425
to the nonce1802
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [adverb] > provisionally or temporarily
passingly1340
pro tempore1468
while1508
temporally1530
provisionally1597
interlocutorily1620
for the nonce1672
temporarilya1686
ad interim1701
probationally1707
pro tem1777
provisorily1802
to the nonce1802
temporaneously1818
transitionally1832
c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) 5662 (MED) Listneþ now for þe nones!
?a1475 Noble Bk. Cookry in Middle Eng. Dict. at Nones Sethe them to gedour, then tak them up and enbane them for the nonse.
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. xii. 109 If your word polysillable would not sound pleasantly whole, ye should for the nonce breake him.
1672 A. Marvell Rehearsal Transpros'd i. 98 To make a Conscience fit for the nonse, he sayes [etc.].
1775 J. Wesley Wks. (1872) VII. 406 Do we not continually tell lies for the nonce, without gaining thereby either profit or pleasure?
1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe II. xi. 199 I fear..there is no one here that is qualified to take upon him, for the nonce, this same character of father confessor.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. II. lvi. 376 They will take the often more profitable course of fusing for the nonce with one of the regular parties.
1923 P. G. Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves xiv. 176 ‘I'm going to run in a race soon,’ she said, shelving the doll for the nonce and descending to ordinary chit-chat.
1952 C. MacKenzie Rival Monster xv. 187 The scientific approach to life had been so severely shaken that for the nonce he was willing to truckle even to superstition.
1988 M. Charney Hamlet's Fictions Concl. 152 We are asked to believe in what the characters are doing, or at least for the nonce to suspend our disbelief.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > [adverb] > for a or the particular purpose
for the noncec1175
speciallyc1325
express1386
purposelyc1520
expresslya1616
for the very nonce1627
ad hoc1639
of the nonce1665
on the very nonce1665
determinately1862
1627 J. Carter Plaine Expos. Serm. in Mount 55 When they fasted,..insteed of disfiguring their lusts, they disfigured their faces, for the very nonce; affecting rather the seeming then the substance of sanctimony.
1705 E. Hickeringill Priest-craft 3 So fitted and accoutred by Providence for the very nonce.
3.
a. with the nones: on condition (that). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > qualification > [adverb] > on condition that
soc1000
with the nonesc1410
conditionally1571
c1410 (c1350) Gamelyn (Harl. 7334) 206 (MED) I wold ȝeue ten pound..Wiþ þe nones i fand a man to handil him sore!
c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women 1540 I hadde yive My blod and flesh..With the nones that he hadde owher a wif.
c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame 2099 I wol ensuren the Wyth the nones that thou wolt do so, That [etc.].
b. in the nonce: at that moment, at once. Obsolete. Middle Eng. Dict. notes of quot. a1500 at sense 1a: ‘perhaps merely a metrical filler without special meaning’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > immediacy > [adverb]
soonc825
ratheeOE
rathelyeOE
rekeneOE
rekenlyOE
thereright971
anonOE
forth ona1000
coflyc1000
ferlyc1000
radlyOE
swiftlyc1000
unyoreOE
yareOE
at the forme (also first) wordOE
nowOE
shortlya1050
rightOE
here-rightlOE
right anonlOE
anonc1175
forthrightc1175
forthwithalc1175
skeetc1175
swithc1175
with and withc1175
anon-rightc1225
anon-rights?c1225
belivec1225
lightly?c1225
quickly?c1225
tidelyc1225
fastlyc1275
hastilyc1275
i-radlichec1275
as soon asc1290
aright1297
bedenea1300
in little wevea1300
withoute(n dwella1300
alrightc1300
as fast (as)c1300
at firstc1300
in placec1300
in the placec1300
mididonec1300
outrightc1300
prestc1300
streck13..
titec1300
without delayc1300
that stounds1303
rada1325
readya1325
apacec1325
albedenec1330
as (also also) titec1330
as blivec1330
as line rightc1330
as straight as linec1330
in anec1330
in presentc1330
newlyc1330
suddenlyc1330
titelyc1330
yernec1330
as soon1340
prestly1340
streckly1340
swithly?1370
evenlya1375
redelya1375
redlya1375
rifelya1375
yeplya1375
at one blastc1380
fresha1382
ripelyc1384
presentc1385
presently1385
without arrestc1385
readilyc1390
in the twinkling of a looka1393
derflya1400
forwhya1400
skeetlya1400
straighta1400
swifta1400
maintenantc1400
out of handc1400
wightc1400
at a startc1405
immediately1420
incontinent1425
there and then1428
onenec1429
forwithc1430
downright?a1439
agatec1440
at a tricec1440
right forth1440
withouten wonec1440
whipc1460
forthwith1461
undelayed1470
incessantly1472
at a momentc1475
right nowc1475
synec1475
incontinently1484
promptly1490
in the nonce?a1500
uncontinent1506
on (upon, in) the instant1509
in short1513
at a clap1519
by and by1526
straightway1526
at a twitch1528
at the first chop1528
maintenantly1528
on a tricea1529
with a tricec1530
at once1531
belively1532
straightwaysa1533
short days1533
undelayedly1534
fro hand1535
indelayedly1535
straight forth1536
betimesc1540
livelyc1540
upononc1540
suddenly1544
at one (or a) dash?1550
at (the) first dash?1550
instantly1552
forth of hand1564
upon the nines1568
on the nail1569
at (also in, with) a thoughtc1572
indilately1572
summarily1578
at one (a) chop1581
amain1587
straightwise1588
extempore1593
presto1598
upon the place1600
directly1604
instant1604
just now1606
with a siserary1607
promiscuously1609
at (in) one (an) instant1611
on (also upon) the momenta1616
at (formerly also on or upon) sight1617
hand to fist1634
fastisha1650
nextly1657
to rights1663
straightaway1663
slap1672
at first bolt1676
point-blank1679
in point1680
offhand1686
instanter1688
sonica1688
flush1701
like a thought1720
in a crack1725
momentary1725
bumbye1727
clacka1734
plumba1734
right away1734
momentarily1739
momentaneously1753
in a snap1768
right off1771
straight an end1778
abruptedly1784
in a whistle1784
slap-bang1785
bang?1795
right off the reel1798
in a whiff1800
in a flash1801
like a shot1809
momently1812
in a brace or couple of shakes1816
in a gird1825
(all) in a rush1829
in (also at, on) short (also quick) order1830
straightly1830
toot sweetc1830
in two twos1838
rectly1843
quick-stick1844
short metre1848
right1849
at the drop of a (occasionally the) hat1854
off the hooks1860
quicksticks1860
straight off1873
bang off1886
away1887
in quick sticks (also in a quick stick)1890
ek dum1895
tout de suite1895
bung1899
one time1899
prompt1910
yesterday1911
in two ups1934
presto changeo1946
now-now1966
presto change1987
?a1500 Hunting of Hare in H. Weber Metrical Romances (1810) III. 290 Y wold that..In the nownes ye had me the coppe gene, For therof had Y nede.
c. of the nonce: = sense 1a. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > [adverb] > for a or the particular purpose
for the noncec1175
speciallyc1325
express1386
purposelyc1520
expresslya1616
for the very nonce1627
ad hoc1639
of the nonce1665
on the very nonce1665
determinately1862
1665 C. Cotton Scarronnides 96 She kept Sichæus bones In a great Coffer made o' th' nonce.
a1716 Poems on Affairs of State I. 157 Near t'other Park there stands an aged Tree, As fit as if 'twere made o'th' nonce for Three.
d. on the very nonce: = sense 1a. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > [adverb] > for a or the particular purpose
for the noncec1175
speciallyc1325
express1386
purposelyc1520
expresslya1616
for the very nonce1627
ad hoc1639
of the nonce1665
on the very nonce1665
determinately1862
1665 C. Cotton Scarronnides 44 She has said me nay most slightly, And (on the very nonce to spite me) Has marry'd a spruce youth.
e. to the nonce: = sense 1c. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [adverb] > provisionally or temporarily
passingly1340
pro tempore1468
while1508
temporally1530
provisionally1597
interlocutorily1620
for the nonce1672
temporarilya1686
ad interim1701
probationally1707
pro tem1777
provisorily1802
to the nonce1802
temporaneously1818
transitionally1832
the world > time > particular time > [adverb] > at a particular or certain time > for the occasion
for the noncec1400
occasionallya1425
to the nonce1802
1802 G. Dyer Poems II. 37 I could drink their healths, till I grew warm and mellow. But we must raise us to the nonce.
f. on the nonce: on the occasion. Obsolete. rare.
ΚΠ
1851 U.S. Mag. & Democratic Rev. 29 242 He did not recognize me on the nonce, but he did Floralie.
g. at the very nonce: at the very moment. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > simultaneity or contemporaneousness > [adverb]
on (or in) one sitheeOE
togethersc1175
togetherc1200
at once?c1225
at one shiftc1325
jointly1362
at one strokec1374
with that ilkec1390
at one shipea1400
withc1440
at a timec1485
at (in) one (an) instant1509
all at a shove1555
pari passu1567
in (also at, with) one breath1590
in that ilkec1590
with the same1603
in one1616
concurrently1648
concurringly1650
contemporarily1669
simultaneously1675
synchronistically1684
coevallya1711
in (also with) the same breath1721
synchronically1749
at a slap1753
synchronously1793
contemporaneously1794
coinstantaneously1807
coetaneouslya1817
consentaneously1817
at one or a sweep1834
coincidentally1837
at the very nonce1855
one time1873
coincidently1875
in parallel1969
real time1993
1855 R. Browning Childe Roland xxx Fool, to be dozing at the very nonce, After a life spent training for the sight!
Compounds
(In sense 1c.) C1. General attributive or as adj. Designating a lexical item formed for use on a specific occasion. Occasionally also in extended use.
ΚΠ
1913 N.E.D. at Too adv. 6 a Forming a (nonce) sb. phr.
1952 H. J. R. Murray Hist. Board-games vii. 162 Any of the kinds of nonce-pieces given in Chapter 1 may be used.
1972 O.E.D. Suppl. at Bachelorize v. 2 The 1854 example is a nonce U.K. use.
1986 O.E.D. Suppl. at Whitmanesque a. So (mostly somewhat nonce) Whitmanese [etc.].
1993 E. S. Raymond New Hacker's Dict. (ed. 2) 76 The bogon has become the type case for a whole bestiary of nonce particle names.
1994 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 11 Aug. 5/1 Yet here the editors must have had difficulty at times deciding which words were merely ‘nonce figuration’, to be excluded from the dictionary.
C2. Nonce occurs in numerous other compounds in N.E.D. and the O.E.D. Suppl., such as nonce-abbreviation, nonce-diminutive, nonce-expression, nonce-translation, nonce-verb, etc., and some of these are occasionally found in other sources.
a.
nonce-borrowing n.
ΚΠ
1954 U. Weinreich in S. Saporta & J. R. Bastian Psycholinguistics (1961) 385/1 At the time of his utterance, it is a ‘nonce-borrowing’.
1991 Lang. in Society 20 472 Poplack..distinguishes codeswitch, spontaneous (or nonce) borrowing, and loanword (or established borrowing).
nonce-combination n.
ΚΠ
1896 N.E.D. at Directo-executive a. Nonce-comb[ination].
1943 Amer. Speech 18 301 A number of them..also meet the condition of not being independent words used in some nonce-combination.
nonce-compound n.
ΚΠ
1901 N.E.D. at Keep v. 42 b Hence humorous nonce-compounds.
nonce-derivative n.
ΚΠ
1901 N.E.D. at -dom suffix -dom is now a living suffix, freely employed to form nonce-derivatives.
nonce-form n.
ΚΠ
1894 N.E.D. at Darling sb.1 and a. Dear-ling also continued in partial use..as a dialectal or nonce-form.
1930 Mod. Lang. Notes 45 238 One need not be too unwilling to see in our vento a Latinizing nonce-form for venuto.
1995 Ann. Rev. Anthropol. 24 316 Speakers of a language..can judge the well-formedness of phonological patterns exhibited by novel or nonce forms.
nonce-formation n.
ΚΠ
1888 N.E.D. at Cakate v. Humorous nonce-formation.
1915 Mod. Lang. Notes 30 46/1 Not a nonce-formation, but spoken under the impression that it was the proper form.
1980 Ann. Rev. Anthropol. 9 306 Cutler..notes a lack of uniformity in her subjects' choice of nonce formations.
nonce-meaning n.
ΚΠ
1943 C. L. Wrenn Word & Symbol (1967) 97 The most surprisingly beautiful result of Spenser's experimenting in poetic language is in the use..of the word Cheuisaunce, which may be described as having acquired for special purpose what I would call a nonce-meaning.
1993 E. Black Lang. & Lit. II. No. 1 (BNC) The result of this technique is the creation of nonce meanings within the fiction.
nonce-phrase n.
ΚΠ
1903 N.E.D. at Live a. 1 d App. a nonce-phrase.
1989 T. Berger Changing Past iii. 221 No matter what he did, however obsequious, it was by her assessment ‘degrading to women’, then a new nonce-phrase.
nonce-rendering n.
ΚΠ
1912 N.E.D. at Thousand sb. and a. 5 Thousand-yearist, nonce-rendering of Chiliast.
nonce-use n.
ΚΠ
1887 N.E.D. at Bosom v. To wound or hit in the bosom. nonce-use.
1936 Amer. Lit. 7 488 There is practically no attempt to distinguish trade argot, localisms, professional terms, and nonce uses.
b.
nonce-word n. [one of a number of terms coined by James Murray especially for use in the N.E.D.] a word apparently used only ‘for the nonce’, i.e. on one specific occasion or in one specific text or writer's works.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > linguistic unit > word > [noun] > other specific types of word
hard word1533
household word1574
magic word1581
grandam words1598
signal word1645
book worda1670
wordie1718
my whole1777
foundling1827–38
keyword1827
Mesopotamia1827
thought-word1844
word-symbol1852
nursery word1853
pivot word1865
rattler1865
object word1876
pillow word1877
nonce-word1884
non-word1893
fossil1901
blessed word1910
bogy-word1919
catch-all1922
pseudo-word1929
false friend1931
plus word1939
descriptor1946
meta-word1952
discourse marker1967
shrub2008
1884 N.E.D. Fasc. 1, p. x Words apparently employed only for the nonce, are, when inserted in the Dictionary, marked nonce-wd.
1884 N.E.D. at Agreemony A nonce-word, probably intended to suggest acrimony.
1927 Englische Studien Nov. 99 If an alternative explanation presents itself, topographical nonce-words ought to be avoided.
1990 B. Bryson Mother Tongue vi. 91 Germans, suffering a similar problem with zwei and drei, introduced the nonce word zwo, for two, to deal with such misunderstandings.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
noncen.2
/nɒns/, U.S. /nɑns/ British Criminals' slang.
A sexual deviant; a person convicted of a sexual offence, esp. child abuse.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > types of sexual behaviour > [noun] > sexual behaviour regarded as unconventional or unacceptable > person
pervert1856
freak1923
perv1948
secko1949
kinky1950
paraphiliac1958
paraphilic1962
prevert1962
kink1965
nonce1971
sickie1973
sicko1977
pervo1978
society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > specific offences > [noun] > offence involving sex > sexual assault of child > one who
child molester1939
nonce1971
1971 S. Houghton Current Prison Slang (MS notebk.) (O.E.D. Archive) 8 Nonse, sexual offender against children, pariahs in prison.
1975 Time Out 3 Jan. 7/1 What he told Seven Days about his experiences as a sex offender in prison raises a number of urgent questions on the subject of treatment and attitudes to ‘nonces’, the term used for them by other prisoners.
1984 Police Rev. 18 May 975/3 Nonce, prison term for a child molester. The very bottom of the prison pecking order, the ‘nonce’ is usually segregated from ordinary prisoners at all times for his own protection. Originally derived from ‘nancy-boy’.
1994 I. Welsh Acid House 8 I couldn't have done anything like that though, Jock, not to a little kiddie, that would make me no better than that fucking beast, that fucking nonce slag.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1c1175
n.21971