Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1100-1200
Origin: then anes 'the one purpose', mistaken for the nanes; anes from an 'one' ( ONE3)

nonce

 adjective
     
Related topics: Linguistics
nonce [only before noun] technical
SL a nonce word or phrase has been invented for a particular occasion and is only used once
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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