Question

nonce adjective "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." : occurring, used, or made only once or for a special occasion

Accepted Answer

January 24, 2007 NAHNTS Lewis Carroll's nonsense poem "Jabberwocky" is chock-full of nonce words, but a few of his coinages, such as "chortle" and "galumph," have become established in our language.

Word	nonce
Date	January 24, 2007
Type	adjective
Syllables	NAHNTS
Etymology	"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	Lewis Carroll's nonsense poem "Jabberwocky" is chock-full of nonce words, but a few of his coinages, such as "chortle" and "galumph," have become established in our language.
Definition	: occurring, used, or made only once or for a special occasion

English Nonce Adjective Middle Phrase January Nahnts Appeared