Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Nonce"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Nonce \Nonce\ (n[o^]ns), n. [For the nonce, OE. for the nones, a
corruption of for then ones, where n. in then is a relic of
AS. m in [eth]am, dat. of the article and demonstrative
pronoun, E. the. See {For}, {Once}, and {The}.]
The one or single occasion; the present call or purpose; --
chiefly used in the phrase for the nonce.
The miller was a stout carl for the nones. --Chaucer.
And that he calls for drink, I 'll have prepared him A
chalice for the nonce. --Shak.
{Nonce word}, ``a word apparently employed only for the
nonce''. --Murray (New English Dict.).
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
nonce
n : the present occasion; "for the nonce" [syn: {time being}]
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