| Definition:
A word coined for a particular occasion (i.e., for the nonce) to meet a transient, one-time language need.
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| Example:
In 1587 the poet Golding published the line: Both a selfesamenesse and also an anothernesse. This is the sole citation for the word anothernesse in the OED, thus the dictionary has labelled it a nonce word.
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| Etymology:
Purportedly, the term was coined by OED editor James Murray. The word nonce derives from the Old English phrase for þe naness (c.1200) "for a special occasion, for a particular purpose."
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