▪ I. once, adv. (conj., a., n.)
(wʌns)
Forms: see below.
[ME. ânes, ônes, genitive case of ân, ôn, one, for the earlier ænes, enes (q.v.), which took the place of the OE. instrumental-adverbial ǽne, ME. ene, at the time that the genitival -es was taken by so many advbs. Enes continued in use in the south till 1500, and even later; anes, ones, are found c 1200, but are not frequent before 1300, from which time also anes is only northern. The word remained disyllabic in some dialects till 15th c., but in others was reduced to a monosyllable early in 14th. The final s retained its breath sound, and so began c 1500 to be spelt -ce, as in hence, pence, fence, ice, mice, twice. From this a dial. form onst (wʌnst) has arisen in north. midl., Ireland, etc., as in against, amidst, amongst, etc. The development of the initial long vowel in Standard English as wo-, wu-, in north. dial. and Sc. as ya-, ye-, is the same as in one.]
A. Forms. (α) See enes. (β) 3–5 (Sc. –8) anes, 4 ans, 4–6 anys, anis; 6 Sc. aneis, ainis, 6–7 Sc. ains, 7– Sc. ance, 8– aince, ainse, (eance, yance, yence, yince).
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 109 The sunne arist anes a dai. 13.. Cursor M. 7886 (Cott.) Þe king kest ans [Gött., Fairf. anis] on hir his sight. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxvi. 123 Þai ete bot anes on þe day. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. vi. xiv. 41 Oftare yher þan anys or twys. 1570 Tragedie in Scot. Poems 16th C. (1801) II. 223 He was thy Maister ainis & ȝour Regent. a 1572 Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. 1846 I. 357 Trew religioun now aneis begun. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj. Pref. 6 Ance in the ȝere. Ibid. Forme of Proces 126 The execution of the principal decreit, being ains suspended. 1724 Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 29 Ye shall hae twa good pocks That anes were o' the tweel. 1802 R. Anderson Cumbld. Ball. (1839) 222, I yence hed sweethearts monie a yen. 1826 J. Wilson Noct. Ambr. Wks. 1855 I. 179 Rather..than ance to expose mysel sae. 1860 G. P. Morris Poems (ed. 15) 156, I ainse the passion slighted. |
(γ) 3–7 ones, 4–5 oones, -is, -ys, -us, onus, 4–6 ons, onis, -ys, -ez, oons, 6– once, (6 onsse, onste). 8– dial. and U.S. spellings oncest, oncet, oncst, onct, onecest, onst.
| c 1200 [see B. 9 d]. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3288 Ilke dai..Ones he ðor[h] it sungen riȝt. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 3 With joy alle at ons þei went. 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 735 Wiþ solepne sacrifice serue hem at onus. c 1350–1534 Ones [see B. 1 and 2]. c 1375 Cursor M. 2857 (Fairf.) Onys in þe woke day. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. II. 281 Crist..entrid oonys in to heven. Ibid. III. 367 Oones a frere he may in no maner leeve þat. c 1420 Anturs of Arth. xii, To lette me onus haue a syȝte. c 1430 Two Cookery-bks. 44 Turne it on ȝe panne onez. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 67 They..shalle ansuere onis. 1463 Bury Wills (Camden) 21 A messe oonys in y⊇ wykke. 1503 Dunbar Thistle & Rose 115 All kynd of beistis..At onis cryit lawd. 1526 Tindale 1 Cor. xv. 6 Five hondred brethren atonce. ? 1535 Starkey Lett. (1878) 30 Neuer..but onys. 1542 N. Udall in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 3 Bee good, maister, to me this oons. 1556 Chron. Gr. Friars (Camden) 81 After he came onsse to Shordych. 1592 Chester Pl. i. 24 (MS. W.) Ever at onste [so MS. h] defendinge. 1593 Queen Elizabeth Boeth. i. met. i. 1 My groing studie ons perfourmed. c 1620 A. Hume Brit. Tongue (1865) 18 Al barked at ones. 1789 Webster Dissertations Eng. Lang. 111 In the middle states also, many people [say]..oncet and twicet. This gross impropriety [has]..prevalence among a class of very well educated people; particularly in Philadelphia and Baltimore. 1840 C. F. Hoffman Greyslaer II. iii. xiv. 255, I ups rifle at onct, and hand on trigger to cut the string with a bullet. 1847 E. Brontë Wuthering Heights I. xiii. 322 Couldn't ye uh said soa, at onst? 1851 Mayne Reid Scalp-Hunters I. xxi. 291 He may shoot well; he did onecest on a time—plum centre. 1867 A. D. Richardson Beyond Mississippi xi. 135 Even some graduates of leading universities habitually use ‘oncet’ and ‘twicet’. 1875 W. D. Parish Dict. Sussex Dial. 105, I dunno but what you'd best shun him out of the fore-door at oncest. 1878 H. Alger Joe's Luck in Street & Smith's N.Y. Weekly 8 Apr. 2/5, I kin whip my weight in wild cats, am a match for a dozen Indians to onst, and kin tackle a lion without flinching. 1883 H. D. Rawnsley in Trans. Wordsworth Soc. vi. 164 He niver oncst said owt. Ye're well aware if he'd been fond of children he 'ud 'a spoke. 1888 G. M. Fenn Dick o' the Fens 159 In wi' un at onced [for onst]. 1898 J. D. Brayshaw Slum Silhouettes 1 We was born to it, an' never expec's nuffink better; but 'e's been a real toff onct, Satan 'as. 1906 E. Dyson Fact'ry 'Ands viii. 95 What led me on t' wish t' be er gentleman onst more. 1909 J. Masefield Tragedy of Nan i. 14 Why weren't I told to onst? 1913 C. E. Mulford Coming of Cassidy vii. 117, I saw you onct an' I wondered if I was right. 1921 [see lamp v.1 4]. 1922 E. O'Neill Hairy Ape (1923) i. 16 But aw say, come up for air onct in a while, can't yuh? Ibid. v. 45, I useter go to choich onct—sure—when I was a kid. 1932 V. Randolph in B. A. Botkin Treas. S. Folklore (1949) iii. i. 453 We seen a feller in town oncet a-wearin' a coat made out'n a piedy horse-hide. 1934 C. Carmer in Ibid. iii. ii. 506 Chillun..think twict befo' yuh speak onct. 1967 in A. Dundes Mother Wit (1973) 270/2 Love me and hug me oncet..again. |
(δ) 5 wonus, 6 wons. Also (dial. and U.S.) wance, wancet, wanst, wonst, wunst.
| 14.. Burlesque in Rel. Ant. I. 83 Ther was wonus a kyng. 1526 Tindale Mark vi. 31 They had no leasur wons for to eate. 1593 Queen Elizabeth Boeth. i. met. ii. 4 Wons this man..used the skies to vew. 1840 Crockett Almanac 2 Davy Crockett got skeered wunst. Ibid. 14, I wonst had an old flame. 1890 Kipling Soldiers Three 12 Wanst upon a time, as the childer-books say, I was a recruity. 1898 J. D. Brayshaw Slum Silhouettes 20 The poor bhoy shall be a gintleman for wance in his life. 1904 E. Nesbit Phoenix & Carpet v. 94, I see at wunst 'e was wuth 'is weight in flimsies. 1923 ‘B. M. Bower’ Parowan Bonanza v. 52 Beans,..wancet they've been wrinkled wit' rain water and dried agin. 1972 L. Lamb Picture Frame xv. 139 Seen him wunst, I reckon. Spoke pleasant, like. 1977 Transatlantic Rev. lx. 152 ‘Lissn,’ says Davey, ‘Ah've been ower baurs duzzins a times an Ah've nivir wance goet feart anuff tae jum paff.’ |
B. I. Signification.
1. a. In strict sense: One time only: as distinguished from twice, thrice, many times. (Without any reference to when.)
| c 1200 [see A. β]. c 1250 [see A. γ]. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7716 Þer nas so heymon non þat him enes [v.r. ones] wiþ sede. a 1300 Cursor M. 25744 Noght ans allan, ne tuis. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 121 Sche ete but ones a day. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 85 The king sent vnto her onis, tuyes, thries. 1481 Caxton Reynard (Arb.) 4 A man shal not wyth ones ouer redyng fynde the ryght vnderstandyng. 1534 Whitinton Tullyes Offices i. (1540) 33 The acte of Themystocles dyd profyte but ones. 1683 D. A. Art Converse 110 They..think much and twice, before they speak once. 1767 Garrick Let. to C. Jenner 11 May (Davey's Catal.), I took it with me and have read it more than once. 1868 Lockyer Elem. Astron. ii. (1879) 40 We know that the Earth goes round the Sun once a year. 1887 Graphic 15 Jan. 65/2 ‘Once bit, twice shy’, is an excellent proverb. |
† b. At one time, on one occasion (as opposed to another time). Obs.
| [c 1122 O.E. Chron. an. 1120 Ðises ᵹeares com þet leoht to Sepulchrum...ænes to Eastron, and oðre siðe to Assumptio sancte Marie. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 37 Enes et þam fulht⁓beda..oðer siðe..et soð scrifte.] 1464 Nottingham Rec. II. 375 Ridyng..oons to Morley, an oþer tyme to Leycestre. 1628 Gaule Pract. The. (1629) 281 They once stroue to cast him down vpon the stones. |
† c. In the first place, firstly, ‘for one thing’. Obs.
| 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. Auth. Pref. 1 Ones the contynuall redyng therof maketh yonge men equall in prudence to olde men; and to olde fathers..it mynystreth experyence of thynges. 1596 Bacon Max. & Uses Com. Law Ep. Ded., Your Majesty is in a double respect the life of our laws: once, because without your authority they are but litera mortua; and againe, because [etc.]. |
2. a. At any one time; on any occasion, in any contingency; under any circumstances; ever, at all, only, merely. Chiefly in conditional and negative statements. if once, when once, if ever, when ever; not once, not so much as once, never.
| [c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 61 Ne muȝen heo nefre ufele swinken, Ne for men enes hit bi-þinken. a 1225 Ancr. R. 234 Nolde heo neuer enes bisechen ure Louerd þat he allunge deliurede hire þerof.] c 1350 Will. Palerne 195 Alle ledes him louede þat loked on him ones. 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) I. 187 A ston callede Asbeston, whiche accendede oonys is neuer extincte. 1523 Fitzherb. Surv. iii. (1539) 7 After the Statute be ones declared. 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Matt. xviii. 91 He shall not once be receiued into the Kyngdome of heauen. 1611 Bible Transl. Pref. 1 It was made a capitall crime, once to motion the making of a new law. 1762 Goldsm. Cit. W. xl, When once all the extent and the force of the language is known. 1795 M. Edgeworth Lett. to Lit. Ladies (1799) 67 If once their pupils begin to reflect upon their own hoodwinked education. 1872 Black Adv. Phaeton viii. 112 Once past the turnpike, the highway runs along an elevated ridge. a 1902 Mod. If we once lose sight of him we shall never set eyes on him again. |
† b. In any case, at any rate. Obs.
| a 1715 Burnet Own Time (1823) I. 557 Yet it was thought necessary that the prince should be once at the head of their armies. Ibid. II. 116 The King seemed to insist..that he would once have a peace made. |
3. emphatically. Once for all. Hence, as a qualification of the whole statement: To sum up; in short. Now U.S. dial.
| a 1300 E.E. Psalter lxxxviii. 35 Anes swore .i. in mi haligh. 1382 Wyclif Heb. x. 10 In which wil we ben halewid by the offring of the body of Crist Jhesu oonys. c 1460 Sir R. Ros La Belle Dame Sans Mercy 556 Ones must it be assayd, that is no nay, With such as be of reputacioun. 1596 Nashe Saffron Walden To Rdr., This is once, I both can and wilbe shut of this tedious chapter of contents. 1602 Carew Cornwall 59 Once certayne it is, that few men of Law, have..growne heere to any super⁓eminent height of learning. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage v. xiii. 513 Once, it yeeldeth all parts of the world to each part, and maketh the world..known to itselfe. 1626 Massinger Rom. Actor ii. Wks. (Rtldg.) 152/2 Would you'd dispatch and die once! 1667 Dryden Maiden Queen iv. i. Wks. 1882 II. 469 For if I have him not, I am resolved to die a maid, that's once, mother. 1903 S. Clapin New Dict. Amer. 294 Once,..in parts of Pennsylvania settled by Germans, used as an expletive: ‘Sit down once,’ i.e. once for all. 1917 Dialect Notes IV. 338 ‘Come here once’..among German settlers. 1948 Amer. Speech XXIII. 109 Give me the knife once. 1953 Ibid. XXVIII. 246 Will you hand me that hammer once? |
4. At one time in the past; on some past occasion; formerly. Also once upon a time; also as n. phr. (sometimes hyphened) and attrib.
| [a 1250 Owl & Night. 1049 Enes þu sunge ich wot wel hware Bi one bure.] 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. iii. 334 A lady þat redde a lessoun ones. 1426 Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 14606 The fox Made hym oonys as he wer ded. 1551 Turner Herbal i. A iv, Absinthium is named..in English wormwode..I suppose that it was ones called worme crout. 1595 G. Peele Old Wives' Tale sig. B1v, Once vppon a time there was a King or a Lord, or a Duke. 1611 Bible Gal. i. 23 That he..now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. a 1656 Bp. Hall Rem. Wks. (1660) 43, I left that my once dear Diocess. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 154 ¶1 You are still what I myself was once. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. ii. §19, I do not know how it might have been once upon a time. 1764 Gray Jemmy Twitcher 14 When she died, I can't tell,—but he once had a wife. 1786 Burns Twa Dogs 6 Twa dogs..Forgather'd ance upon a time. 1875 Bryce Holy Rom. Emp. xxi. (ed. 5) 386 The once famous doctrine of divine right. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 134 Once upon a time there were gods only, and no mortal creatures. 1876 R. E. Francillon in Gentl. Mag. Oct. 423 There is all the difference between ‘Daniel Deronda’ and ‘The Mill on the Floss’ that lies between Now and Once upon a Time. 1927 S. Southwold (title) Once upon a time stories. 1944 Blunden Cricket Country iv. 43 So runs this once-upon-a-time in my memory. 1959 Listener 22 Jan. 164/2 The horse-drawn chaises of once upon a time. 1974 J. Wainwright Hard Hit 173 The talk between two middle-aged has-beens about once-upon-a-time days. |
5. At some future time; one day. Now rare.
| c 1400 Langl. P. Pl. C. vi. 50 (MS. F.) To be welcome whanne ich come..oonus in a monthe. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 44 Synne, of the whiche ye shalle yelde onis acompte of. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon ii. 64, I promytte you ye shall ones repente for it. 1563–87 Foxe A. & M. (1684) III. 66 You may be once old as I am. 1618 R. Brathwait To his Brother in Farr S.P. Jas. I (1848) 267 That ill which now seems ill, may once prove good. 1691 Dryden K. Arthur v. i, Britons and Saxons shall be once one people. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Once, adv. at some time or other. 1876 Mrs. Whitney Sights & Ins. vi. 70 And once—that sweet word which brings all to the blessed focus and point of promise—once, we shall find them together. |
6. once removed, removed by one degree.
| 1601 Holland Pliny I. 162 With his nine children..with 27 nephewes the sonnes of his children, and 29 nephewes more, once remoued, who were his sons nephewes. 1650 B. Discolliminium 4 Which is cosen german to it once remov'd. 1653 Ashwell Fides Apost. 76 Irenæus, the Apostles Scholer but once removed. 1882 J. H. Blunt Ref. Ch. Eng. II. 205 The relationship of second cousin once removed. 1883 Chr. Commw. 6 Dec. 174/1 A condition only once removed from the lower animals. |
7. a. Like other advbs. once is usually hyphened to a participial or other adj. standing before its n.
| a 1668 Denham (J.), Thereon his arms and once-loved portrait lay, Thither our fatal marriage-bed convey. 1713 Pope Windsor For. 314 Beside him, once-fear'd Edward sleeps. 1725 ― Odyss. xxiv. 328 The glory of this once-famed shore. 1809 Campbell Gertr. Wyom. iii. xxxvii, Seek we thy once-loved home? 1835 Woman II. 223 Virtue is taking her leave of our once-moral, once-English nation. 1865 Mozley Mirac. i. 3 To realize the past, and to see in it the once-living present. 1893 Duke of Argyll Unseen Found. Society x. 285 A once-wide acceptance. 1911 Kipling Years Between (1919) 7 Our ears still carry the sound Of our once Imperial seas. 1931 A. Huxley Cicadas 44 The pause and once-more fury of the gale. 1939 Dylan Thomas Map of Love 6 These once-blind eyes have breathed a wind of visions, The cauldron's root through this once-rindless hand. 1943 D. Gascoyne Poems 1937–42 52 The once-met And long remembered faces. 1946 Nature 20 July 86/1 The once-popular ‘tiger nut’. 1949 S. Spender Edge of Being 56 That past greatness and that once-willed Future Beyond the storm. 1951 W. de la Mare Winged Chariot 38 Once-green skeleton leaf. Ibid. 39 The angelic hierarchies Dome with their glory the once-empty skies. 1974 Country Life 21 Mar. 643/1 Once-popular composers..drop out of favour. 1977 J. Cleary Vortex v. 135 The once-beautiful eyes, already dark with death. |
b. spec. once-fired a., of pottery: subjected only once to the process of firing. Also in Combs. with advs.: once-off a., happening only once; hence as n.; cf. one off s.v. one numeral a. B. 31 b; once-only a., occurring only once; once-through a., being or employing water that enters a system, flows once through it, and then leaves it.
| 1952 V. Eley Monk at Potter's Wheel 19 *Once fired, an expression relating to pottery that has been glazed and fired without having received a previous firing. Mediaeval English pottery was fired in this way. 1960 H. Powell Beginner's Bk. Pott. ii. iv. 42 If you wish to make, decorate, and glaze in one operation, this is known as once fired. 1970 Gloss. Industrial Furnace Terms (B.S.I.) 19 Once-fired kiln, a kiln in which the body and the glaze thereon are fired at one and the same time, instead of in two separate firings. |
| 1965 Math. in Biol. & Med. (Med. Res. Council) i. 8 But in a ‘*once-off’ job where a standard program cannot be used..these advantages are lost. 1969 Guardian 1 Mar. 1/3 Steam turbines are built to a specification, often on a once-off basis or in pairs. 1973 Times 19 Jan. 12/1, 50 different juvenile weeklies, aside from the ‘once-offs’ that appear from time to time. 1976 Gramophone Oct. 670/3, I suppose that is the fault of once-off recordings. |
| 1960 Sunday Express 28 Feb. 12/8 It is, alas, a *once-only gratuity. 1963 Listener 7 Feb. 263/2 A ‘once only’ talker can never be as good as a hardened professional. 1965 M. Frayn Tin Men xxiii. 125 The open-endedness of a once-only job would require a computer so complex..that it would be cheaper to use a human being. 1971 A. Price Alamut Ambush ix. 115 They wouldn't like doing it... But for a once-only job they might stretch a point. |
| 1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 87/1 Benson boiler, a high-pressure boiler of the *once-through type in which water is pumped successively through the various elements of the heating surface. 1946 J. N. Williams Steam Generation vi. 126 Forced circulation boilers may be divided into two classes according to whether the water is in continual circulation or is pumped through at one end of the heating surface and, making a single or ‘once through’ passage, leaves at the other end in the form of steam. 1978 Environmental Conservation: Chemicals (Shell Internat. Petroleum Co.) 2 Where sufficient surface water—lakes or rivers, for example—is available, waste heat from chemical plants has traditionally been discharged in the form of once-through (as opposed to re-used) cooling water. |
II. 8. Phrases in which once is followed by another adv. or phrase. a. once or twice, a few times; once and again, more than once, twice (or oftener).
| [a 1225 Ancr. R. 70 Leaue to openen hire þurl enes oðer twies.] c 1369 Chaucer Dethe Blaunche 665 But god wolde I had oones or twyes Y-konde and knowe the Ieupardyes. c 1450 tr. De Imitatione i. xvi. 18 If eny suche..be onys or twies amonisshed. 1597 J. King On Jonas (1618) 642 By the words of his mouth once and again iterated. 1611 Bible Phil. iv. 16 Euen in Thessalonica ye sent once and againe [Wyclif, oonys and twies also] vnto my necessitie. 1730 in B. Peirce Hist. Harvard Univ. (1833) 166 Inasmuch as the affair..has been once and again maturely considered by this Board. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. ix, They once or twice mortified us sensibly by slipping out an oath. 1857 Trollope Three Clerks ii, Once and again..a lad may be found formed of such stuff. |
b. once again, once more.
| 13.. Coer de L. 4881 That they scholden hye Ones more forth..To the cyte off Palestyn. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 157 For I had leuer die For hir saik anis againe. 1595 Shakes. John iv. ii. 1 Heere once againe we sit, once again crown'd. 1621 Quarles Div. Poems, Esther (1717) 93 That these same two should be made one again, Till singling Death this sacred knot undo, And part this new made one Once more in two. 1761 Gray Odin 51 Once again my call obey. 1865 Pusey Truth Eng. Ch. 268 [To] be merged in the Eighth General Council of the once-more united Christendom. 1892 Tennyson Akbar's Dream, Hymn to Sun, Once again thou flamest heavenward, once again we see thee rise. Mod. I should like to see him once more. |
c. once for all (for always, altogether, ever), once as a final act; once and done with; now usu. once and for all; also as n., hence once-for-allness; so once and away. once in a way, as a solitary or exceptional instance; rarely, exceptionally. once in (or irreg. and) a while, at long intervals; very occasionally. once in a blue moon, rarely, exceptionally.
| c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xix. 403 We oughte to aske it of hym ones for all. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. xxxvii. 110 Ones for alwayes I defende the. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 275 b, Once for altogether. 1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. 100 These Judges have cleared the question once for ever. 1660 Boyle New Exp. Phys. Mech. xxvii. (1682) 108 Give me leave to advertise your Lordship once for all. 1759 tr. Duhamel's Husb. i. ix. (1762) 52 It is not enough to harrow once and away. 1781 J. Witherspoon in Pennsylvania Jrnl. 23 May 1/3 He will once in a while, i.e. sometimes, get drunk. [Used in] the middle states. 1818 Bentham Ch. Eng. Catech. Exam. 115 So far as use is made of a once-for-all composed and for ever-established formulary. 1847 L. Hunt Men, Women & B. II. xi. 272 Fretting at corruptions, yet once and away helping to patch up one himself. 1869 Mrs. Stowe Oldtown Folks x. 116 If he could come down here once and a while after work-hours. 1869 W. C. Hazlitt Eng. Proverbs 305 Once in a blue moon. 1876 Once in a blue moon [see blue moon s.v. blue a. 13]. 1877 Spurgeon Serm. XXIII. 653 Hadst thou gone into the royal presence once in a while to intercede for some special cases. 1885 J. Payn Luck of Darrells vi, When a man has just once and away made up his mind to self-sacrifice. 1889 Westgarth Austral. Progr. 83 Tying up the freedom of building which a once-for-all construction of this kind might involve. 1891 J. M. Dixon Dict. Idiomatic Eng. Phrases 230 Once in a way, sometimes; at long intervals; on rare occasions. 1895 Morris & Wyatt tr. Beowulf x. 23 E'en that in mind had I.., that for once and for all the will of your people would I set me to work. a 1902 Mod. I may have done it once in a way. 1922 G. R. S. Mead in Quest XIII. 490 For the Jewish eschatologist it was a once for all event he expected, whereas for such men as the Stoical thinkers it was a perpetual recurrence. 1928 E. O'Neill Strange Interlude ii. 76 Well, then, a little truth for once in a way! 1934 G. B. Shaw On Rocks i. 197, I really think, father, you might for once in a way take some slight interest in the family. 1949 Scottish Jrnl. Theol. II. 86 A radical misunderstanding of the New Testament teaching about eschatological once-for-allness and eschatological continuity. Ibid. 87 The only primitive wholeness that the Reformed Churches recognise is the once-and-for-all wholeness of Jesus Christ in whom God and man are at one. 1951 Auden Nones (1952) 14 The once-for-all that is not seen nor said. 1955 Times 26 Aug. 7/4 And when, by some mischance, once in a blue moon, the bell does ring, how startled we are. 1957 Ann. Reg. 1956 137 The 1956 Budget..had..included a ‘once-for-all’ item of $961,000 for the ‘Atoms for Peace’ conference at Geneva. 1960 Times 12 Aug. 13/6 But contractile tissue as such seems to have been a once-for-all invention. 1960 V. Nabokov Invitation to Beheading xvi. 159 Every once in a while he would jerk his flabby cheeks and his chin. 1963 Times 22 Feb. 16/7 Some absolute, once-and-for-all answer had to be found. 1970 T. Lupton Managem. & Social Sci. (ed. 2) iv. 101 Pose questions like this and then try to think up once-for-all answers. 1972 Police Rev. 17 Nov. 1487/3 A once-and-for-all deduction from pension. 1975 J. B. Harley O.S. Maps i. 1 Before World War ii..there was a tendency to regard the published large scale map as something of a ‘once-and-for-all’ record of fact. 1976 National Skat & Sheepshead Q. Mar. 18 How many of you readers ‘blow’ the big hand—the one that appears once in a blue moon? 1977 Times 12 Feb. 7/3 Try not to let the once-for-allness of the occasion tempt you to eat the whole menu. |
d. once in a lifetime, such as occurs only once in a person's life; freq. (with hyphens) attrib. and often used hyperbolically; once too often, of a thing said or done: once more than necessary or tolerable; usu. implying unpleasant repercussions.
| [1854 C. Patmore Angel in House: Betrothal viii. ii. 110 Love wakes men, once a life-time each.] 1908 Yeats & Gregory Unicorn from Stars iii. 122 There is a fiery moment, perhaps once in a lifetime, and in that moment we see the only thing that matters. 1915 H. T. Webster Our Boyhood Thrills 7 (heading) The thrill that comes once in a lifetime. 1921 G. B. Shaw Back to Methuselah iii. 131 Havnt you said that once too often already this morning? 1929 J. B. Priestley Good Companions ii. v. 369 Don't be a scoffer... I've known people to scoff at these things once too often. 1932 R. Aldington Soft Answers 122 They had simply got drunk once too often and lost their money. 1934 E. O'Neill Days without End ii. 68 But I warned him he'd humiliate me once too often—and he did! 1962 M. Summerton Nightingale at Noon (1963) xii. 174 Fate presented him with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get rid of her. 1962 Times 20 June 14/6 That once-in-a-lifetime occasion. 1973 Mad Mag. Oct. 8/1 Now cool it and let me really ham up this once-in-a-lifetime role! 1975 P. Moyes Black Widower xiii. 155 I'm afraid this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us. 1977 Washington Post 18 May C 6 (Advt.), Singer. Once-in-a-lifetime sale. |
e. Phr. once over lightly; also (hyphenated) as n. and attrib. phr. (chiefly U.S.).
| 1941 Time 12 May 55/1 Her pretty posturing, pouts, stunned, exotic stares are meaningless when she tries to do them once over lightly. 1960 Wentworth & Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang 364/2 Once over lightly, cursorily; quickly; temporarily. 1961 S. Arne in Webster s.v. n., Had given political problems the once-over-lightly. 1961 S. Hyman in Ibid. s.v. adj., Gets the once-over-lightly treatment. 1967 M. Kenyon Whole Hog i. 16 The young man raised the egg... Was it sunny-side-up..or once-over-lightly? |
III. 9. once preceded by a preposition or demonstrative.
Arising from its equivalence to one time: cf. Ger. einmal.
a. at once: see as Main word.
b. for once, for one occasion. for once and all, for once and away, for once in a way = corresponding phrases in 8 c. for once in your (or his, my, etc.) life, on this single occasion in your (etc.) life.
| c 1450 Cov. Myst. xii. (Shaks. Soc.) 118, I the forsake and from the go, For onys, evyr, and ay. 1583 Golding Calvin on Deut. i. 3 Not..for once and away, but wee haue our eares beaten with it euery day. 1640 tr. Verdere's Romant of Rom. ii. 67 Nor is a man to put on arms for once, and ever after to let them hang ignobly rusting. 1758 Goldsm. Mem. Protestant (1895) II. 132 We entreated him to risk it for once. 1791–3 in Spirit Pub. Jrnls. (1799) I. 43 Awake from your lethargy, Citizens, and decree, for once and all,..that [etc.]. 1801 M. Edgeworth Belinda I. iv. 144 She has succeeded for once in her life. 1825 Coleridge Aids Refl. (1848) I. 177 Let me remark for once and all [etc.]. 1846 [see life n. 3 c]. 1853 Motley Corr. (1889) I. v. 157 The opportunity of seeing what she could for once in a way. 1857 Trollope Barchester T. III. iv. 81 And so the signora resolved.. to do a good natured act for once in her life. 1859 Blackw. Mag. Aug. 224/2 For once in my life I agreed with my wife. 1862 W. Collins No Name I. i. ix. 115 Magdalen was caught, for once in her life, at the end of all her resources. 1881 H. James Portr. Lady III. xii. 189 Be a little wicked, feel a little wicked, for once in your life! 1964 ‘S. Woods’ Trusted like Fox viii. 79 Mr. Justice Conroy..for once in his life owned himself puzzled. |
c. this, that (the) once; this or that single time, this or that time only.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 801 Comez to your kuchiez-kote I craue at þis onez. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xiv. 64 Þai ete bot anes on þe day..and ȝit þat anes þai ete bot riȝt lytill. 1533 J. Heywood Merry Play (1830) 4 That I may beate her for this ones [rime bones]. 1561 T. Hoby tr. Castiglione's Covrtyer (1577) H v, Yet wil we so terme it for this once. 1603–25 Successors of Edw. IV in Evans O.B. (1784) II. xxv. 152 But when the duke of Buckingham..Began a quarrel for the once. 1611 Bible Judg. xvi. 28, I pray thee, onely this once, O God. 1758 C. Lennox Henrietta iv. vii. (1761) I. 169 You shall be indulged this once. 1760 Impostors Detected i. viii. I. 72 She had not time to put on her gloves, but danced that once without them. 1822 Shelley Ess. (1852) II. 278, I think he might as well have favoured me this once. 1887 T. Darlington Folk-Speech S. Cheshire 282 ‘A thing for the once’..is an unusual or unprecedented thing. 1924 A. D. Sedgwick Little French Girl i. viii. 74 ‘He came twice afterwards.’.. ‘I didn't know that. I thought it was only the once.’ 1967 N. Freeling Strike Out 89 [He] thought he'd live for ever... He came the once for a checkup. |
† d. for then once (for þe nones), for that once, for the nonce: see nonce1. Obs.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 87 Þe for þe nones was maked. c 1205 Lay. 17304 And comen to þan anes To fæchen þa stanes. a 1225 Juliana (Bodl. MS.) 71 Ase wunsum as þah hit were a wlech beað iwlaht for þen anes in forte beaðien. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 5795 He adde uor þe nones [v.r. þan ones] tueye suerdes bi is syde. |
C. as conjunctive adv. = When once, if once; as soon as. (So once that.)
| 1761 F. Sheridan Sidney Bidulph II. 96 This was the master-key..and once I had got it,..it was easy to un⁓lock her breast. 1775 Sheridan Rivals iv. iii, Once I have stamped it there, I lay aside my doubts for ever. 1813 Moore Mem. (1853) I. 334 Once I get it brilliantly off my hands, we may do what we please in literature afterwards. 1864 Browning Death in Desert 293 Will he give up fire For gold or purple once he knows its worth? [1874 Ruskin Fors Clav. xxxix. 67 Once that they were pulling together..Hansli put himself to say.] |
D. Elliptically (quasi-adj. and n.).
1. quasi-adj. a. = Done or performed once.
With a vbl. n. it can be explained as still an adv. qualifying the vb., e.g. once harrowing = harrowing once; cf. thoroughly harrowing.
| 1548 Gest Pr. Masse in H. G. Dugdale Life (1840) App. 90 Then is y⊇ once sacrifice of Christ utterly to be abandoned and disauthorized. 1739 Tull Horse-Hoing Husb. (1740) 223 Once Harrowing is generally enough. 1878 Abney Photogr. (1881) 167 Once coating is generally sufficient. |
b. That once was; former.
| 1691 J. Wilson Belphegor iii. i, The once generalissimo. 1757 E. Griffith Lett. Henry & Frances (1767) IV. 222 But should the Heart, it's once Ally, By Falshood or by Death decay. 1880 R. Broughton Sec. Th. ii. x. (1885) 237 Nothing remains but for the once enemies to say farewell. |
2. quasi-n. (ellipt. for) Doing a thing once, going once, etc.
| 1623 J. Wodroephe Marrow Fr. Tongue (1625) 336 Once is no Custome. Mod. Once a week is enough for me. |
▪ II. once, oncial
obs. forms of ounce, uncial.