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once

UK/wʌn(t)s/ US/wʌn(t)s/ very common slang
adverb (3) adjective (1)

adverb

1.

on one occasion

  • “once I ran into her”
Synonyms
2.

as soon as

  • “once we are home, we can rest”
Synonyms
3.

at a previous time

  • “once he loved her”
  • “her erstwhile writing”
Synonyms

adjective

1.

belonging to some prior time

  • “erstwhile friend”
  • “our former glory”
  • “the once capital of the state”
  • “her quondam lover”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

From Middle English ones, from Old English ānes, a remodelling (after ān (“one”)) of ǣnes, itself an extension of ǣne (“once”) with the genitive suffix -es. Equivalent to one + -s. Cognate with Saterland Frisian enst, insen (“once”), West Frisian iens (“once”), Dutch eens (“once”), German Low German eens, ins (“once”), German einst (“once”). More at one (including regarding the development of the pronunciation) and -s.

Phrases

  • Christmas comes but once a year
  • don't spend it all at once
  • fool me once
  • for this once
  • once a man, twice a boy
  • once a man, twice a child
  • once a woman, twice a child
  • Once Brewed

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.