once English · revision 2046
15 Oct 2026, 01:58 by bogdan “en10k b0013: once … small” current version
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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1131 (anes, Peterborough Chronicle)|origins=ang ān}}
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /wʌn(t)s/^(Roach et al. 2011)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[inh|enm|ones]], earlier [[m|enm|anes]] (1131, in the Peterborough Chronicle),^(Barnhart 1988) the genitive of [[m|enm|on]] or [[m|enm|an|t=one]] used as an adverb.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Chambers 2008)^(Hoad 1986) RHWU and Chambers trace this genitive back to [[ang|ānes]].^(RHWU)^(Chambers 2008) It replaced the Old English adverb [[m|ang|ǣne|t=once]] and its Middle English successor [[m|enm|enes]], which held out until about 1500.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(RHWU) When the word lost its second syllable after about 1300, the voiceless final -s was respelled -ce, as in [[hence]] and [[pence]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and the w- pronunciation developed as in [[one]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Comparable forms are [[dum|eenes]], [[gmh|eines]] and modern [[de|einst]].^(Hoad 1986)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ At one time, on one occasion (about 1122 in the OED, now obsolete)^(OED 1989) and one time only (about 1200).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Barnhart's earliest form is ''anes'' in 1131.^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ From the mid-13th century ''once'' also meant “at some time in the past, formerly”, without the idea of a single time.^(Etymonline) In conditional and negative clauses it came to mean “ever, at all” (''if you once forget it''),^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023) and ''never once'' “not at all” is early 13th century.^(Etymonline) ''At once'' first meant “simultaneously” (early 13th century) and was often written as one word; its modern sense “immediately” dates from the 1530s.^(Etymonline) ''Once upon a time'' as the opening of a story is from the 1590s, after earlier ''once on a time'' (late 14th century),^(Etymonline) and ''once for all'' (late 15th century) was later expanded to ''once and for all'' (1848).^(Etymonline) The adjective “former” is dated 1620 by MWU and the HTOED,^(MWU 2024)^(HTOED) and 1691 by Barnhart and MW.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MW Collegiate) The conjunction “as soon as” is dated about 1300 by Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) 1747 by MWU and the HTOED,^(MWU 2024)^(HTOED) and 1761 by MW.^(MW Collegiate) The emphatic ''once'' of some American speech is a Pennsylvania German dialect use.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 1122 – at one time, on one occasion (obsolete).^(OED 1989)
+ * 1131 – ''anes'' (''Peterborough Chronicle'').^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * c. 1175 – ever, at all, in conditional and negative clauses.^(OED 1989)
+ * c. 1200 – one time only.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)
+ * early 13th century – ''never once'', and ''at once'' meaning simultaneously.^(Etymonline)
+ * mid-13th century – formerly, at some past time.^(Etymonline)
+ * late 14th century – ''once on a time''.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1523 – in the first place, firstly (obsolete).^(OED 1989)^(HTOED)
+ * 1530s – ''at once'', immediately.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1590s – ''once upon a time''.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1620 – adjective, former.^(MWU 2024)^(HTOED)
+ * 1747 – conjunction, as soon as.^(MWU 2024)^(HTOED)
+ * 1781 – ''once in a while''.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1848 – ''once and for all''.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1915 – ''once-over'', a quick look (American).^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Adverb===
+ # On one occasion only; one time: ''once a week''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # At some time in the past; [[formerly]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # Ever, at all, in conditional and negative clauses: ''she never once looked back''.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023)
+ # By one degree of [[relationship]]: ''a cousin once removed''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # Multiplied by one.^(Collins 2023)^(COED 2004)
+
+ ===Noun===
+ # A single time or occasion: ''just this once''.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)
+
+ ===Conjunction===
+ # As soon as; when: ''once you start, you can't stop''.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)
+
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Former: ''the once champion''.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[once-over-lightly]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[one]]
+ * [[nonce]]
+ * [[twice]]
+ * [[thrice]]
+
+ ==Usage notes==
+ Dialect spellings that reflect older pronunciations include ''aince'', ''yance'' and ''yince'' in Scotland and the north of England, and ''oncet'', ''onst'' and ''wunst'' elsewhere in England, Ireland and America.^(Wright 1898)^(OED 1989) The CEPD notes that /wɒns/ is spreading in British English but does not yet recommend it.^(Roach et al. 2011)
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}