once
See also: önce
English
| 10 | ||||
| 1 | 2 → [a], [b] | 10 → | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinal: one Ordinal: first Latinate ordinal: primary Adverbial: one time, once Multiplier: onefold Latinate multiplier: single Distributive: singly Collective: onesome Multiuse collective: singlet Greek or Latinate collective: monad Greek collective prefix: mono- Latinate collective prefix: uni- Fractional: whole Elemental: singlet Greek prefix: proto- Number of musicians: solo Number of years: year | ||||
Etymology
From Middle English ones, from Old English ānes, a remodelling (after ān (“one”)) of ǣnes, itself an extension of ǣne (“once”) with the genitival suffix -es. Compare Old Saxon ēnes (“once”), Old High German eines, einēst (“once”), modern German einst (“once”). More at one (including regarding the development of the pronunciation) and -s.
Pronunciation
- enPR: wŭn(t)s, IPA(key): /wʌn(t)s/
- (UK) IPA(key): /wʌn(t)s/, /wɒn(t)s/
- (US) IPA(key): /wʌn(t)s/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ʌns
Adverb
once (not comparable)
- (frequency) One and only one time.
- I have only once eaten pizza.
- (temporal location) Formerly; during some period in the past.
- He was once the most handsome man around.
- I once had a bicycle just like that one.
- Wang notes that flowers have rooted and grow in the area once covered with ice.
- 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter II, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], OCLC 752825175:
- Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill. Ikey the blacksmith had forged us a spearhead after a sketch from a picture of a Greek warrior; and a rake-handle served as a shaft.
- 1944, Miles Burton, chapter 5, in The Three Corpse Trick:
- The hovel stood in the centre of what had once been a vegetable garden, but was now a patch of rank weeds. Surrounding this, almost like a zareba, was an irregular ring of gorse and brambles, an unclaimed vestige of the original common.
- 2013 June 14, Jonathan Freedland, “Obama's once hip brand is now tainted”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 18:
- Now we are liberal with our innermost secrets, spraying them into the public ether with a generosity our forebears could not have imagined. Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet.
- (chiefly obsolete) At any time; ever.
- 1612–1626, [Joseph Hall], “(please specify the page)”, in [Contemplations vpon the Principall Passages of the Holy Storie], volume (please specify |volume=II, V, or VI), London, OCLC 54134621:
- The wisdom of God thought fit to acquaint David with that court which we shall once govern.
- If the facts once became known, we'd be in trouble.
- (obsolete) One day, someday.
- (mathematics) Multiplied by one: indicating that a number is multiplied by one.
- Once three is three.
Synonyms
- (one time): See Thesaurus:once
- (formerly): See Thesaurus:formerly
Coordinate terms
- (one time): twice, thrice, often, never, seldom
- (formerly): yesterday, tomorrow
Derived terms
- Christmas comes but once a year
- once-in-a-lifetime
Translations
one and only one time
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formerly
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mathematics: multiplied by one
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as soon as — see as soon as
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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See also
- at once
- once again, once more
- once and for all
- once in a blue moon
- once in a while
- once removed
- once upon a time
Conjunction
once
- As soon as; when; after.
- We'll get a move on once we find the damn car keys!
- Once you have obtained the elven bow, return to the troll bridge and trade it for the sleeping potion.
- Once he is married, he will be able to claim the inheritance.
- 2011 September 27, Alistair Magowan, “Bayern Munich 2 - 0 Man City”, in BBC Sport:
- Not only were Jupp Heynckes' team pacey in attack but they were relentless in their pursuit of the ball once they had lost it, and as the game wore on they merely increased their dominance as City wilted in the Allianz Arena.
- 2013 June 7, Ed Pilkington, “‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 6:
- In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.
Translations
as soon as
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Noun
once (plural onces)
- Obsolete form of ounce.
Anagrams
- Coen, Cone, Econ., Noce, ceno-, coen-, cone, cœn-, econ, econ.
Aragonese
Alternative forms
- onze
Etymology
From Latin ūndecim.
Numeral
once
- eleven
Asturian
| < 10 | 11 | 12 > |
|---|---|---|
| Cardinal : once Ordinal : decimoprimeru | ||
Etymology
From Latin ūndecim.
Numeral
once (indeclinable)
- eleven
Derived terms
- oncenu
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɔ̃s/
Audio (Paris) (file)
Etymology 1
From Latin uncia.
Noun
once f (plural onces)
- ounce (avoirdupois ounce)
- (figuratively, by extension) a little bit
Descendants
- → Turkish: ons
Etymology 2
From a rebracketing of Old French lonce which became l'once (la+ once), itself from Vulgar Latin *luncea, from Latin lynx, ultimately from Ancient Greek λύγξ (lúnx), or possibly borrowed from Italian lonza.
Noun
once f (plural onces)
- snow leopard
Further reading
- “once”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
- cône, noce
Friulian
Etymology
From Latin uncia.
Noun
once f (plural oncis)
- ounce
Galician
| < 10 | 11 | 12 > |
|---|---|---|
| Cardinal : once Ordinal : undécimo | ||
Etymology
From Old Portuguese onze, from Latin ūndecim.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /onθɪ/
Audio (file)
Numeral
once (indeclinable)
- eleven
Italian
Noun
once f
- plural of oncia
Anagrams
- Ceno, Noce, ceno, ceno-, cenò, noce, ocne
Middle English
Adverb
once
- Alternative form of ones
Spanish
| ← 10 | 11 | 12 → |
|---|---|---|
| Cardinal: once Ordinal: undécimo, decimoprimero, décimo primero Apocopated ordinal: decimoprimer, décimo primer Ordinal abbreviation: 11.º Multiplier: undécuplo Fractional: onceavo, undécimo | ||
| Spanish Wikipedia article on 11 | ||
Alternative forms
- onze (obsolete)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (Spain) /ˈonθe/ [ˈõn̟.θe]
- IPA(key): (Latin America) /ˈonse/ [ˈõn.se]
- (Spain) Rhymes: -onθe
- (Latin America) Rhymes: -onse
- Syllabification: on‧ce
Etymology 1
From Old Spanish onze, ondze, from Latin ūndecim.
Numeral
once
- eleven
Derived terms
- once metros
- onceno
Descendants
- → Cebuano: onse
- → Tagalog: onse
Etymology 2
Snacks were typically taken at 11 am.
Noun
once f pl (plural only)
- (Latin America) elevenses, snack (bread with tea or coffee)
- tomar las once ― have elevenses
Further reading
- “once”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014