once

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. 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.

• 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, -ɒns, -ʌnts, -ɒnts

once (not comparable)

1. (frequency) One and only one time.

   Synonym: one time

   I have only once eaten pizza.

2. (temporal location) Formerly; during some period in the past.

   He was once the most handsome man around.

   I once had a motorbicycle.

   Once I didn't drive a big car, but now I own an all-terrain 4WD.

   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:

     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.

3. (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:

     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.

4. (obsolete) One day, someday.
5. (mathematics) Multiplied by one: indicating that a number is multiplied by one.

   Once three is three.

• (one time): See Thesaurus:once
• (formerly): See Thesaurus:formerly

• (one time): twice, thrice, often, never, seldom
• (formerly): yesterday, tomorrow

once

1. 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^[1]:

     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.

once (plural onces)

1. Obsolete form of ounce.

• Coen, Cone, Econ., Noce, ceno-, coen-, cone, cœn-, econ, econ.

From Latin ūndecim.

once

1. eleven

• oncén

From Latin ūndecim.

once (indeclinable)

1. eleven

• oncenu

• IPA^(key): /ɔ̃s/

• Audio (Paris):

  (file)

Inherited from Latin uncia.

once f (plural onces)

1. ounce (avoirdupois ounce)
2. (figuratively, by extension) a little bit

• → Turkish: ons

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.

once f (plural onces)

1. snow leopard

• “once”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• cône, noce

From Latin uncia.

once f (plural oncis)

1. ounce

From Old Galician-Portuguese onze, from Latin ūndecim.

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: on‧ce

once (indeclinable)

1. eleven

once f

1. plural of oncia

• Ceno, Noce, ceno, ceno-, cenò, noce, ocne

once

1. alternative form of ones

• onze (obsolete)

• IPA^(key): /ˈonθe/ [ˈõn̟.θe] (Spain)
• IPA^(key): /ˈonse/ [ˈõn.se] (Latin America, Philippines)

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -onθe (Spain)
• Rhymes: -onse (Latin America, Philippines)
• Syllabification: on‧ce

Inherited from Old Spanish onze, ondze, from Latin ūndecim.

once

1. eleven

• → Cebuano: onse
• → Tagalog: onse

Snacks were typically taken at 11 am.

once f pl (plural only)

1. (Latin America) elevenses, snack (bread with tea or coffee)

   tomar las once ― to have elevenses

• “once”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024