English Explanatory Dictionary

nonce word

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A word invented for the occasion, especially to create alliteration or a rhyme.

Word forms

nonce word nonce words

Etymology

From for the nonce and word. Coined by James Murray, the influential first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Synonyms

nonce occasionalism contrivance logatome pseudoword

Related words

non-word hapax legomenon dis legomenon tris legomenon
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