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A.Word.A.Day--nonce

This week's theme: Words formed by false splitting

nonce (nons) noun

1. The present or immediate occasion.
2. The time being.

[From the phrase "for the nonce", a misdivision of "for then anes", from for + then (the) + anes (one).]

"I pursed my lips and set aside my thirst for the nonce."
C Sanford Lowe and G David Nordley; Loki's Realm; Analog Science Fiction & Fact (New York); Jul/Aug 2007.

See more usage examples of nonce in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

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