Once

Pronunciation

enPR: wÅn(t)s, IPA: /wÊŒn(t)s/
Rhymes: -ÊŒns
one and once are pronounced differently from the related words alone, only and atone. Stressed vowels often become diphthongs over time (Latin bona â†’ Italian buona and Spanish buena), and this happened in the to the words one and once, first recorded ca 1400: the vowel underwent some changes, from Ån â†’ ÅÅÅn â†’ wÅn â†’ wÅÅn â†’ wÅÅn â†’ wÅn.

Origin

From Middle English ones (genitive of on ("one") used adverbally), from Old English Änes ("of one"), genitive of Än ("one"). Compare Old Saxon Ä“nes (Dutch eens, "once"), Old High German einÄ“st ("once") (German einst). More at one, -s.

Full definition of once

Adverb

once

(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.

1944, Miles Burton, The Three Corpse Trick Chapter 5, 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.
2013-06-14, Jonathan Freedland, Obama's once hip brand is now tainted, 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.

(mathematics) Multiplied by one: indicating that a number is multiplied by one.
Once three is three.
As soon as.

2013-06-07, Ed Pilkington, ‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told, 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.

Coordinate terms

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

Conjunction

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, 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.