nonce

Plural: nonces

Noun

The present or particular occasion, purpose, or time.
the present occasion
- "for the nonce"
The one or single occasion; the present reason or purpose (now only in for the nonce).
A nonce word.
A value constructed so as to be unique to a particular message in a stream, in order to prevent replay attacks.
A sex offender, especially one who is guilty of sexual offences against children.
A pedophile.
A police informer, one who betrays a criminal enterprise
A stupid or worthless person.

Adj

One-off; produced or created for a single occasion or use. Denoting something occurring once.

Examples

For the nonce, I’ll play this short word, saving my high-value tiles for later.
I had thought that the term was a nonce, but it seems as if it's been picked up by other authors.
Shut it, ya nonce!
That will do for the nonce, but we'll need a better answer for the long term.

Origin / Etymology

Inherited from Middle English nonse, nones, a rebracketing of Middle English to þen anes, for þen anes (to/for the once (i.e., the one occasion or instance)), from the dative singular neuter of þe. The cryptography sense is commonly said to be a contraction of number used once, although this is probably incorrect.

Synonyms

time being, snitch

Scrabble Score: 7

nonce: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
nonce: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
nonce: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 10

nonce: valid Words With Friends Word