Dictionary entry

Nonce

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Nonce (nŏns), n. [For the nonce, OE. for the nones, a corruption of for then ones, where n. in then is a relic of AS. m in ðam, dat. of the article and demonstrative pronoun, E. the. See For, Once, and The.] The one or single occasion; the present call or purpose; — chiefly used in the phrase for the nonce.

The miller was a stout carl for the nones. Chaucer.

And that he calls for drink, I 'll have prepared him

A chalice for the nonce. Shak.

Nonce word, “a word apparently employed only for the nonce”. Murray (New English Dict.).