nonce

== English == === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) enPR: nŏns, IPA(key): /nɒns/ (General American) IPA(key): /nɑns/ (General Australian) IPA(key): /nɔns/ Rhymes: -ɒns === Etymology 1 === 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. ==== Noun ==== nonce (plural nonces) (archaic, now only in for the nonce) The one or single occasion; the present reason or purpose. (lexicography) A nonce word. (cryptography) A value constructed so as to be unique to a particular message in a stream, in order to prevent replay attacks. 1999, Network Working Group, RFC 2617 – HTTP Authentication: Basic and Digest Access Authentication, The Internet Society, page 22: The information gained by the eavesdropper would permit a replay attack, but only with a request for the same document, and even that may be limited by the server's choice of nonce. ===== Derived terms ===== for the nonce nonce borrowing nonce word ===== Translations ===== ==== Adjective ==== nonce (not comparable) One-off; produced or created for a single occasion or use. Denoting something occurring once. === Etymology 2 === 1975. Unknown, derived from British criminal slang. Several origins have been proposed; possibly derived from dialectal nonce, nonse (“stupid, worthless individual”) (but this cannot be shown to predate nonce "child-molester" and is likely a toned-down usage of the same insult), or Nance, nance (“effeminate man, homosexual”), from nancy or nancyboy. The rhyme with ponce has also been noted. As prison slang also said to be an acronym for "Not On Normal Communal Exercise" (Stevens 2012), but this is likely a backronym. ==== Noun ==== nonce (plural nonces) (British, Ireland, derogatory) A sex offender, especially one who is guilty of sexual offences against children. [1975] 1989 "assorted nonces, ponces and murderers, 'the worst men in the world' [...] on the nonce wing, where the child-killers, molesters and various perverts have to be protected from the other prisoners." (New Statesman, New Society, Volume 2, Statesman & Nation Publishing Company Limited) (by extension) A pedophile. (British, Ireland, prison slang, derogatory) A police informer, one who betrays a criminal enterprise [2000] Synonyms: see snitch (British, Ireland, slang, derogatory) A stupid or worthless person. [2002] ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ==== References ==== T. Dalzell and T. Victor (eds.), The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English: J-Z, Taylor & Francis (2006), p. 1381. Alisa Stevens, Offender Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Communities, Routledge (2012), p. 174. == French == === Etymology === Borrowed from Italian nunzio (with phonetic adaptations), itself borrowed from Latin nuntius (“messenger”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /nɔ̃s/ === Noun === nonce m (plural nonces) nuncio === Further reading === “nonce”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 === Anagrams === conne