What is "nonce word"

Nonce \Nonce\ (n[o^]ns), 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 [eth]am, 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, i. e. for the present time.

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.).

n. (context lexicography English) A word invented for the occasion.

n. a word with a special meaning used for a special occasion [syn: hapax legomenon]

A nonce word (also called an occasionalism) is a lexeme created for a single occasion to solve an immediate problem of communication. The term is used because such a word is created "for the nonce". All nonce words are also neologisms. Some nonce words have a meaning and may become an established part of the language, while others are essentially meaningless and disposable and are useful for exactly that reason, for instance in child language testing. The term nonce word was apparently the creation of James Murray, the influential editor of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Examples of such words include "wug" (see Wug test), "blicket", and "dax".