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once

   Also found in: Acronyms, Idioms, Wikipedia 0.03 sec.
once  (wns)
adv.
1. One time only: once a day.
2. At one time in the past; formerly.
3. At any time; ever: Once known, his face is never forgotten.
4. By one degree of relationship: my first cousin once removed.
n.
A single occurrence; one time: Once will have to do. You can go just this once.
conj.
As soon as; if ever; when: Once he goes, we can clean up.
adj.
Having been formerly; former: the once capital of the nation.
Idiom:
at once
1. All at one time; simultaneously: Everything happened at once. The view of the skyline is at once awesome, grand, and disappointing.
2. Immediately; instantly: Leave the room at once.

[Middle English ones, from on, one, from Old English n; see oi-no- in Indo-European roots.]

once
Adverb
1. one time; on one occasion only
2. at some past time, but no longer: I was in love once
3. by one degree (of relationship): he was Deirdre's cousin once removed
4. once and for all conclusively; for the last time
5. once in a while occasionally; now and then
6. once or twice a few times
7. once upon a time used to begin fairy tales and children's stories
conj
as soon as: once you have learned good grammar you can leave it to nature and forget it
Noun
1. one occasion or case: once is enough
2. all at once
a. suddenly
b. simultaneously
3. at once
a. immediately
b. simultaneously
4. for once this time, even if at no other time [Middle English ones, anes]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Adv.1.once - on one occasion; "once I ran into her"
2.once - as soon as; "once we are home, we can rest"
3.once - at a previous time; "at one time he loved her"; "her erstwhile writing"; "she was a dancer once";

once
adverb 1. on one occasion, one time, one single time
adverb 2. at one time, in the past, previously, formerly, long ago, in the old days, once upon a time, in times past, in times gone by
conjunction 3. as soon as, when, after, the moment, immediately, the instant >> at once 4. immediately, now, right now, straight away, directly, promptly, instantly, right away, without delay, without hesitation, forthwith, this (very) minute, pronto (informal) this instant, straightway (archaic) posthaste, tout de suite (French)
5. simultaneously, together, at the same time, all together, in concert, in unison, concurrently, in the same breath, in chorus, at or in one go (informal) once and for all for the last time, finally, completely, for good, positively, permanently, for ever, decisively, inexorably, conclusively, irrevocably, for all time, inescapably, with finality, beyond the shadow of a doubt once in a while occasionally, sometimes, at times, from time to time, on and off, irregularly, on occasion, now and again, periodically, every now and then, every so often, at intervals, off and on
Translations
Spanish once [wʌns] advuna vez (= formerly); antiguamente
conjuna vez que;
once he had left/it was done → una vez que se había marchado/se hizo;
at once → en seguida, inmediatamente (= simultaneously); a la vez;
once a week → una vez a la semana;
once more → otra vez;
once and for all → de una vez por todas;
once upon a time → érase una vez;
I knew him once → le conocía hace tiempo

French once [wʌns] advune fois (= formerly); autrefois
conjune fois que + sub;
once he had left/it was done → une fois qu'il fut parti/ que ce fut terminé;
at once → tout de suite, immédiatement (= simultaneously); à la fois;
all at once advtout d'un coup;
once a week → une fois par semaine;
once more → encore une fois;
I knew him once → je l'ai connu autrefois;
once and for all → une fois pour toutes;
once upon a time there was ... → il y avait une fois ..., il était une fois ...

German once [wʌns] adv (= on one occasion) → einmal (= formerly); früher (= a long time ago); früher einmal
conj (= as soon as) → sobald;
at once (= immediately) → sofort (= simultaneously); gleichzeitig;
once a week → einmal pro Woche;
once more or again → noch einmal;
once and for all → ein für alle Mal;
once upon a time → es war einmal;
once in a while → ab und zu;
all at once (= suddenly) → plötzlich;
for once → ausnahmsweise (einmal);
once or twice → ein paarmal;
once he had left → sobald er gegangen war;
once it was done → nachdem es getan war

Italian once [wʌns] advuna volta
conjnon appena, quando;
once he had left/it was done → dopo che se n'era andato/fu fatto;
at once → subito (= simultaneously); a un tempo;
all at once → (tutto) ad un tratto;
once a week → una volta alla settimana;
once more → ancora una volta;
I knew him once → un tempo or in passato lo conoscevo;
once and for all → una volta per sempre;
once upon a time there was ... → c'era una volta ...

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These boots, an old foil, and a slashed doublet once used by an artist for some picture, were Jo's chief treasures and appeared on all occasions.
If a young man with an idea can once get Jim Burden's attention, can manage to accompany him when he goes off into the wilds hunting for lost parks or exploring new canyons, then the money which means action is usually forthcoming.
The carpenter had once been a prisoner in Andersonville prison and had lost a brother.
 
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