English

once

/wʌn(t)s/
One and only one time.

    Etymology graph

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    Origin

    From Middle English ones, from Old English ānes, a remodelling (after ān (“one”)) of ǣnes, itself an extension of ǣne (“once”) with the genitive suffix -es. Equivalent to one + -s. Cognate with Saterland Frisian enst, insen (“once”), West Frisian iens (“once”), Dutch eens (“once”), German Low German eens, ins (“once”), German einst (“once”). More at one (including regarding the development of the pronunciation) and -s.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishones
      • inheritedOld Englishānes
    • surface analysisEnglishone “The number represented by the Arabic numeral 1; the numerical value equal to that cardinal number.”
    • suffixEnglish-s “Used to form regular plurals of nouns.”
      • inheritedMiddle English-es “adverbial ending”
        • inheritedOld English-es “-'s”
        • inheritedOld English-as
        • inheritedOld English-es, -as
        • derivedOld English-es “-'s”
      • derivedEnglish-sy “Suffix forming nouns or adjectives, sometimes diminutive and usually informal or jocular.”
        • suffixEnglish-y “Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives meaning “having the quality of”, either “involving…”
      • derivedEnglish-'s “A possessive marker, indicating that an object belongs to the noun or noun phrase bearing the marke…”
        • inheritedMiddle English-s

    Related: Saterland Frisian enst, West Frisian iens, Dutch eens, German Low German eens, German einst

    Sources