onlyn.
/ˈəʊnli/, U.S. /ˈoʊnli/ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > one > only one > [noun]
oneeOE
one sole1450
one only ——c1475
a or one several1543
only1609
oner1889
OE Stowe Psalter xxi. 21 De manu canis unicam meam : of handa hunda ða ænlican mine.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) Psalms xxi. 21 Pul out from þe swerd my soule, þou god, & fro þe hond of þe hound, myn onely [a1425 L.V. myn oon aloone; L. unicam meam].
1609 Bible (Douay) I. Song of Sol. vi. 8 She is the only to her mother, elect to her that bare her.
1692 J. Dryden All for Love (new ed.) Pref. sig. b It is the only of the kind without Episode, or Underplot.
1693 J. Dryden in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires Ded. p. vii Suppose that Homer and Virgil were the only of their Species.
1771 P. Luckombe Hist. & Art of Printing 32 The internal parts of the bark..were the only that were made into paper.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > an opportunity > [noun] > sole opportunity
only1878
1878 J. H. Beadle Western Wilds xxvi. 417 I seed it was my first, last and only, and I sot old Sally at a gallop for that pint.
3. An only child.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > child > [noun] > only child
only child1655
parlour child1874
only1931
singleton1931
1931 J. Cannan High Table ii. 17 But poor little Theodore was ‘an only’, said Lady Oliver.
1975 C. Storr Chinese Egg xviii. 121 If you're an only, you're sort of a target. Everything your parents think or feel has to be worked out on you.
1997 Indianapolis Star 24 Oct. e 2/6 Only-child stereotypes are being shattered..Onlies are being recognized for their verbal strengths and self-assurance, garnered from spending much of their time with adults.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
onlyadj.
/ˈəʊnli/, U.S. /ˈoʊnli/α. Old English ænlic, Old English anlic, Old English enlic (rare), late Old English–early Middle English anlich, early Middle English anlukest (superlative), early Middle English (Middle English northern) anli, Middle English anele (northern), Middle English aneli (northern), Middle English anely (northern), Middle English anly (northern), 1800s– yanly (English regional (northern)); Scottish pre-1700 anelie, pre-1700 anely, pre-1700 anly.
β. early Middle English onlukust (superlative), Middle English oneli, Middle English onelich, Middle English onelyche, Middle English onli, Middle English onlich, Middle English onliche, Middle English onlych, Middle English onyli, Middle English oonleche, Middle English oonli, Middle English oonlich, Middle English oonlyche, Middle English wonli, Middle English–1500s oonly, Middle English–1600s onlye, Middle English–1700s onely, Middle English– only, 1500s onelye, 1500s wonly, 1500s–1600s (1700s– archaic) onlie, 1500s–1600s (1800s archaic) onelie, 1700s ownly; English regional (chiefly northern) 1800s oanly, 1800s ooanly, 1800s– oneley, 1800s– onely, 1800s– oonly, 1800s– ownly, 1800s– wonley; also Scottish pre-1700 onelie, pre-1700 onely, pre-1700 onelye, pre-1700 onle, pre-1700 onlye, pre-1700 onyly, pre-1700 1700s–1800s onlie; N.E.D. (1902) also records forms late Middle English ondely, late Middle English ondly, late Middle English onelych, late Middle English onelyk, late Middle English onlie, late Middle English ounly, late Middle English wonlych.
1. Without companions or companionship, alone; solitary; lonely. In later use chiefly English regional (northern). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > lack of social communication or relations > solitude or solitariness > [adjective]
onlyOE
alonec1175
solitarya1340
lone1377
ledelessc1400
fellowless?c1425
savage1535
neighbourless1550
private1599
discompanied1601
unattended1603
disaccompanied1605
lonelya1616
marrowless?1635
companionless1644
unneighboured1657
unaccompanied1709
unescorted1774
uncompanioned1822
comradeless1891
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > one > only one > [adjective]
onlepyeOE
aefauldeOE
onlyOE
soleinc1369
solea1398
halea1400
seul1477
anerlyc1485
alonelya1513
allenarlya1525
singulara1555
fellowlessa1586
unfellowed1597
unique1601
lone1602
unical1605
single1633
solitarya1634
exclusive1790
one-off1934
one-of-a-kind1954
OE Stowe Psalter xxiv. 16 Miserere mei quia unicus et pauper sum ego : gemildsa min forðam ænlic & ðearfa ic eom.
OE Paris Psalter (1932) ci. 5 Ic spearuwan swa some gelice gewearð, anlicum fugele.
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 48 Ancre hus..schulde beon anlukest [a1250 Nero onlukust; ?c1225 Cleo. anlichest] stude of alle.
a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Nero:Morton) 152 So ouh ancre, hire one in onliche stude..chirmen & cheateren euer hire bonen.
a1400 Psalter (Vesp.) xxiv. 17 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 156 Aneli and pouer am I.
a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1869) I. 110 He wolde in comunalte do þis dede, and not þus oonli in desert.
a1500 (a1400) Awntyrs Arthure (Douce) 98 (MED) Þes knyȝtes arne vncurtays..Þat þus oonly haue me laft one my deþe day.
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis iii. 62 His oane light, That stood in his lowring front gloommish malleted onlye.
1591 (?a1425) Adam & Eve (Huntington) in R. M. Lumiansky & D. Mill Chester Myst. Cycle (1974) I. 18 Hit is not good man only to bee.
1642 D. Rogers Naaman 9 Onely Denus and Demaris a poore only man and only woman, being excepted.
1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Onely, Onerly, lonely, retired. ‘This is an onely platt to live in’.
1856 E. Waugh in Manch. Weekly Examiner & Times 21 June (Suppl.) 3/3 Mon, aw'm one-ly when theaw artn't theer.
II. In attributive use.† 4. Designating a thing about which (by itself and with no other thing) something is stated or asserted; (of a thing) acting alone; mere, sole. Cf. only adv. 2a and the postpositive use of alone adj. 3.
2.
a. Alone of its, his, her, etc., kind; of a kind of which there exist no more; sole, lone.Usually preceded by a possessive adjective, a noun in the genitive, or the (in the latter case, frequently with postmodifying phrase or clause).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > one > condition of being alone > [adjective]
oneeOE
onlepyOE
onlyOE
alonec1175
single1340
soleinc1381
solitaire1382
singularc1384
solec1400
oddc1480
alonelya1513
uncompanieda1547
a-high-lone1565
bird-alone1572
self-one1602
insociate1606
unmated1615
lonesome1647
solo1727
uncompanioned1809
unfellowed1887
Pat Malone1937
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) ix. 38 He is min anlica [c1200 Hatton anliche] sunu.
OE tr. Chrodegang of Metz Regula Canonicorum (Corpus Cambr. 191) lvii. 291 His heorte bið tobroden ymbe woroldcara, and ne bið gesamnod an lufe þære anlican godcundnysse.
a1250 Apostles' Creed (Blickling) in Mod. Lang. Notes (1899) 4 138 (MED) Ich geleue..on halende crist, his anliche sune, ure lhaferd.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 11v He was his modir onliche sone, for sche hadde none oþir sone to fore hym neþir aftir.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) 8439 (MED) Bi grace of only god of heuen, Soone he coude þe artes seuen.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) 26549 In his sone, crist ihesu, our aller anly lorde.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 101 The oonli argumentis which han propre place forto proue and grounde articles..of feith.
a1450 St. Katherine (Richardson 44) (1884) 56 (MED) Þe oonly felowe of my bed ys hurt wyth þe tempest of þis soor.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Luke vii. f. lxxxv The only sonne of his mother, and she was a widowe.
1559 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16292a Prelim. No. 2) Letany sig. B.iiiiv The only ruler of princes.
1584 H. Llwyd & D. Powel Hist. Cambria 3 The onelie occasion he tooke.
1633 G. Herbert Temple: Sacred Poems 169 Christ is my onely head, My alone onely heart & breast.
1654 tr. M. Martini Bellum Tartaricum 189 The onely Southern Port..to which Boats may have access.
1706 N. Rowe Ulysses ii. i. 801 Hear a Wretches only Pray'r.
1710 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum II Penny, Denarius, was the first coined piece of Silver we have any account of; and for many Years the only one.
1805 A. A. Opie Adeline Mowbray I. i. 1 In an old family mansion, situated on an estate in Gloucestershire..resided Mrs Mowbray, and Adeline her only child.
1854 A. Jameson Commonplace Bk. Thoughts (1877) 347 Eve..is the only undraped figure which is allowable in sacred art.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) I. 338 These two passages are the only ones in which Plato makes mention of himself.
1927 W. S. Churchill World Crisis III. i. ii. 45 The only method of waging war on the Western Front was by wearing down the enemy by ‘killing Germans in a war of attrition’.
1964 S. Woods Trusted like Fox iii. 26 Don't like him, eh? Well, you're not the only one.
1994 B. Hambly Crossroad xi. 145 Her only jewelry was earrings.
b. †any only ——: any one —— (obsolete). one only —— (now archaic), an only —— (now somewhat rare except as in sense 2c): one single ——, one —— and no more, one —— and no other.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > one > only one > [noun]
oneeOE
one sole1450
one only ——c1475
a or one several1543
only1609
oner1889
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [noun] > state of being non-specific > unspecified thing(s) > anyone
anyOE
any man aliveOE
anybodyc1300
manc1384
any only ——c1475
person?a1789
c1475 tr. A. Chartier Quadrilogue (Univ. Coll. Oxf.) (1974) 245 (MED) But the affeccion of the publique well may auoyde your singuler disordinate reule yf the voluntees ben conyoined all in oon onely desire to the comon saluacion.
1485 W. Caxton tr. Paris & Vienne (1957) 29 Wythout leuyng of ony onely thynge or word.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Eneydos ix. 36 Wyth one onely stroke thou haste wylled to termyne and fynysshe thy labours mortall.
1543 R. Grafton Contin. in Chron. J. Hardyng f. xlv Any onely kindenesse so sodenly contracted in an hour.
?a1560 L. Digges Geom. Pract.: Pantometria (1571) iii. xi. sig. R iv I shall for breuitie sake set foorth one onely rule generall.
1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies iii. xx. 183 Vpon all that coast it blowes continually with one onely winde.
a1640 T. Risdon Chorogr. Surv. Devon (1811) (modernized text) 13 This country hath one only deanery.
1654 Pilgrims' Bk. (MS Venerable Eng. Coll., Rome) 5 Richard Blunt of Oxford came to Rome and to our Colledge out of England with an onely desire to convert him self to ye Catholick-faith.
1703 S. Centlivre Stolen Heiress i. i. 11 I have an only Friend, faithful and just.
1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews I. ii. xii. 250 The Small-Pox had left one only Mark on her Chin. View more context for this quotation
1796 F. Burney Camilla III. v. v. 64 Her talents, her acquirements, may..be set aside, with an only silent regret of wasted youth and application.
1819 Lady C. Lamb New Canto 12 That man should deal with misery, to mock it, And filch an only shilling from its pocket.
1832 F. Trollope Domest. Manners Amer. (ed. 2) I. i. 2 One only object rears itself above the eddying waters; this is the mast of a vessel long since wrecked.
1850 W. E. Gladstone in Q. Rev. Mar. 315 In Consalvo, a dying youth..abandoned by all but the object of his love, entreats of her the parting gift of an only kiss.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 974/1 To speak after the exact manner of divinity, there is but one only sacrifice, veri nominis, that is Christ's death.
1991 Which? Jan. 32/1 They are now bought as an only purchase to fulfil a wide variety of uses.
c. With reference to a familial relationship, preceded by an or (without article) with a plural: solitary, single; having no siblings. Cf. only child n.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > child > relationship to parent > [adjective] > only child
one-gottena1382
one-begottenc1384
only-begotten?a1425
only1483
only-born1567
only-childish1938
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 77/3 I that am an only sone to my fader and moder I shold depose theyr olde age with heuynes and sorow to helle.
1593 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia i. 18 I haue an onely sonne, by name Clitophon.
1611 Bible (King James) Amos viii. 10 I will make it as the mourning of an onely sonne, and the end thereof as a bitter day. View more context for this quotation
1672 J. Dryden Conquest Granada ii. iii. ii. 109 What cannot onely Sons with Parents do!
1749 J. Cleland Mem. Woman of Pleasure II. 7 A strict resemblance she fancied she saw in me to an only daughter, whom she had lost at my age, was the first motive of her taking to me so affectionately.
1768 O. Goldsmith Good Natur'd Man i. 15 An only Son, Sir, might expect more indulgence.
1821 R. Pollok in D. Pollok Life (1843) iv. 87 A small house, inhabited by a widow-mother and an only daughter.
1860 ‘G. Eliot’ Mill on Floss III. vii. ii. 249 If Miss Tulliver,..had returned as Mrs Stephen Guest—with a post-marital trousseau and all the advantages possessed even by the most unwelcome wife of an only son.
1912 Amer. Jrnl. Sociol. 17 454 Democracy in the household..may mean the right of the daughters, the right even of an only daughter, to leave home and follow a regular occupation.
1999 P. Jooste Frieda & Min 289 She was an only grandchild and her grandfather left her very nicely looked after.
3.
a. Unique in quality, character, rank, etc.; peerless, pre-eminent, unparalleled, best.In modern English from 16th cent. only as hyperbolic use of sense 2, with the meaning ‘alone deserving one's consideration, attention, approval, etc.’.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > outstanding > in specific way
onlyeOE
uphand1835
conspicuous by its absence1859
eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) xxxv. 101 He hæfde an swiðe ænlic wif.
OE Beowulf 251 Nis þæt seldguma, wæpnum geweorðad, næfne him his wlite leoge, ænlic ansyn.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Wisd. vii. 22 I lernede..bi wisdam..þe spirit of vnderstonding, holi, manyfold, oneli [L. unicus], sootile, manerly.
a1400 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 55 Godis moder, blessed þow be..onely maden þorw godis gast, of alle wemen meked mast.
a1500 tr. A. Chartier Traité de l'Esperance (Rawl.) (1974) 88 (MED) Thou myghttest..beleve and wourship God in His onely essence and infinyte.
1552 R. Ascham in Orig. Lett. Eminent Literary Men (1843) 12 If Lerning, Counsell, Nobilitie, Courte, and Cambridge, shold have bene all punisshed at ones by taking away..soch a general & onely man as Mr. Cheeke is.
1611 Bible (King James) Ezek. vii. 5 Thus sayth the Lord God; An euill, an onely euill, behold, is come. View more context for this quotation
1651 W. Lilly Charles I in Monarchy or no Monarchy 103 She had been the only stately and magnificent Woman of Europe.
1867 G. MacDonald Ann. Quiet Neighbourhood I. x. 290 The only man in the world ceased to be the friend of the only woman in the world.
1886 R. L. Stevenson Kidnapped vii. 61 The chief mate..was..‘the only seaman of the whole jing-bang’.
1993 Guardian 3 Nov. i. 18/3 Simply the only place to be seen these days.
2002 Bliss June 27/1 L8R is the only way to say ‘later’.
b. In the superlative, with emphatic force. Now chiefly colloquial and regional.In quot. 1956 as noun; cf. only n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or extraordinary > [adjective] > incomparable, unparalleled, or unique
unilicheOE
makelessc1225
unevenlyc1230
peerlessc1330
alonea1382
uncomparablea1382
unoverpassablea1382
solea1398
incomparable1412
sans-peer1426
nonpareilc1450
invincible1509
matchless1530
inimitable1531
unmatchable1544
unmatched1548
unpassable1563
alonely1567
inequivalent1568
mateless1570
unparagonized1578
only1581
fellowlessa1586
unimitablea1586
compareless1590
incompared1590
immatchless1595
unequalized1596
nonsuch1598
paragonless1599
immatchable1601
unparalleled1601
uncompeered1602
unpeered1602
imparalleled1604
unpeerable1604
unrivalled1607
uncompanioned1608
unexampled1610
unsurmountable1611
unsurpassable1611
unparagoned1612
patternless1613
unpatterned1617
unique1618
unparallelable1621
parallelless1622
unmatchless1623
single1633
unexemplifieda1634
unsampleda1638
unequalled1639
imparallel1641
unparallel1645
unseconded1646
unexemplary1649
unaccessional1651
unequalable1659
uncome-at-able1694
rivalless1735
untouched1735
unexcelleda1800
unexceeded1813
sans-pareilly1818
unsurpassed1818
unrivallable1823
unapproachable1834
untranscendeda1849
insuperable1849
unbrothered1853
unapproached1856
insurpassable1859
untouchable1867
hors concours1884
1581 R. Mulcaster Positions v. 30 It was either the onely, or the onelyest principle in learning, to learne to read Latin.
1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses II. 486 He was..accounted..the onliest person to be consulted about the affairs.
a1777 S. Foote Trip to Calais (1778) i. 28 It is the onliest method to keep her to one's self.
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) 375 The kindest, wisest, ‘onliest’ thing, under the circumstances.
1907 Yesterday's Shopping (1969) 1136/2 Comic and humorous songs... Ma Onliest One.
1956 N. Algren Walk on Wild Side ii. 166 ‘You were my onliest’, he admitted at last, ‘but we only got to B.’
1992 J. Stern & M. Stern Encycl. Pop Culture 465/1 Still the liveliest, as well as the onliest venue for rhythm-and-blues performances not packaged as music videos.
a. Modifying a noun simply. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > one > condition of being alone > [adjective] > alone or nothing but
onlya1400
sheer1622
a1400 Cato's Distichs (Fairf.) 131 in R. Morris Cursor Mundi (1878) III. App. iv. 1671 Sin þou art doutande..nedderres for venim, mare mai þou be agast of anli man vn-wrast, and warre þe for him.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 318 (MED) Folie hadde be to al thilk Cristen multitude..forto haue storid..eny grete possessiouns..bisidis the oonli housis and gardeyns, whiche weren necessarie for hem silf and her meyne forto in hem dwelle.
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 277/1 Our only feyth shalle suffyse us.
?c1523 T. More Let. to Wolsey in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) 1st Ser. I. 206 The onely redyng therof held hym above twoo howres.
1544 Bk. Chyldren in T. Phaer tr. J. Goeurot Regiment of Lyfe (new ed.) sig. h.viiiv The onely odour of quyckesyluer kylleth lyce.
a1620 M. Fotherby Atheomastix (1622) i. xv. §2. 155 All this fell vpon them, for the onely impietie of their Prince.
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica ii. vi. 96 Conceive a vegetable [sc. the mandrake] whose parts are usefull unto many, should in the only taking up prove mortall unto any. View more context for this quotation
1854–6 C. Patmore Angel in House ii. ii. i For the sake of only love,..he does approve, His wife entirely.]
b. Placed between a demonstrative determiner, a possessive adjective, or a noun in the genitive, and the noun which they modify, or before a noun followed by an of-phrase, with reference to the noun so modified. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 306 Endewed into his oonli sufficience.
1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1845) xxix. 139 I must abyde..Of lyfe or death your onely judgement.
1558 Dunkyn's Mortgage to Vicary in Vicary's Anat. (1888) App. v. 186 To the onlye vse and behoufe of the said Thomas Vycary.
1577 R. Holinshed Hist. Scotl. 343/1 in Chron. I At the charges and only expenses of these .vj. abbeys.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 93 In thir only mantilis in the nyt seasone thay rowit thame selfes.
1653 H. Cogan tr. F. M. Pinto Voy. & Adventures xxx. 118 Maintained at the Kings onely charge.
1653 H. Holcroft tr. Procopius Persian Wars i. 3 in tr. Procopius Hist. Warres Justinian These onely Hunnes have white bodies.
1709 J. Addison Tatler No. 117. ⁋4 She was turned into a Man, and by that only Means avoided the Danger.
1741 C. Middleton Hist. Life Cicero I. Pref. 35 The power was retained; with this onely difference, that [etc.].
1774 Considerations Legislative Authority Brit. Parl. 21 Those, who are bound by Acts of Parliament, are bound for this only reason, because they are represented in it.
1877 E. S. Dallas Kettner's Bk. of Table 423 Shalot Sauce is the same as what is called Sharp Sauce or Sauce Piquante, with this only difference—that to the latter there is added pickled gherkins.
Compounds
onlie begetter n. (also only begetter) the sole originator (in later use chiefly with archaic spelling in allusion to Shakespeare: see quot. 1609).
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun] > agent or person who causes > solely
onlie begetter1609
1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets Inscript. To the onlie begetter of these insving sonnets.
1937 N. Marsh Vintage Murder vii. 81 The Firm..was founded and built up by Mr Meyer... He was..the onlie begetter.
1969 Australasian Post (Melbourne) 19 June 40/3 Isadora Duncan was..the onlie begetter of all the trends in ‘free dance’ which are now so familiar to us.
1989 Ambit No. 118. 28 Bob's father was the only begetter of the Golden Boy chain of family restaurants.
2000 Times 12 May i. 22/5 Not many of us are as fecund inventors of vocabulary as Shakespeare, Carroll, Joyce (the onlie begetter of ‘quark’), or Orwell (thoughtcrime, oldspeak, black-white).
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2004; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
onlyadv.conj.prep.
/ˈəʊnli/, U.S. /ˈoʊnli/α. Old English ænlice, Middle English aneli (northern), Middle English anelie (northern), Middle English anely (northern), Middle English anli (northern), Middle English anly (northern), Middle English anyly (northern), Middle English aynli (northern), 1800s– yanly (English regional (northern)); Scottish pre-1700 anelie, pre-1700 anellie, pre-1700 anely, pre-1700 anly, pre-1700 anyely.
β. Middle English hondely, Middle English oenli, Middle English ondely, Middle English ondly, Middle English oneli, Middle English onelich, Middle English oneliche, Middle English onelych, Middle English onelyk, Middle English oniliche, Middle English onle, Middle English onleche, Middle English onley, Middle English onli, Middle English onlich, Middle English onliche, Middle English onlike, Middle English onlych, Middle English onlyche, Middle English oonelich, Middle English oonleche, Middle English oonlich, Middle English oonliche, Middle English oonely, Middle English oonle, Middle English oonli, Middle English oonlie, Middle English oonlyche, Middle English oonlye, Middle English ounly, Middle English wonly, Middle English wonlyche, Middle English–1500s oonly, Middle English–1700s onely, Middle English–1700s onley, Middle English–1700s onlie, Middle English– only, 1500s onlye, 1500s–1600s onelie, 1800s– on'y (English regional (south-western)); Scottish pre-1700 onelie, pre-1700 onely, pre-1700 onelye, pre-1700 onle, pre-1700 onlely, pre-1700 onlie, pre-1700 onllie, pre-1700 onlye, pre-1700 ounlie, pre-1700 1700s– only.
A. adv.† 1. Singularly, uniquely; pre-eminently; in a special way. Obsolete.† 4. By or of itself, alone; without (the aid of) anything else. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or extraordinary > [adverb] > in a way that is unparalleled or unique
onlyOE
unilichec1300
unlike?c1335
incomparablyc1422
sans-peer1426
incomparable1482
uncomparably1548
peerless1596
matchlessly1598
peerlessly1600
unimitably1622
unparalleledly1639
matchlessc1650
uniquely1805
unapproachably1846
unsurpassably1859
OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1881) I. 210 Þa wearð lucia on slæpe, and geseah agathen betwux engla werodum, ænlice gefretewode.
OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1900) II. 404 Thomas him andwyrde, Ænlice þu spræce.
OE Ælfric's Colloquy (1991) 48 Ut..obseruetis uosmet eleganter ubique locorum : þæt ge healdan eow sylfe ænlice on ælcere stowe.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1443 Eliezer..brogt him a wif... He luuede hire on-like and wel.
a1425 in M. Day Wheatley MS (1921) 11 (MED) Thow bare Ihesu with-oute payne And onely had a child..With-outen losyng of thy maydenhede.
1554 N. Ridley Wks. (1841) 370 In them whom they only esteemed for their priests and sages.
c1600 (?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) 534 Afterward anoþer onliche he blissede, Þe meke.
1611 B. Jonson Catiline v. sig. M4 That renowm'd good man, That did so only' embrace his Countrey. View more context for this quotation
2. Solely, merely, exclusively; with no one or nothing more besides; as a single or solitary thing or fact; no more than. Also, with a verb or verb phrase: no more than, simply, merely.Only may limit the statement to a single or defined person, thing, or number, either as distinguished from more, or as opposed to any other.
a. Preceding the word or phrase which it limits.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > state or quality of being simple, unmixed, or uncompounded > [adverb] > simply, only, or merely
butOE
onlya1325
alone?c1335
purelya1375
alonelya1400
nobbuta1400
simplya1400
plain1535
barely1577
merelyc1580
purea1616
singly1655
just1668
sommer1835
maara1931
a1325 Statutes of Realm in MS Rawl. B.520 f.65v (MED) Þerbez onliche tuuei writes of wuche comez tuueine assoines generalliche.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 1513 Þe king louede is wif..Þat al is herte onliche on hire on he caste.
c1380 G. Chaucer Second Nun's Tale 20 Slouthe hir holdeth in a lees Oonly for to slepe and ete and drynke.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 317 I speke onliche as of the dede, Of which I nevere was coupable.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 275v The camele haþ no teeþ in eiþer iowe, but oonly byneþe.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) 13737 Anli he wiþ-outen synne.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) 1749 Heȝest of alle oþer, saf onelych tweyne.
a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. 2370 (MED) He ne askede non oþer þyng Bot onlike his doughter ȝyng.
a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 3529 Bot duden wonlyche after þe deuellys rede.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Tobit x. 5 All ye thinges that we haue are onely in the.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxlv All these faire wordes, wer onely delaies to protracte tyme.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iv. i. 429 I will haue nothing else but onely this. View more context for this quotation
1613 F. Beaumont Knight of Burning Pestle ii. sig. D2v Now Fortune, if thou bee'st not onely ill, Shew me thy better face.
a1633 Visct. Falkland Hist. Edward II (1680) 96 'Tis onely one.
1651 R. Baxter Plain Script. Proof Infants Church-membership & Baptism 5 God doth not reveal his truth onely or chiefly to the learned.
1654 J. Bramhall Just Vindic. Church of Eng. ii. 20 We did not judge him, or punish him,..but only defended our selves, by guarding his blowes, and repelling his injuries.
1722 D. Defoe Moll Flanders 144 I brought him three Children, but only the first of them liv'd.
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 156. ⁋14 To distinguish..that which is established because it is right, from that which is right only because it is established.
1801 Sporting Mag. 19 114 I will not denominate your coursing correspondent a Yorkshire bite, for he only snaps.
1805 T. Harral Scenes of Life I. 194 It is true, I have been only twice.
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xliv. 436 ‘He's dying’—‘He isn't, he's only pretending.’
1845 M. Pattison in Christian Remembrancer Jan. 77 One of those devoted..attachments, of which only a mother or nurse are thought capable.
1899 Literary Guide 1 Oct. 146/2 Certain doctrines were imparted only to initiates.
1911 H. S. Harrison Queed v. 56 She had only pretended to die in order to make a fade-away with the gate receipts.
1916 E. A. Mackintosh in B. Gardiner Up Line to Death (1976) 94 You were only David's father, But I had fifty sons.
1951 E. Lambert Twenty Thousand Thieves iii. xii. 235 It's only two days to pay day.
1994 S. Sonnett Restraint ix. 102 I was only borrowing the money..I would make it up to them.
2002 N.Y. Times 13 June a24/1 The dioceses send part of their money to Rome, but only the bishops know how much.
b. † (b) Between a numeral and a noun. Cf. one only —— at only adj. 2b. Obsolete.
(a) Following the word or phrase which it limits.
ΚΠ
c1350 Apocalypse St. John: A Version (Harl. 874) (1961) 121 (MED) Who is þat ne shal dreden þee & heriȝen þi name, for þou onlich art ful of pyte?
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xlvii. 25 Our helþe is in þi honde; our god onely [a1425 L.V. oneli oure God] beholde vs, & glally we sall serue to þe kyng.
a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 1338 (MED) Þe world prayses nan, bot þa anly Þat til alle worldes welthes er happy.
a1475 Visio Philiberti (Brogyntyn) in J. O. Halliwell Early Eng. Misc. (1855) 25 On thi God wonly set thin herte.
c1475 (a1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 310 To haue crist oonliche heere patroun.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ecclus. xxiv. 34 I haue not laboured for my self onely.
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Matt. vi. 47 Loke upon the best thynges, eyther onely or chiefly.
1598 Acct. Bk. W. Morton f. 11 Wpone..hidis onleye.
1655 Marquis of Worcester Cent. Inventions in H. Dircks Life (1865) 416 To raise Water with two Buckets onely.
1763 J. Brown Diss. Poetry & Music vi. 104 What belongs to Nature only, Nature only can complete.
1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Leila i. iii. 23 In one only of the casements.
1876 J. B. Mozley Serm. preached Univ. of Oxf. iv. 108 His human character is not benevolence only.
1939 G. Greene Confidential Agent i. ii. 72 She mustn't know. You and me only.
1984 A. Brookner Hotel du Lac ix. 120 Her bedroom, a cool room which got the morning sun only.
2000 Independent on Sunday 26 Mar. (Reality section) 30/2 There are also powerful drugs to stop migraine attacks (triptans) which are prescription only.
ΚΠ
a1575 N. Harpsfield Treat. Divorce Henry VIII (1878) (modernized text) 59 Their second counsell of Toledo..being..of eight only bishops.
1624 W. Bedell Copies Certaine Lett. vi. 92 In two onely leaues of his booke, a certaine..Scholler did discouer thirtie..falsifications.
1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. T. Boccalini Ragguagli di Parnasso ii. xiv. 229 Amidst as many other Silver Balls as there are Sciences, three only Golden Balls are placed.
1851 H. Melville Moby-Dick cxxx. 591 He ate in the same open air; that is, his two only meals,—breakfast and dinner.
c. Placed away from the word or phrase which it limits, esp. preceding the main verb.Frequent in speech, where stress and pauses eliminate ambiguity; often avoided by careful writers.
ΚΠ
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 333 b/1 Luke is only with me.
1531 St. German's Fyrste Dyaloge in Englysshe (new ed.) vii. f. xx The eldest sone shall onlye enheryte his father.
1540 T. Cromwell Let. 12 June in R. B. Merriman Life & Lett. T. Cromwell (1902) II. 265 Unto the whiche god I have onlye Commyttyd my Sowlle.
1598 R. Grenewey tr. Tacitus Annales iii. iv. 69 Vipsania his mother died, onely of all Agrippas children, of a naturall death.
1661 A. Marvell Let. 9 Mar. in Poems & Lett. (1971) II. 20 I onely write this word to let you know that [etc.].
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 94 When Beasts were only slain for Sacrifice. View more context for this quotation
1703 N. Rowe Fair Penitent ii. ii. 23 Brutes and boys are only taught with blows.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Lady Clara Vere de Vere in Poems (new ed.) I. 158 'Tis only noble to be good.
1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues I. 270 I only asked the question from habit.
1978 M. Lavin Tales Bective Bridge (rev. ed.) 20 Two big sheds that only need a bit of fixing, to be ideal for my purposes.
1988 Bella 4 Apr. 29/1 I've been seeing a much older man who says he only wants to be friends.
2001 Linedancer Mag. Oct. 61/2 A disease that only affects boys.
3. In correlative constructions using not only: usually with contrast expressed by but, but also, also, etc., but occasionally implied (see also but conj. 11b(b)).
ΚΠ
a1325 (c1280) Southern Passion (Pepys 2344) (1927) 890 (MED) Ne wasch nouȝt onliche my ffet, bote boþe hond & heued.
c1350 Ayenbite (1866) App. 265 Naȝt onlyche beuore gode ac be-uore alle men.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. 6367 (MED) Noght onliche of the wommen tho, Bot of the chaste men also.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) 338 He wroȝt noȝt anly wit his hande, bot sayde wit worde.
?a1475 (a1396) W. Hilton Scale of Perfection (Harl. 6579) i. vii. f. 4v (MED) Hem liketh..to þynke sum time of þe blissed name of Ihesu..& nauȝht only þat name, bute alle oþer preyeres.
1515 R. Pace in J. S. Brewer Reign Hen. VIII (1884) I. xi. 270 Surely he would have out of your chapel not children only but also men.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. ciiijv Not onely now..but also after.
1682 G. Wheler Journey into Greece i. 18 We had time not only to see the Town, but the places circumjacent also.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver II. iv. vi. 95 I was not only endowed with the Faculty of Speech, but likewise with some Rudiments of Reason.
1871 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues II. 25 They not only tell lies but bad lies.
1918 W. Cather My Ántonia ii. iii. 178 Mr. Harling not only demanded a quiet house, he demanded all his wife's attention.
1987 P. McCabe Bad News at Black Rock ix. 169 Collins not only did reviews, she incorporated bites from interviews into pieces.
2001 Daily Tel. 27 Nov. 16/1 I want the courts to think very carefully not only about perhaps not using custody but, if they can, issuing shorter sentence lengths.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > one > only one > [adverb] > without addition
onlya1375
alonelya1393
solarly1657
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 3799 We schul..þis werre bring to ende onliche ȝourh [read þourh] godes grace & ȝour gode dede.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 321 (MED) At Ierusalem was a leche þat heled sike men onliche wiþ a word.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) 3574 (MED) Whenne þat he bicomeþ olde..Only to lyue trauaile him þink.
1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) iii. xix. sig. dviv By smellynge oonly he knowyth bytwene herbes good and venymous.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxxxiiv He was restored to his kyngdome, and made kyng onely by his ayde.
a1555 J. Philpot Exam. & Writings (1842) 66 Master doctor hath affirmed that these words..spoken by the priest, only do make the Sacrament.
1624 T. Heywood Γυναικεῖον i. 30 The Phrygian pipe was onely sufficient to yeeld musicke to her sacrifices, for that was no sooner heard but they fell into a divine rapture resembling madnesse.
1760 T. Warton Idler 16 Feb. 49 His Eye was so piercing, that..he could blunt the Weapons of his Enemies only by looking at them.
1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod i. i. 10 The see of Norwich, only, was in possession of no less than thirteen parks.
5. Emphasizing the contrary nature of a consequence.
a. Followed by a dependent infinitive clause: with no other consequence or result than.
ΚΠ
1621 M. Wroth Countesse of Mountgomeries Urania 319 He recouerd..only to be made more miserable.
1639 G. Rivers Heroinæ 80 So was I wound up to the height of happinesse and honour, only to fall never to rise again.
1792 M. Wollstonecraft Vindic. Rights Woman v. 196 To open her mind only to make the darkness and misery of her fate visible.
1836 R. M. Bird Sheppard Lee II. xi. 53 I had entered the philanthropist's body only to be murdered.
1892 Youth's Compan. 21 July 369/1 Two persons each of whom suspected the other of a deep-laid, malign plan, and each gave time and anxiety to the discovery of that plan, only to find in the end that neither had any plan except to watch the other.
1914 E. R. Burroughs Tarzan of Apes xxv. 338 How could she have..raised him to such a pinnacle of hope only to cast him down to such utter depths of despair!
1954 J. B. G. Thomas On Tour 68 Birt, normally the safest of place kickers, made his mark, only for the ball to be sliced towards the corner flag.
1976 I. M. Lewis Social Anthropol. in Perspective x. 338 Successful men pull themselves up by their bootstrings only to collapse again under the strain of retaining prominence.
2001 A. Gurnah By Sea ii. 59 Cursing Rachel and Jeff for having stolen me away from the detention centre..only to bring me to this dungeon.
b. In a main clause (frequently following a modal verb or to serve and infinitive): inevitably although contrary to intention or desire.
ΚΠ
1621 G. Hakewill King David's Vow vi. 225 Any of the rest, nay all the rest without it, serving only to make a servant more disposed & more able too, as well for the plotting as the acting of villany.
1660 R. Coke Elements Power & Subjection 45 in Justice Vindicated This unlimited power of doing anything with impunity, will only beget a confidence in kings of doing what they list.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. x. 246 This reference of the name, to a thing..only serves the more to involve us in Difficulties.
1787 R. Burns Let. to J. Smith 11 June Should I stay..at home, I would only dissipate my little fortune.
1858 C. S. Middleton Shelley I. xvii. 168 He..shall never cease thirsting, but, striving ever to quench his thirst..shall only render it so much the more the famine of his nature.
1889 Sat. Rev. 14 Sept. 288/1 Any actual quarrel between these Powers or powerlets could only end to the disadvantage of the Sultan.
1973 Times Lit. Suppl. 16 Mar. 288/5 If you improve the housing conditions of the working class, they will only put coals in the bath.
1991 J. Phillips You'll never eat Lunch in this Town Again (1992) 98 Redford..sports lots of scarves and mufflers and hats and shades, which only make him look more Redfordish.
6. With a word or phrase expressing time: not until, not before, not earlier than. only just: in the immediate past (see just adv. 3b).Only may precede or follow the word or phrase expressing time.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > antecedence or being earlier > [adverb] > not earlier or before
no sooner1408
only1676
1676 J. Glanvill Ess. Pref. sig. a3 I have now only cast it into the form of a Discourse.
1768 L. Sterne Sentimental Journey I. 19 I have only just set out upon my travels; and shall learn better manners as I get along.
1791 G. Washington Let. in Writings (1892) XII. 9 Your..letter..came to my hands the day before yesterday only.
1846 R. C. Trench Notes Miracles Introd. iv. 57 The flower dropped off only as the fruit was being formed.
1898 Westm. Gaz. 23 Feb. 5/3 A woman..yesterday killed herself. She was only married on Saturday.
1930 N. Coward Private Lives i. 37 Victor. Have you been here long? Sybil. No, we only arrived to-day.
1989 Austin (Texas) Amer.-Statesman 29 Apr. a7/1 Only then did the White House take its first cautious steps.
2000 K. Shamsie Salt & Saffron (2001) xviii. 186 I had only just learnt to drive.
7. [Compare German nur.] As much as, just (just adv. 6c). Frequently in conditional clauses introduced by if.Probably a development from the sense ‘no more than’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > [adverb] > as much (as)
just1551
only1782
1782 J. H. St. J. de Crèvecoeur Lett. from Amer. Farmer i. 3 Only think of a London man going to Rome! Where is it that these English folks won't go?
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. ix. 410 [They] would willingly join to effect it, if only they could obtain the help of such a force..as might secure those who should rise in arms.
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) III. 193 He is coming..if you will only wait.
1888 Sunday Talk June 345/1 If I could only give you one-half of the stories..I would make the best article I have yet written.
1955 J. P. Donleavy Ginger Man viii. 78 If we could only get out into the country for a few days.
1982 H. Engel Murder on Location 84 Oh if I could only tell you half of it.
2001 N.Y. Times 11 Nov. iv. 2/4 Now, if we could only find a way to roust our cat from the sofa.
8. South African colloquial. As an intensifier: really, certainly.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > [adverb] > assuredly, indeed
soothlyc825
forsoothc888
wiselyc888
sooth to sayOE
i-wislichec1000
to (‥) soothOE
iwis?c1160
certesa1250
without missa1275
i-witterlic1275
trulyc1275
aplight1297
certc1300
in (good) fayc1300
verily1303
certain1330
in truthc1330
to tell (also speak, say) the truthc1330
certainlya1375
faithlya1375
in faitha1375
surelya1375
in sooth1390
in trothc1390
in good faitha1393
to witc1400
faithfullyc1405
soothly to sayc1405
all righta1413
sad?a1425
in certc1440
wella1470
truec1480
to say (the) truth1484
of a truth1494
of (a) trotha1500
for a truth?1532
in (of) verity1533
of verityc1550
really1561
for, in, or into very?1565
indeed1583
really and truly1600
indeed and indeed1673
right enough1761
deed1816
just1838
of a verity1850
sho1893
though1905
verdad1928
sholy1929
ja-nee1937
only1975
deffo1996
1975 ‘Blossom’ in Darling (Durban) 9 Apr. 95 Jislaaik, but you only feel a naartjie riding in the back of a truck with three drums of pig swill..for company.
1983 Sunday Times (Johannesburg) 8 May 21 Bliksem, these outjies from the South can only box.
1991 in Dict. S. Afr. Eng. on Hist. Princ. (1996) at Lank [Informant, Johannesburg] It was a lank kif jol at Susan's last night, hey! After the exams we're only going to have a lank lekker peace-out on the beach, man.
B. conj.
1. The only thing to be added being; with this restriction, drawback, or exception; but (adversative); on the other hand, on the contrary.
ΚΠ
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) 1 Cor. vii. 39 Be she weddid to whom she wole, oonly [L. tantum] in the Lord.
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Gal. v. 13 Britheren, ȝe ben clepid in to fredom; oneli ȝeue ȝe not fredom in to occasioun of fleisch.
1579 G. Fenton in tr. F. Guicciardini Hist. Guicciardin Ep. Ded. Onely the man for his integritie and roundnes was such one, as [etc.].
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) ii. ii. 224 Spend all I haue, onely giue me so much of your time in enchange of it, as [etc.] . View more context for this quotation
1625 S. Purchas Pilgrimes II. 1117 They know not how to..refine the same [sugar-canes], onely they eat them raw.
1662 A. Marvell Let. 8 May in Poems & Lett. (1971) II. 250 Onely Colonell Gilby will tell you all when he comes down.
1796 C. Burney Mem. Life Metastasio I. 64 No matter; only will there be room for us all?
1877 C. H. Spurgeon Serm. XXIII. 179 Many a man would have become wise, only he thought he was so already.
1920 V. Woolf Diary (1979) II. 33 I..would like to catch the trick in his style—only I fear its thinking.
1994 i-D Oct. 116/2 Stuart is..after Flynn Boyle—but she wants Eddy, only he can't decide if he's gay or straight.
2001 C. Glazebrook Madolescents 212 Nosy cow, I'd flick her the finger only she's too stuck up to know what it means.
2. Were it not that, but that.
ΚΠ
a1766 F. Sheridan Concl. Mem. Miss Sidney Bidulph (1770) IV. 187 And only my uncle Bidulph is fonder of my sister than he is of me, my vanity would carry me away for want of a little ballast.
a1774 O. Goldsmith tr. P. Scarron Comic Romance (1775) II. xix. 162 At length their passion became so violent, that only there was no bloodshed, Pyramus and Thisbe were nothing to them for affection and sincerity.
1802 H. Martin Helen of Glenross II. 226 Only he is very melancholy, he would be agreeable.
1901 M. Franklin My Brilliant Career iii. 16 Only I promised to stick to the missus a while I'd scoot tomorrer.
1914 J. Joyce Dubliners 146 Only I'm an old man now I'd change his tune for him.
C. prep.
1. Except. only for: except for, but for, were it not for.
ΚΠ
1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance xiv. f. 24 Only by violence they coulde not be broughte to their shyppes.
1664 S. Pepys Diary 22 Apr. (1971) V. 130 My wife and I in their coach to Hide parke. And pleasant it was, only for the dust.
1668 S. Pepys Diary 22 Aug. (1976) IX. 285 It is true..that our whole office will be turned out, only me.
1737 S. Berington Mem. G. di Lucca 295 The Project might easily take, only for the horrid Wickedness of the Fact.
1747 tr. Mem. Nutrebian Court I. 38 Ridiculing all forms of worship..only their own.
1811 A. de Beauclerc Ora & Juliet I. 30 Only for my tea, I should have had the head-ache.
1887 Notes & Queries 18 June 501/2 For many years the following notice was painted up at Bolton railway station: ‘Do not cross the line only by the bridge’.
1899 T. Watts-Dunton Aylwin vii. 238 I've been a-listenin' to a v'ice as nobody can't hear on'y me.
1914 J. Joyce Dubliners 44 Threaten her and say what he would do to her only for her dead mother's sake.
1934 S. O'Casey Pound on Demand in Windfalls 195 Who else could he be, only Mr. Adams?
1955 M. Allingham Beckoning Lady xi. 161 The only artists I've ever met were just like me only more so.
1990 J. McGahern Amongst Women 147 Only for Rose I don't know how he'd manage.
2. With that-clause as object (forming a compound conjunction): except that, were it not that, but for the fact that.
ΚΠ
1706 S. Clarke Let. to Mr. Dodwell 29 That there is no real difference between the Platonical Notions and those of the new Testament, only that That which the Platonists call Mind [Νοῦς]..the Sacred Writers call [Πνεῦμα] Spirit.
1771 Hist. Sir William Harrington II. xlii. 167 Only that I know you don't love bustle, I should wish you here.
1804 ‘E. de Acton’ Tale without Title III. 241 Something like a castle in miniature, only that its windows were modern.
1845 M. J. Higgins in New Monthly Mag. Aug. 575 I would see and get it done at once, only that I am in doubt as to the best means.
1861 Amer. Agriculturist Jan. 14/3 Charred meats, bread toasted black, etc., are familiar examples [of charcoal], only that in these cases the heating is done in the open air.
1914 E. R. Burroughs Tarzan of Apes ix. 105 Tarzan of the Apes lived on in his wild, jungle existence with little change for several years, only that he grew stronger and wiser.
1992 Poor Richard's Saratoga Jrnl. July 7/4 Parachuting is similar to parasailing only that the line is released and you parachute down into the water.
Phrases
P1. all only (an emphatic variant of only in various senses, at length treated as one word): see alonely adv. and adj.
P2. only but (also but only): (a) only, merely; (b) except only. Now poetic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > state or quality of being simple, unmixed, or uncompounded > simple or unmixed [phrase] > simply, merely, or nothing but
not buta1382
but only1478
in simple1548
tout court1747
tout simple1930
tout simplement1939
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being exclusive > exclusiveness [preposition] > except or excepting > excepting only
all saving butc1450
only but1478
1478 W. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 178 Paid..for the tythyngys ondely but in corn whan it was jnned in-to the barn—xxiiij li.
a1525 Bk. Chess l. 416 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1923) I. 94 [A king] suld bot onelye haue a quene.
a1564 Q. Kennedy Breif Tracteit in 2 Eucharistic Tracts (1964) 126 To think þat it Is onely bot ane figure and taken.
1605 G. Chapman Al Fooles in Wks. (1873) I. 180 Now heere all are pleas'd, Onelie but Cornelio.
1678 J. Dryden All for Love ii. 17 You but only beg'd a last farewel.
1711 Light to Blind in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 127 The first dessigne was onely but to show the rebells, that the..garrison was watchful.
?1728 R. Blair Poem Dedicated to Memory Mr. William Law 5 For if, in darker Points, we were deceiv'd, 'Twas only but observing how thou liv'd.
1806 H. H. Brackenridge Gaz. Publ. 206 And only but a natural fool, Would take in head to fight or fence; Or 'gainst the slander break his shins.
1842 W. C. Bennett My Sonnets (1843) ii They shall rank him next only but to thee In their deep, holy, hatred.
1914 W. S. Blunt Poet. Wks. 137 Fear thou nought at our hand, nay, only but fair dealing.
1975 S. Heany New Sel. Poems (1992) vi White skulls and black skulls and yellow skulls, and some with full teeth, and some haven't only but one.
P3. (it's) only me (also him, her, a specified person, etc.), used as an expression of familiarity or reassurance.
ΚΠ
1760 G. Calman Polly Honeycombe 30 ‘Here's somebody coming.’ ‘Hush!—Stay!—O no! it's only Nurse.’
1782 F. Burney Cecilia I. i. viii. 112 Everybody stared; but Mrs. Harrel cooly said, ‘Dear, it's only the man-hater!’
c1847 J. M. Morton Box & Cox in M. R. Booth Eng. Plays of 19th Cent. (1973) IV. 231 Open the door! It's only me, Mrs. Bouncer!
1909 E. Nesbit Daphne in Fitzroy St. x. 152 ‘It's only me, miss,’ said the sailor-hatted charwoman.
1921 Chatterbox 263/1 ‘Well, it's only Mr. Drayton,’ said Marjory, a little regretfully. ‘Only me, eh?’ remarked Mr. Drayton.
1957 Woman's Day (N.Y.) July 62/1 Beansy speaks the new English and makes my father awfully angry. ‘It's all chop-chop. It's only Stu.’
1993 E. Nash Strawberries & Wine 248 ‘It's alright, Cassie. It's only me’ he said softly, but she had known that it was, and she wasn't afraid.
2000 J. Griffiths Grip on Thin Air 61 The artless voice on the telephone whispering It's only me when really it is I all the time.
P4. only not: all but, little else than. Now archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > similarity > [adverb] > almost or nearly
nigheOE
well-nigheOE
forneanc1000
well-nearc1175
almostc1261
nighwhatc1300
nearhandc1350
nigh handa1375
nigh handsa1375
as good asc1390
into (right) littlea1413
unto litea1420
nigh byc1430
nearbyc1485
near handsa1500
as near as1517
mosta1538
next door1542
wellmost1548
all but1590
anewst1590
uneath1590
next to1611
nearlya1616
thereaboutsa1616
welly1615
thereabout1664
within (an) ames-ace ofa1670
anear1675
pretty much1682
three parts1711
newsta1728
only not1779
partly1781
in all but name1824
just about1836
nentes1854
near1855
nar1859
just1860
not-quite1870
nearabouta1878
effectively1884
nigh on1887
1779 S. Johnson Smith in Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets IV. 59 I was only not a boy.
1834 W. F. P. Napier Hist. War Peninsula IV. xiv. vi. 203 The fortresses were..only not abandoned to the enemy.
1862 J. M. Neale Safe Home (hymn) i Torn sails, provision short, And only not a wreck.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 41/1 There, an utterly fallen man..and only not bereft of his intellectual force, he lingered but a few months before the approach of death.
P5. only too: see too adv. 5d.
Compounds
only-born adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > birth > [adjective] > born > only-begotten
one-gottena1382
one-begottenc1384
only-born1567
the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > [adjective] > begotten > only
ankennedOE
one-gottena1382
one-begottenc1384
only-begotten?a1425
only-born1567
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > child > relationship to parent > [adjective] > only child
one-gottena1382
one-begottenc1384
only-begotten?a1425
only1483
only-born1567
only-childish1938
1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 54 Lord Jesus Christ, Sone onlie borne Of thy Father celestiall.
1608 A. Willet Hexapla in Exodum 126 His first borne, which also may bee his only borne.
1761 Andromache to Pyrrhus 23 Say! alas have I decreed My Son to Death, my only Born to bleed?
1845 F. W. Faber Rosary 4 Jesu! kind visitant of earth, Of sinless and of painless birth, Thy Mother's only-born.
1870 E. Cook Poet. Wks. 30 The Baron weeps... His soul's adored; his house's pride; His only born, is dead.
1902 J. B. Stephens Poet. Wks. 77 Blessèd Virgin, pure and holy, Mother of the Only-born.
ΚΠ
1871 J. H. Newman Arians 4th Cent. (ed. 3) ii. 233 The Arians..explain the word Only-begotten in the sense of only-created.
ΚΠ
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xxii. 2 Abraham..take þi only geten [L. unigenitum] sonn.
?a1430 T. Hoccleve Mother of God l. 115 in Minor Poems (1970) i. 55 By his sone oonlygeten.
1578 J. Rolland Seuin Seages 48 Howbeit he be my onlie gottin Chylde.
1640 B. Jonson Eupheme x, in Wks. 263 To him should be her Judge, true God, true Man, Jesus, the onely gotten Christ!
only loved adj.
ΚΠ
c1450 (a1400) Orologium Sapientiæ in Anglia (1888) 10 386 (MED) Euery devoute and loved disciple of wisdame in this daye schalle in his entente come to his oonly-loved spowse, dyuyne wisdame.
1638 J. Ford Fancies v My onely lov'd Lord, all your feares are henceforth Confin'd unto a sweet and happie pennance.
1789 H. Brooke Vestal Virgin ii. iii Ah, my only loved! What mean these gushing floods, these deep fetch'd sobs..?
1839 F. D. B. Hemans Wks. 11 The only beautiful that change no more—The only loved!—the dwellers on the shore Of spring fulfill'd!
1923 H. Derozio Poems i With roses dress each raven tress, My only loved Dildar!
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2004; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.OE
adj.eOEadv.conj.prep.OE- overcastings
- overcasts
- overcaststaff
- overcasually
- overcatch
- overcatches
- overcatching
- overcaught
- overcaution
- overcautioned
- overcautioning
- overcautions
- overcautious
- overcautiously
- overcautiousness
- overcautiousnesses
- overcentralisation
- overcentralisations
- overcentralise
- overcentralises
- overcentralization
- overcentralizations
- overcentralize
- overcentralized
- overcentralizes