only
Part of speech: adj
adv
conj
noun
particle
Morphological type: derivation
Etymology: From Middle English oonly, only, from Old English ānlīċ, ǣnlīċ (“only; singular; solitary”), from Proto-Germanic *ainalīkaz. Cognate with obsolete Dutch eenlijk, German ähnlich (“similar”), Old Norse álíkr, Swedish enlig (“unified”). By surface analysis, on(e) + -ly.
* Regarding the different phonological development of only and one, see the note in one.
Inflected forms:
form: onely
pos: adj
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: onlie
pos: adj
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: onely
pos: adv
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: onlie
pos: adv
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: onely
pos: conj
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: onlie
pos: conj
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: onlys
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: onlies
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: onely
pos: noun
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: onlie
pos: noun
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: onely
pos: particle
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: onlie
pos: particle
tags: alternative
obsolete
Senses:
gloss: Alone in a category.
pos: adj
tags: not-comparable
examples: He is the only doctor for miles.
The only people in the stadium were the fans: no players, coaches, or officials.
He was the only male in attendance at the boyband concert.
That was the only time I went to Turkey.
The San Juan market is Mexico City's most famous deli of exotic meats, where an adventurous shopper can hunt down hard-to-find critters such as ostrich, wild boar and crocodile. Only the city zoo offers greater species diversity.
gloss: Singularly superior; the best.
pos: adj
tags: not-comparable
examples: Motley's the only wear.
But as to uſquebagh; ah long life to the liquor—it is an exhilirator of the bovvels, and a ſtomatic to the head; I ſay, Mr. Preſident, it invigorates, it ſtimulates, it—in ſhort it is the onlieſt liquor of life, and no man alive vvill die vvhilſt he drinks it.
The baron had taken a great liking to the Americans and to their ways of doing things, and frequently asserted that America was the only place to live.
"People say there's other games," Jack had said to Cassie at Small Falls earlier that day. "But baseball's the only game."
gloss: Without sibling; without a sibling of the same gender.
pos: adj
tags: not-comparable
examples: He is their only son, in fact, an only child.
To DAD ¶ who only reared twelve children ¶ and ¶ To MOTHER ¶ who reared twelve only children
gloss: Mere.
pos: adj
tags: not-comparable
obsolete
examples: I know some who wittingly have drawne both profit and preferment from cuckoldrie, the only name whereof is so yrksome and bail-ful to so many men.
gloss: Without others or anything further; exclusively.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.
My heart is hers, and hers only.
I threw out only him.
The cat sat only on the mat. It kept off the sofa.
The only scientist to have won three Nobel prizes.
gloss: No more than; just.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: To DAD
who only reared twelve children
and
To MOTHER
who reared twelve only children
‘No. I only opened the door a foot and put my head in. The street lamps shine into that room. I could see him. He was all right. Sleeping like a great grampus. Poor, poor chap.’
[…] oot of a' six suspects there's not one that's been proved to ha' been nigh the place where the corpse was found, only Mr Graham.
Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about, they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling, if not more so. Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster.
The cat only sat on the mat. It didn't scratch it.
If there were only one more ticket!
gloss: As recently as.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: c. 1924-1955, anonymous, The Urantia Book
Only yesterday did I feed you with bread for your bodies; today I offer you the bread of life for your hungry souls.
The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania. The first barrels of crude fetched $18 (around $450 at today’s prices).
He left only moments ago.
gloss: Emphasizing something that is just or necessary.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: It's only fair to let him borrow your kite, after you've had his toys all day.
He'd been belittling her for years. It's only natural that she left.
gloss: Used to express surprise or consternation at an action.
pos: adv
tags: UK
not-comparable
examples: She's only gone and run off with the milkman!
The van said ‘BURT’S BURGERS’ on one side and ‘BURT’S PEST CONTROL’ on the other. Zoe stared at the van. The creepy man was only using the same vehicle for catching rats that he did for frying burgers!
gloss: Just, simply, undoubtedly.
pos: adv
tags: Ireland
informal
not-comparable
examples: Sure you're only gorgeous!
gloss: Introduces a disappointing or surprising outcome that renders futile something previously mentioned.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: They rallied from a three-goal deficit only to lose in the final two minutes of play.
I spent years studying a degree only to learn there was no requirement for such a certification.
I helped him out only for him to betray me.
He met Luis Suarez's cross at the far post, only for Chelsea keeper Petr Cech to show brilliant reflexes to deflect his header on to the bar. Carroll turned away to lead Liverpool's insistent protests that the ball had crossed the line but referee Phil Dowd and assistant referee Andrew Garratt waved play on, with even a succession of replays proving inconclusive.
gloss: Above all others; particularly.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
obsolete
examples: his most only elected mistress
gloss: Introduces a clause with negative polarity, often one which upsets the listener's expectations.
pos: conj
tags: informal
examples: You're welcome to borrow my bicycle, only please take care of it.
gloss: Introduces a clause with negative polarity, often one which upsets the listener's expectations.
pos: conj
tags: informal
examples: I would enjoy running, only I have this broken leg.
She would get good results only she gets nervous.
You look like me, only shorter.
[…] and pleasant it was, only for the dust.
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away.
gloss: An only child.
pos: noun
examples: Sometimes, secondborns marry onlys and the conflicts are similar.
The consistent finding […] that infants who are onlies do not differ from those who have siblings despite their lesser history of exposure to differential treatment is perplexing.
And in 2016, researchers in China took MRI brain scans and found that, compared with kids with siblings, onlies showed greater flexibility—a measurement of creativity—but lower agreeableness.
gloss: Placed at the end of a sentence to emphasize that something is trivial, small, undemanding or deserving of belittlement.
pos: particle
tags: Singapore
Singlish
examples: Just need to replace the filter only.
“No, you must listen to me,” the other replied. “I am Goh Chok Tong.”
“I am the President, even bigger than you.”
“President only! I am president of all the countries of the world!”
Related words: if only
Derived words: abstinence only
a chain is only as strong as its weakest link
almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades
beauty is only skin deep
beauty is only skin-deep
ciphertext-only attack
close only counts in horseshoes
close only counts in horseshoes and darts
close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades
driver-only operation
ears-only
eyes-only
face only a mother could love
face that only a mother could love
for your eyes only
freight-only
Goddess only knows
God only knows
ha ha only serious
heaven only knows
if only the czar knew
if only the tsar knew
I only work here
it's only a matter of time
it's only a question of time
it wasn't only only
KJV-onlyer
locks only keep honest people honest
Lord only knows
not only … but also
one and only
onlier
onliness
only a mother could love
only-begotten
onlyborn
only child
only daughter
only dead fish go with the flow
onlyer
only fools and horses work
only game in town
onlyhood
only in Ohio
only just
only move
only Nixon can go to China
only Nixon could go to China
only son
only the good die young
only time will tell
only too
producer-only market
progestin-only
progestogen-only
programmable read-only memory
programmable read only memory
read-only
read-only access
read-only memory
read only memory
regrets only
seat only
Sertoli cell-only syndrome
standing room only
television receive-only
they're only after one thing
write-only
write-only memory
you only get what you give
you only go around once
you only go around once in life
you only live once
you're only as good as your last shift
if only
only if
if and only if
only to
Translations:
lang: Albanian
word: vetëm
lang: Belarusian
word: адна́к
roman: adnák
lang: Bulgarian
word: обаче
roman: obače
lang: Catalan
word: però
lang: Catalan
word: si no fos que
lang: Czech
word: jenže
lang: Finnish
word: mutta
lang: French
word: mais
lang: Greek
word: αλλά
roman: allá
lang: Greek
word: μόνο
roman: móno
lang: Hungarian
word: csak
lang: Khmer
word: តែ
roman: tae
lang: Portuguese
word: mas
lang: Portuguese
word: porém
lang: Portuguese
word: todavia
lang: Russian
word: то́лько вот
roman: tólʹko vot
lang: Russian
word: но
roman: no
lang: Russian
word: одна́ко
roman: odnáko
lang: Ukrainian
word: одна́к
roman: odnák
lang: Ukrainian
word: проте́
roman: proté