hapax legomenon

noun

ha·pax le·go·me·non ˌha-ˌpaks-li-ˈgä-mə-ˌnän

ˌhä-ˌpäks-,

-nən

plural hapax legomena ˌha-ˌpaks-li-ˈgä-mə-nə

ˌhä-ˌpäks-

: a word or form occurring only once in a document or corpus

Word History

Etymology

Greek, something said only once

First Known Use

1692, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of hapax legomenon was in 1692

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Hapax legomenon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hapax%20legomenon. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.

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