GeezerVison

GeezerVison is showing en.wiktionary.org — only - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

See also: oňly

English

Alternative forms

onely, onlie (both obsolete)

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.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈoʊn.li/
- (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈəʊn.li/, (in fast speech) /ˈəʊn.i/
  - (Northumbria) IPA^(key): /ˈaːn.li/
  - Audio (Southern England): (file)
- (US) IPA^(key): /ˈoʊn.li/
  - Audio (US): (file)
  - Audio (General American): (file)
- (Canada) IPA^(key): [ˈoːn.li], (dialectal) [ˈɔːn.lɪ]
- (South Asia) IPA^(key): /ˈonli/, (dialectal) /(w)ɵnˈli/, /ˈwənli/^[1] ("one-ly")
(Early Modern) IPA^(key): /oːnlɪ/, (rare) /wɔnlɪ/^[2]
Hyphenation: on‧ly
Rhymes: -əʊnli

Adjective

only (not comparable)

Alone in a category.
Synonyms: lone, sole; see also Thesaurus:sole

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.
- 2013 July 26, Nick Miroff, “Mexico gets a taste for eating insects […]”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 7, page 32:
  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.
Singularly superior; the best.
Synonyms: nonpareil, peerless, unequaled; see also Thesaurus:unique
- c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
  Motley's the only wear.
- 1762, [Samuel] Foote, The Orators. […], Dublin: […] Thomas Richey, […], →OCLC, Act III, page 54:
  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.
- 1888, United States. Department of State, Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, page 316:
  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.
- 2015, Mike Lupica, The Only Game, →ISBN, pages 58–59:
  "People say there's other games," Jack had said to Cassie at Small Falls earlier that day. "But baseball's the only game."
Without sibling; without a sibling of the same gender.
He is their only son, in fact, an only child.
- 1949, Frank B[unker] Gilbreth, Jr., Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, Cheaper by the Dozen, dedication:
  To DAD ¶ who only reared twelve children ¶ and ¶ To MOTHER ¶ who reared twelve only children
(obsolete) Mere.
Synonyms: alone, simple, very; see also Thesaurus:mere
- 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 40, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
  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.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Translations

1. alone in a category

Albanian: vetëm (sq)
Arabic: وَحِيد (waḥīd)
Armenian: միակ (hy) (miak)
Assamese: অকল (okol), মাথোঁ (mathü̃), মাথোন (mathün)
Azerbaijani: bircə, yeganə (az)
Belarusian: адзі́ны (adzíny)
Bhojpuri: खाली (khālī), सिरिफ (siriph)
Bulgarian: еди́нствен (bg) (edínstven)
Catalan: únic (ca) m, única (ca) f
Cherokee: ᎤᏩᏌ (uwasa)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 唯一 (zh) (wéiyī)
Czech: jediný (cs)
Danish: eneste
Dutch: enig (nl), enigst (nl)
Esperanto: sola (eo), nura
Estonian: ainus, ainuke
Finnish: ainoa (fi), ainut (fi), ainokainen (fi)
French: unique (fr), seul (fr)
Middle French: unicque
Friulian: sôl
Fula: tan, tun
Georgian: ერთადერთი (ertaderti)
German: einzig (de)
East Central German: aanzich
Gothic: 𐌰𐌹𐌽𐌰𐌷𐍃 (ainahs)
Greek: μοναδικός (el) (monadikós), μόνος (el) (mónos)
Ancient Greek: μόνος (mónos), (poetic) οἶος (oîos)
Greenlandic: -innaq
Haitian Creole: sèl
Hebrew: יָחִיד (he) (yakhíd)
Hindi: केवल (hi) (keval), अकेला (hi) (akelā), मात्र (hi) (mātra), एकल (hi) (ekal), एकाकी (hi) (ekākī)
Hungarian: egyetlen (hu)
Icelandic: eini (is) m, eina (is) f or n, einu m pl or f pl or n pl
Ido: nura (io)
Indonesian: satu-satunya (id)
Ingrian: ainava
Italian: unico (it)
Japanese: 唯一の (ja) (ゆいいつの, yuiitsu no)
Korean: 유일한 (yuilhan), 하나밖에 없는 (hanabakke eomneun)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: تەنھا (tenha)
Latin: ūnicus (la)
Latvian: vienīgs
Macedonian: единствен (edinstven)
Malayalam: ഏക (ml) (ēka), ഒറ്റ (ml) (oṟṟa), ഒരൊറ്റ (oroṟṟa)
Mandingo:
Mandinka: dorong
Māori: anahe, anake
Marathi: एकमात्र (ekmātra)
Mongolian: зөвхөн (mn) (zövxön), гагцхүү (mn) (gagcxüü)
Nahuatl: ça, çan
Norwegian:
Bokmål: eneste (no)

Nynorsk: einaste
Old English: ān
Persian: تَنها (fa) (tanhâ)
Pitcairn-Norfolk: uni
Polish: jedyny (pl)
Portuguese: único (pt)
Quechua: sapa
Romanian: singur (ro), unic (ro)
Russian: еди́нственный (ru) (jedínstvennyj), еди́ный (ru) (jedínyj)
Santali: ᱮᱠᱚ (eko̠)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: једини

Latin: jedini (sh)
Sicilian: sulu (scn)
Slovak: jediný m
Slovene: edin
Spanish: único (es), señero (es)
Swahili: peke
Swedish: enda (sv), bara (sv)
Tagalog: lang (tl), laang, lamang (tl)
Tamil: ஒரே (ta) (orē)
Telugu: ఏకైక (te) (ēkaika), ఒకే (okē), ఒక్కగానొక్క (okkagānokka)
Tocharian B: ṣemeske
Turkish: sadece (tr), tek (tr)
Ottoman Turkish: یالڭز (yalñız)
Ukrainian: єди́ний (jedýnyj)
Uzbek: faqat (uz)
Vietnamese: duy nhất (vi)
Welsh: dim ond, unig (cy)

2. singularly superior; the best — see also unique,‎ singular,‎ unrepeatable

Albanian: vetëm (sq)
Azerbaijani: birnömrəli
Catalan: únic (ca) m, única (ca) f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 獨一無二的 / 独一无二的 (zh) (dúyīwú'èr de), 最好的 (zh) (zuìhǎo de)
Finnish: ainutlaatuinen (fi)
German: einzigartig (de)
Hindi: श्रेष्ठ (hi) m (śreṣṭh), अकेला (hi) (akelā)
Hungarian: egyetlen (hu)
Māori: pūharu
Persian: تنها (fa) (tanhâ)
Polish: jedyny (pl), najlepszy (pl)
Portuguese: único (pt), melhor (pt)
Russian: исключи́тельный (ru) (isključítelʹnyj), наилу́чший (ru) (nailúčšij), еди́нственный (ru) (jedínstvennyj)
Vietnamese: tốt nhất

3. without sibling — see also only-begotten,‎ only child

Albanian: vetëm (sq)
Armenian: միակ (hy) (miak), մինուճար (hy) (minučar), միամոր (hy) (miamor)
Azerbaijani: tək (az)
Catalan: fill únic m, filla única f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 獨生的 / 独生的 (zh) (dúshēng de), 唯一的 (zh) (wéiyī de)
Comorian:
Maore Comorian: moja moja
Czech: jedináček (cs) m
Finnish: ainoa (fi), ainokainen (fi)
French: unique (fr)
German: geschwisterlos, Einzelkind (de) n (noun)
Greek: μοναχός (el) m (monachós)
Hindi: एकलौता (hi) (eklautā)
Hungarian: egyetlen (hu)
Indonesian: tunggal (id)
Ingrian: ainava
Italian: solo (it), figlio unico
Malayalam: ഏക (ml) (ēka), ഒറ്റ (ml) (oṟṟa)
Maltese: waħdu m, waħidha f, weħidha f, waħedha f
Māori: huatahi, tautahi
Portuguese: filho (pt) único (pt)
Russian: еди́нственный (ru) (jedínstvennyj)
Spanish: único (es)
Tamil: ஒரே (ta) (orē)
Turkish: tek (tr)
Vietnamese: một (vi)
Welsh: unig (cy)

Adverb

only (not comparable)

Without others or anything further; exclusively.
- 2013 June 7, Ed Pilkington, “‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 6:
  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.
No more than; just.
- 1949, Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, Cheaper by the Dozen, dedication:
  To DAD
  
  who only reared twelve children
  
  and
  
  To MOTHER
  
  who reared twelve only children
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 20, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
  ‘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.’
- 1931, Dorothy L[eigh] Sayers, chapter 24, in The Five Red Herrings, London: Victor Gollancz […], →OCLC:
  […] 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.
- 2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 70:
  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!
As recently as.
- 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.
- 2013 August 3, “Yesterday’s fuel”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847, London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC:
  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.

Only this morning he was saying he had a problem.
Emphasizing something that is just or necessary.
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.
(UK) Used to express surprise or consternation at an action.
She's only gone and run off with the milkman!
- 2012, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Ratburger, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:
  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!
(Ireland, informal) Just, simply, undoubtedly.
Sure you're only gorgeous!
Introduces a disappointing or surprising outcome that renders futile something previously mentioned.
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.
- 2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport‎^[2], archived from the original on 18 January 2016:
  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.
(obsolete) Above all others; particularly.
- 1604 (date written), Iohn Marston [i.e., John Marston], Parasitaster, or The Fawne, […], London: […] T[homas] P[urfoot] for W[illiam] C[otton], published 1606, →OCLC, (please specify the page):
  his most only elected mistress

Synonyms

(without others): See also Thesaurus:solely
(no more than): See also Thesaurus:merely
(as recently as):
(above all others):

Derived terms

Translations

without others or anything further; exclusively

Albanian: vetëm (sq)
Arabic: فَقَط (ar) (faqaṭ)
Hijazi Arabic: بَسّ (bass)
Armenian: միայն (hy) (miayn), մենակ (hy) (menak) (informal)
Asturian: namás, sólo
Azerbaijani: ancaq (az), bircə, yalnız (az), sırf
Basque: soilik
Belarusian: то́лькі (tólʹki)
Bulgarian: са́мо (bg) (sámo), еди́нствено (bg) (edínstveno)
Carpathian Rusyn: лем (lem), лиш (lyš)
Catalan: només (ca), tan sols (ca), sols (ca), solament (ca), únicament (ca)
Chinese:
Cantonese: 淨係 / 净系 (zing⁶ hai⁶)

Eastern Min: 儷 / 俪 (nâ)

Mandarin: 只有 (zh) (zhǐyǒu), 惟獨 / 惟独 (zh) (wéidú)
Czech: jen (cs), jenom (cs), pouze (cs), jedině (cs)
Danish: kun (da), bare
Dutch: alleen (nl), alleen maar, enkel (nl), louter (nl)
Esperanto: nur (eo)
Estonian: vaid (et), ainult (et), üksnes
Finnish: vain (fi), ainoastaan (fi)
French: seulement (fr), ne...que, uniquement (fr)
Middle French: unicquement
Fula: tan, tun
Galician: só (gl)
Georgian: მხოლოდ (mxolod), -ღა (ka) (-ɣa)
German: nur (de), lediglich (de), allein (de)
Gothic: 𐌸𐌰𐍄𐌰𐌹𐌽𐌴𐌹 (þatainei)
Greek: μόνο (el) (móno), μονάχα (el) (monácha)
Ancient Greek: μόνον (mónon)
Guarani:
Mbya Guarani: anho

Paraguayan Guarani: ^{(please verify)} año
Haitian Creole: sèlman
Hebrew: רַק (he) (rak)
Hindi: ही (hi) (hī), केवल (hi) (keval), एकमात्र (hi) (ekmātra)
Hungarian: csak (hu)
Icelandic: aðeins (is)
Indonesian: hanya (id)
Ingrian: vaa, ikkee, aima
Interlingua: solmente
Italian: solo (it), soltanto (it), solamente (it)
Japanese: ...だけ (ja) (...dake)
Korean: ...만 (ko) (...man), 오직 (ko) (ojik)
Latin: solum (la), modo (la), tantum (la), tantummodo
Latvian: tikai (lv), vienīgi, vien
Macedonian: само (samo)
Malay: hanya (ms), sahaja
Malayalam: മാത്രം (ml) (mātraṁ)
Maltese: biss
Mandar: sangga
Māori: anahe, anake
Marathi: फक्त (mr) (phakta), केवळ (mr) (kevaḷ)
Norwegian: bare (no)
Occitan:
Old Occitan: solament
Old Tupi: anhõ
Persian:
Dari: خالی (fa) (xālī), فقط (fa) (faqat)

Iranian Persian: فقط (fa) (faġat)
Pipil: sema, cema, semaya, cemaya
Plautdietsch: blooss
Polish: tylko (pl)
Portuguese: apenas (pt), somente (pt)
Romanian: numai (ro)
Russian: то́лько (ru) (tólʹko), лишь (ru) (lišʹ)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: само

Latin: samo (sh)
Sicilian: sulu (scn)
Slovak: len, iba (sk)
Slovene: samo (sl)
Spanish: sólo (es), solamente (es), solo (es), tan solo, únicamente (es), nomás (es) (Latin America)
Swedish: bara (sv), endast (sv)
Tamil: மட்டும் (ta) (maṭṭum)
Tarantino: sule
Turkish: sadece (tr), yalnızca (tr), bir tek
Ukrainian: ті́льки (uk) (tílʹky), лише́ (lyšé)
Urdu: صرف (sirf)
Vietnamese: chỉ (vi)
Welsh: yn unig (cy), dim ond

no more than

Albanian: vetëm (sq)
Arabic: فَقَط (ar) (faqaṭ)
Armenian: միայն (hy) (miayn), մենակ (hy) (menak) (informal)
Bulgarian: са́мо (bg) (sámo)
Burmese: ရုံ (my) (rum)
Catalan: només (ca), sols (ca), solament (ca), únicament (ca)
Chinese:
Cantonese: 淨係 / 净系 (zing⁶ hai⁶)

Eastern Min: 儷 / 俪 (nâ)

Mandarin: 只有 (zh) (zhǐyǒu), 只 (zh) (zhǐ)
Czech: jen (cs)
Dutch: maar (nl), slechts (nl)
Finnish: edes (fi), vain (fi)
French: que (fr), seulement (fr)
Georgian: please add this translation if you can
German: nur (de), lediglich (de)
Alemannic German: bloos
Greek: μόνο (el) (móno)
Ancient Greek: μόνον (mónon)
Hebrew: רַק (he) (rak)
Hindi: केवल (hi) (keval)
Hungarian: csak (hu)
Icelandic: bara (is)
Indonesian: hanya (id)
Istriot: sulo
Italian: solamente (it)
Japanese: ...だけ (ja) (...dake), (negative clause, meaning is positive) ...しか (ja) (...shika)
Khmer: គ្រាន់តែ (km) (kroan tae)
Korean: 겨우 (ko) (gyeou), 고작 (ko) (gojak)
Lao: ເທົ່ານັ້ນ (thao nan)
Latin: sōlum (la), modo (la)
Malay: hanya (ms), sahaja
Marathi: केवळ (mr) (kevaḷ), फक्त (mr) (phakta)
Ojibwe: eta
Persian: فقط (fa) (faqat)
Plautdietsch: blooss
Polish: tylko (pl)
Portuguese: apenas (pt), somente (pt)
Romanian: numai (ro)
Russian: то́лько (ru) (tólʹko), лишь (ru) (lišʹ)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: само

Latin: sámo (sh)
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: jano
Spanish: solo (es), únicamente (es), solamente (es)
Tamil: தான் (ta) (tāṉ)
Thai: เท่านั้น (th) (tâo-nán)
Turkish: sadece (tr), yalnızca (tr)
Urdu: صرف (sirf)
Venetan: sólo
Vietnamese: chỉ (vi)
Volapük: te (vo)
Welsh: dim ond

as recently as

Albanian: vetëm (sq)
Armenian: միայն (hy) (miayn)
Catalan: fa just, fa només
Czech: až (cs), teprve (cs)
Dutch: pas (nl), net (nl)
Finnish: vasta (fi), juuri (fi), vain (fi)
German: erst (de)
Greek: μόνο (el) (móno)
Hungarian: csak (hu)
Malay: hanya (ms), sahaja
Polish: dopiero (pl)
Portuguese: apenas (pt), somente (pt)
Russian: то́лько (ru) (tólʹko), всего́ (ru) (vsevó)
Spanish: apenas (es), solo (es)
Tamil: தான் (ta) (tāṉ)
Turkish: sadece (tr), yalnızca (tr)
Vietnamese: chỉ mới

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Chinese:
Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 只有 (zh) (zhǐyǒu), ^{(please verify)} 唯一的 (zh) (wéiyī de), ^{(please verify)} 僅有的 / 仅有的, ^{(please verify)} 仅有的 (jǐnyǒu de)
Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} nur (eo)
Estonian: ^{(please verify)} ainult (et), ^{(please verify)} üksnes
Georgian: ^{(please verify)} მხოლოდ (mxolod)
Hungarian: ^{(please verify)} csak (hu), ^{(please verify)} kizárólag (hu)
Ido: ^{(please verify)} nur (io)
Italian: ^{(please verify)} solo (it), ^{(please verify)} solamente (it)
Japanese: ^{(please verify)} ただひとつ (tada hitotsu), ^{(please verify)} 唯一の (ja) (ゆいいつの, yuiitsu no), ^{(please verify)} ...だけ (ja) (...dake), ^{(please verify)} のみ (ja) (nomi)
Korean: ^{(please verify)} 유일한 (yuilhan)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: ^{(please verify)} ھەر (her)
Latin: ^{(please verify)} sōlum (la)
Lithuanian: ^{(please verify)} tik (lt)
Mongolian: ^{(please verify)} ганц (mn) (ganc)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: ^{(please verify)} bare (no), ^{(please verify)} kun (no), ^{(please verify)} utelukkende

Nynorsk: ^{(please verify)} berre (no), ^{(please verify)} einast, ^{(please verify)} einaste
Persian: ^{(please verify)} هَمین (fa) (hamin)
Romanian: ^{(please verify)} numai (ro)
Slovene: ^{(please verify)} samo (sl)
Swedish: ^{(please verify)} bara (sv), ^{(please verify)} endast (sv)
Thai: ^{(please verify)} เอง (th) (eng), ^{(please verify)} แค่นี้ (kâe née)
Turkish: ^{(please verify)} sade (tr), ^{(please verify)} sadece (tr)
Ukrainian: ^{(please verify)} тільки (uk) (tilʹky)

Conjunction

only

(informal, clause-initial) Introduces a clause with negative polarity, often one which upsets the listener's expectations.
1. Under the condition that; but. (clarification of this definition is needed)
  You're welcome to borrow my bicycle, only please take care of it.
2. But, except; but in fact. (clarification of this definition is needed)
  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.
  - 1664 April 22, The Diary of Samuel Pepys:
    […] and pleasant it was, only for the dust.
  - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 8:28:
    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.

Related terms

if only

Translations

but

Albanian: vetëm (sq)
Arabic: فَقَط (ar) (faqaṭ)
Hijazi Arabic: بسّ (bass), لكن (lākin)
Belarusian: але́ (be) (aljé)
Bulgarian: но (bg) (no)
Catalan: però (ca)
Finnish: mutta (fi), jos (fi), sillä ehdolla, että
Greek: αλλά (el) (allá), μόνο (el) (móno), εκτός (el) (ektós)
Hindi: पर (hi) (par)
Hungarian: csak (hu)
Khmer: គ្រាន់តែ (km) (kroan tae), តែ (km) (tae)
Portuguese: mas (pt), porém (pt), todavia (pt), só que (pt)
Russian: но (ru) (no)
Tamil: ஆனால் (ta) (āṉāl)
Ukrainian: але́ (uk) (alé)
Welsh: ond (cy)

however

Albanian: vetëm (sq)
Belarusian: адна́к (be) (adnák)
Bulgarian: обаче (bg) (obače)
Catalan: però (ca), si no fos que
Czech: jenže (cs)
Finnish: mutta (fi)
French: mais (fr)
Greek: αλλά (el) (allá), μόνο (el) (móno)
Hungarian: csak (hu)
Khmer: តែ (km) (tae)
Portuguese: mas (pt), porém (pt), todavia (pt)
Russian: то́лько вот (tólʹko vot), но (ru) (no), одна́ко (ru) (odnáko)
Ukrainian: одна́к (odnák), проте́ (proté)

except

Albanian: vetëm (sq)
Arabic: فَقَط (ar) (faqaṭ)
Catalan: excepte (ca)
Finnish: mutta (fi), paitsi että
French: sauf que (fr)
Greek: εκτός (el) (ektós)
Hindi: फकत (hi) (phakat)
Hungarian: kivéve (hu)
Indonesian: anging (id)
Polish: tyle że
Portuguese: salvo (pt) que (pt), exceto (pt) que (pt)
Russian: за исключе́нием того́, что (za isključénijem tovó, što)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Dutch: ^{(please verify)} maar (nl)
Estonian: ^{(please verify)} ainult (et)
Georgian: ^{(please verify)} მაგრამ არამედ (magram aramed)
German: ^{(please verify)} aber (de), ^{(please verify)} doch (de)
Hungarian: ^{(please verify)} csak (hu)
Italian: ^{(please verify)} ma (it)
Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} men (no), ^{(please verify)} bare at
Spanish: ^{(please verify)} pero (es), ^{(please verify)} ojalá (es)

Noun

only (plural onlys or onlies)

An only child.
- 1995, Don Martin, Maggie Martin, Pat Jeffers, Is Your Family Making You Fat?, page 101:
  Sometimes, secondborns marry onlys and the conflicts are similar.
- 2013, Sybil L. Hart, Maria Legerstee, Handbook of Jealousy:
  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.
- 2022 November 1, Chiara Dello Joio, “Why Are People Weird About Only Children?”, in Jeffrey Goldberg, editor, The Atlantic‎^[3], Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2 June 2026:
  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.

Translations

only child — see only child

Particle

only

(Singapore, Singlish) Placed at the end of a sentence to emphasize that something is trivial, small, undemanding or deserving of belittlement.
Synonyms: that's all, (Singlish) nia

Just need to replace the filter only.
- 2022, Daren Shiau, chapter VIII, in Heartland, Ethos Books, →ISBN:
  “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!”

Usage notes

Compare Malay sahaja, Hokkien 爾 / 尔 (niā), Cantonese 咋 (zaa⁴) and Mandarin 而已 (éryǐ).

Related terms

Discourse particles in colloquial Singaporean and Malaysian English

⟵ More assertiveLess assertive ⟶

Objection

what

Assertive emphasis

lah_1–14

Self-evident answer

lor_2–3

Resignation

lor₁, ah₆

Uncertainty

leh_1–2

Self-evident reason

mah

Declarative emphasis

leh_3–6, one_1–3, hor₁, know, nia, only

Discontent; shock; coarseness

sia

Agreement-seeking

hor₂

Confirmation-seeking

ah_1–3, hah_1–3

Skepticism

meh

Confident speculation

ba₂

Tentative judgment

leh_7–11, ba₁

Non-pragmatic

Aspectual

liao, already

References
Gupta, A. F. (1992), “The pragmatic particles of Singapore colloquial English”, in Journal of Pragmatics, volume 18, number 1, →DOI

References

^ https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/507657/pronunciation-of-only-as-one-ly
^ Dobson, E[ric] J. (1957), English pronunciation 1500-1700‎^[1], second edition, volume II: Phonology, Oxford: Clarendon Press, published 1968, →OCLC, § 430, page 997.

Anagrams

Lyon, lyon, noyl, ynol

Middle English

Alternative forms

onli, onlych, onelich, oonly
anly, anely (Northern)

Etymology

From Old English ānlīċ, a form of ǣnlīċ; equivalent to on (“one”) +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɔ̝ːnliː/
IPA^(key): /ˈaːnliː/ (Northern)

Adjective

only

Descendants

English: only
Scots: anely

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