From: Martin DeMello <martindemello@...>
Date: 2006-08-11T12:49:12+09:00
Subject: Re: nonce

On 8/11/06, Hal Fulton <hal9000@hypermetrics.com> wrote:
> Trans wrote:
> > Hal Fulton wrote:
> >
> >>Trans wrote:
> >>
> >>>An occassion need not be limited to an instantaneous moment. Could I
> >>>not say, "I have occassion for an Eigenclass"? It also has other
> >>>connotations, such as "need".
> >>>
> >>>I don't think any word is ever going to be perfect, precisely becuase
> >>>there is no precise word for it. We have to define one. And the problem
> >>>with "singleton" is that it's already taken.
> >>
> >>I've never perceived a problem there. "Singleton" is used in different
> >>circumstances, as is "nonce." Much of meaning depends on context.
> >>
> >>But "nonce" does carry a strong connotation of "one-time usage."
> >
> >
> > Honestly. Have you ever even used the work _nonce_ in your entire life?
>
> I have used it many times over the last twenty years, mostly in
> the phrase "for the nonce."

Same here. Also "nonce word". And I agree, it carries the wrong
connotations for the singleton class, whereas "eigenclass" seems to me
to be just about perfect, both in literal meaning and connotations.

martin