Nonce word

A nonce word (individual-authorial neologism) is a word created by a writer for a single use in a concrete context, outside of which it usually does not function. Unlike general-linguistic neologisms that enter the dictionary, a nonce word remains a property of the authorial style, retaining a palpable novelty and individuality. Nonce words arise from a bold word-formative search and serve as a means of intensifying an image, condensing an emotion, creating an unexpected associative effect. They are especially characteristic of the poetry of the avant-garde and Modernism with their cult of linguistic experiment; vivid nonce words were created by Pavlo Tychyna, Mykola Bazhan and the Futurist poets. The nonce word demonstrates the creative, generative potential of language and the limits of its word-formative possibilities, which makes it an important object of stylistics.