Idioms for one
Origin of one
before 900; Middle English
oon, Old English
ān; cognate with Dutch
een, German
ein, Gothic
ains, Latin
ūnus (OL
oinos); akin to Greek
oínē ace on a die
usage note for one
One as an indefinite pronoun meaning “any person indefinitely, anyone” is more formal than
you, which is also used as an indefinite pronoun with the same sense:
One (or
you )
should avoid misconceptions. One (or
you )
can correct this fault in three ways. When the construction requires that the pronoun be repeated, either
one or
he or
he or she is used;
he or
he or she is the more common in the United States:
Wherever one looks, he (or
he or she )
finds evidence of pollution. In speech or informal writing, a form of
they sometimes occurs:
Can one read this without having their emotions stirred?
In constructions of the type one of those who (or that or which ), the antecedent of who is considered to be the plural noun or pronoun, correctly followed by a plural verb: He is one of those people who work for the government. Yet the feeling that one is the antecedent is so strong that a singular verb is commonly found in all types of writing: one of those people who works for the government. When one is preceded by only in such a construction, the singular verb is always used: the only one of her sons who visits her in the hospital.
The substitution of one for I, a typically British use, is usually regarded as an affectation in the United States. See also he1, they.
In constructions of the type one of those who (or that or which ), the antecedent of who is considered to be the plural noun or pronoun, correctly followed by a plural verb: He is one of those people who work for the government. Yet the feeling that one is the antecedent is so strong that a singular verb is commonly found in all types of writing: one of those people who works for the government. When one is preceded by only in such a construction, the singular verb is always used: the only one of her sons who visits her in the hospital.
The substitution of one for I, a typically British use, is usually regarded as an affectation in the United States. See also he1, they.
Words nearby one
Definition for one (2 of 2)
-one
a suffix used in the names of ketones and analogous chemical compounds: lactone; quinone.
Origin of -one
perhaps < Greek
-ōnē feminine patronymic
Example sentences from the Web for one
British Dictionary definitions for one (1 of 2)
one
/ (wʌn) /
determiner
pronoun
noun
Other words from one
Related prefixes: mono-, uni- Related adjective: singleWord Origin for one
Old English
ān, related to Old French
ān, ēn, Old High German
ein, Old Norse
einn, Latin
unus, Greek
oinē ace
British Dictionary definitions for one (2 of 2)
-one
suffix forming nouns
indicating that a chemical compound is a ketone
acetone
Word Origin for -one
arbitrarily from Greek
-ōnē, feminine patronymic suffix, but perhaps influenced by
-one in
ozone
Medical definitions for one
-one
suff.
A ketone:acetone.
A compound that contains oxygen, especially in a carbonyl radical:lactone.
Scientific definitions for one
-one
A suffix used to form the names of chemical compounds containing an oxygen atom attached to a carbon atom, such as acetone.
Idioms and Phrases with one
one