only

• POS: Adjective, Adverb
• HYPHEN: on=ly
• COUNT in NET: 413 in 400 verses (in OT : 274 in 261 verses) (in NT : 139 in 139 verses)

CIDE DICTIONARY

only, a. [OE. only, anly, onlich, AS. ānlic, i.e., onelike. See One, and Like, a.].

•  One alone; single; as, the only man present; his only occupation.  [1913 Webster]
•  Alone in its class; by itself; not associated with others of the same class or kind; as, an only child.  [1913 Webster]
•  Alone, by reason of superiority; preëminent; chief.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]

only, adv. [See Only, a.].

•  In one manner or degree; for one purpose alone; simply; merely; barely.  [1913 Webster]

  "And to be loved himself, needs only to be known."  Dryden.  [1913 Webster]
•  So and no otherwise; no other than; exclusively; solely; wholly.  Beau. & Fl.  [1913 Webster]

  "Every imagination . . . of his heart was only evil."  [1913 Webster]
•  Singly; without more; as, only-begotten.  [1913 Webster]
•  Above all others; particularly.  [1913 Webster]

  "His most only elected mistress."  [1913 Webster]

only, conj. 

 Save or except (that); -- an adversative used elliptically with or without that, and properly introducing a single fact or consideration.  [1913 Webster]
"He might have seemed some secretary or clerk . . . only that his low, flat, unadorned cap . . . indicated that he belonged to the city."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

only, adv., adj., & conj.
--adv.
1 solely, merely, exclusively; and no one or nothing more besides (I only want to sit down; will only make matters worse; needed six only; is only a child).
2 no longer ago than (saw them only yesterday).
3 not until (arrives only on Tuesday).
4 with no better result than (hurried home only to find her gone).

Idiom

only-begotten literary begotten as the only child. only too extremely (is only too willing).

Usage

In informal English only is usually placed between the subject and verb regardless of what it refers to (e.g. I only want to talk to you); in more formal English it is often placed more exactly, esp. to avoid ambiguity (e.g. I want to talk only to you). In speech, intonation usually serves to clarify the sense.
--attrib.adj.
1 existing alone of its or their kind (their only son).
2 best or alone worth knowing (the only place to eat).
--conj. colloq.
1 except that; but for the fact that (I would go, only I feel ill).
2 but then (as an extra consideration) (he always makes promises, only he never keeps them).

Etymology

OE anlic, {aelig}nlic, ME onliche (as ONE, -LY(2))

THESAURUS

only

absolute, after a fashion, alone, appreciably, at any rate, at best, at least, at most, at the least, at the most, at the outside, at worst, azygous, barely, but, celibate, companionless, comparatively, contrariwise, detectably, entirely, exclusive, exclusively, fairly, first and last, however, impair, in a manner, in a way, in part, in some measure, incomparable, incompletely, inimitable, integrally, irreducibly, just, leastwise, lone, matchless, merely, mildly, moderately, modestly, not comprehensively, not exhaustively, odd, on the contrary, one, one and only, only-begotten, part, partially, particular, partly, peerless, plainly, pro tanto, purely, relatively, separate, simply, simply and solely, single, singly, singular, so far, sole, solely, solitary, solo, somewhat, thus far, to a degree, to some degree, tolerably, totally, transcendent, unaccompanied, unanalyzably, unattended, undividedly, unequaled, unexampled, unique, unmatched, unpaired, unparagoned, unparalleled, unrepeatable, unrepeated, unrivaled, visibly, wholly, yet

ROGET THESAURUS

only

Imperfection

N imperfection, imperfectness, deficiency, inadequacy, peccancy, immaturity, fault, defect, weak point, screw loose, flaw, gap, twist, taint, attainder, bar sinister, hole in one's coat, blemish, weakness, half blood, shortcoming, drawback, seamy side, mediocrity, no great shakes, no great catch, not much to boast of, one-horse shay, imperfect, not perfect, deficient, defective, faulty, unsound, tainted, out of order, out of tune, cracked, leaky, sprung, warped, lame, injured, peccant, frail, inadequate, crude, incomplete, found wanting, below par, short-handed, below its full strength, under its full strength, below its full complement, indifferent, middling, ordinary, mediocre, average, so-so, coucicouci, milk and water, tolerable, fair, passable, pretty well, pretty good, rather good, moderately good, good, good enough, well enough, adequate, decent, not bad, not amiss, inobjectionable, unobjectionable, admissible, bearable, only better than nothing, secondary, inferior, second-rate, second-best, one-horse, almost, to a limited extent, rather, pretty, moderately, passing, only, considering, all things considered, enough, surgit amari aliquid.

Smallness

N smallness, littleness, tenuity, paucity, fewness, meanness, insignificance (unimportance), mediocrity, moderation, small quantity, modicum, trace, hint, minimum, vanishing point, material point, atom, particle, molecule, corpuscle, point, speck, dot, mote, jot, iota, ace, minutiae, details, look, thought, idea, soupcon, dab, dight, whit, tittle, shade, shadow, spark, scintilla, gleam, touch, cast, grain, scruple, granule, globule, minim, sup, sip, sop, spice, drop, droplet, sprinkling, dash, morceau, screed, smack, tinge, tincture, inch, patch, scantling, tatter, cantlet, flitter, gobbet, mite, bit, morsel, crumb, seed, fritter, shive, snip, snippet, snick, snack, snatch, slip, scrag, chip, chipping, shiver, sliver, driblet, clipping, paring, shaving, hair, nutshell, thimbleful, spoonful, handful, capful, mouthful, fragment, fraction, drop in the ocean, animalcule, trifle, mere nothing, next to nothing, hardly anything, just enough to swear by, the shadow of a shade, finiteness, finite quantity, small, little, diminutive, minute, fine, inconsiderable, paltry, faint, slender, light, slight, scanty, scant, limited, meager, sparing, few, low, so-so, middling, tolerable, no great shakes, below par, under par, below the mark, at a low ebb, halfway, moderate, modest, tender, subtle, inappreciable, evanescent, infinitesimal, homeopathic, very small, atomic, corpuscular, microscopic, molecular, subatomic, mere, simple, sheer, stark, bare, near run, dull, petty, shallow, stolid, ungifted, unintelligent, to a small extent, on a small scale, a little bit, a wee bit, slightly, imperceptibly, miserably, wretchedly, insufficiently, imperfectly, faintly, passably, pretty well, well enough, partially, in part, in a certain degree, to a certain degree, to a certain extent, comparatively, some, rather in some degree, in some measure, something, somewhat, simply, only, purely, merely, at least, at the least, at most, at the most, ever so little, as little as may be, tant soit peu, in ever so small a degree, thus far, pro tanto, within bounds, in a manner, after a fashion, so to speak, almost, nearly, well-nigh, short of, not quite, all but, near upon, close upon, peu s'en faut, near the mark, within an ace of, within an inch of, on the brink of, scarcely, hardly, barely, only just, no more than, about, thereabouts, somewhere about, nearly, say, be the same, be little more or less, no ways, no way, no wise, not at all, not in the least, not a bit, not a bit of it, not a whit, not a jot, not a shadow, in no wise, in no respect, by no means, by no manner of means, on no account, at no hand, dare pondus idonea fumo, magno conatu magnas nugas, small sands the mountain, moments make the year.

Simpleness

N simpleness, purity, homogeneity, elimination, sifting, purification, simple, uniform, of a piece, homogeneous, single, pure, sheer, neat, unmixed, unmingled, unblended, uncombined, uncompounded, elementary, undecomposed, unadulterated, unsophisticated, unalloyed, untinged, unfortified, pur et simple, incomplex, free from, exempt from, exclusive, simple, only.

Unity

N unity, oneness, individuality, solitude, isolation, unification, one, unit, ace, individual, none else, no other, one, sole, single, solitary, unitary, individual, apart, alone, kithless, unaccompanied, unattended, solus, single-handed, singular, odd, unique, unrepeated, azygous, first and last, isolated, insular, monospermous, unific, uniflorous, unifoliate, unigenital, uniliteral, unijocular, unimodal, unimodular, lone, lonely, lonesome, desolate, dreary, insecable, inseverable, indiscerptible, compact, indivisible, atomic, irresolvable, singly, alone, by itself, per se, only, apart, in the singular number, in the abstract, one by one, one at a time, simply, one and a half, sesqui-, natura il fece, e poi roppe la stampa, du fort au faible, two souls with but a single thought, two hearts that beat as one.