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Nonce words frequently arise through the combination of an existing word with a familiar prefix or suffix, in order to meet a particular need (or as a joke). The result is not a non-word: although it would not be found in any dictionary, it is instantly comprehensible. If the need recurs (or the joke is widely enjoyed), nonce-words easily make the transition into regular use (initially as neologisms), just because their meaning is obvious. For example, the first person to use the verb "to Wikify" used it as a nonce word; but because it is obvious that it means "to adapt some text so that it meets the standards and uses the facilities of Wikipedia", and a word that meant that was needed, the word is now in regular use, at least among Wikipedians.

Some example nonce words

• cromulent - valid and apt, used in an episode of The Simpsons.
• slithy - seemingly a portmanteau word from "slimy" and "lithe", used by Lewis Carroll in Jabberwocky.
• unidexter - a one-legged person. Coined by comedian Peter Cook in One Leg Too Few.

See also: hapax legomenonA hapax legomenon (pl. hapax legomena though sometimes called hapaxes for short) is a word that occurs only once a given body of text. If a word is used twice it is a dis legomenon thrice tris legomenon''. Beyond tetrakis legomenon a word is not rare enou