Hapax Legomenon

Hapax legomenon describes a term that occurs a single time within a defined body of literature, such as one book, author, or corpus. Since there are no additional examples to compare, the meaning of a hapax legomenon is often uncertain and must be understood through surrounding language, related words, or broader usage in the language. These rare terms are significant because they can affect interpretation, translation, and understanding of a passage. Their presence also raises questions about vocabulary choice, transmission, and the limits of linguistic evidence.