Onlybut

Onlybut is a neologistic term used in linguistics and language-commentary to refer to a sentence construction that combines the scope-narrowing particle only with the adversative conjunction but to express a contrast within a restricted proposition. The term is not part of standard linguistic nomenclature and is encountered primarily in informal discussions and online forums.

Origin and usage: The term onlybut is formed by blending only and but. It is used to describe how the word only narrows what is asserted, while but introduces a counterpoint or exception in a following clause. Because English allows varied placement of only, the precise scope of the only part can differ with each example, making the but clause important for interpretation. There is no formal consensus on a strict definition.

Examples: I only invited Mary, but John came anyway. She only ate the cake, but not the cookies.

Analysis: In discussions, onlybut is treated as a window into the interaction of negation, focus, and contrast. Some analysts argue that the but clause licenses a contrastive focus on the unmentioned element, while others see it as a way to present a discourse-level counterpoint. The construction remains somewhat controversial and is often used to illustrate the complexity of scope marking in English.

See also: Focus, Scope, Contrastive focus, Only, But.