| 释义 |
▪ I. note, n.1 Obs. exc. north. dial.
Forms: 1 notu, (1) 2–5, 9 note, 5 noote; 4–5 not, 4 notte, 5 nott; 5 noytt, 5, 7 noyt, 9 noit.
[OE. notu fem. = MDu. note (cf. MDu. not, ON. not neut.), f. the weak grade of the series neut-, naut-, nut-: see nait n. and v.1, neat n., and nowt.
In later ME. the word is most common in alliterative verse; in the Wars Alex. it occurs at least a score of times in a variety of senses. In some passages it appears to have no very definite meaning.]
1. Use, usefulness, profit, advantage.
c893K. ælfred Oros. i. x. 48 Hit ær þiosan ᵹenoᵹ æmittiᵹ læᵹ.., & ᵹe his nane note ne hæfdon. c960Rule St. Benet (Schröer) 11 He bið ᵹewitnod swa swa ᵹymeleas hyrde, ᵹif se hyredes ealdor..to lytele note & nytwyrðnesse on his heorde anᵹyt. a1250Owl & Night. 557 Is in þe eni oþer note, Bute þu hauest schille þrote? c1290St. Katherine 51 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 93 We schulle betere i-leue alle men, and more it wole beo note. 13..Seuyn Sag. (W.) 992 For here bolt is sone i-schote, More to harm than to note. 1338R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 169 God gif þam grace to spede, With douhty fo, to note, whan þei com to dede. a1425Cursor M. 22883 (Trin.), Owe we here of to fecche resoun How he doþ alle þinge to note [v.r. nait]. a1450Myrc 1484 Hast þow ouer-holde corne or ote, Or oþer þynge þat come neuer to note?
b. (One's) good, benefit, or profit.
a1240Ureisun in O.E. Hom. I. 195 Ihesu cristes blode, Þet for ure note was i-sched oðere rode. a1250Owl & Night. 330 Ich do god mid mine þrote, And warni men to hore note. c1300Cursor M. 21772 Sco þat fand quar it was hid,..And til vr note nu has it broght. 1340Ayenb. 159 Huanne þe man zekþ his oȝene note in al þet he deþ.
c. to do note, to do good.
13..Coer de Lion 2651 Stones that deden never note, Grounde they never whete, no grote. c1325Chron. Eng. 434 in Ritson Metr. Rom. II. 288 Ethelwolf..dude ys lond lute note. c1425Cast. Persev. 2730 Þou mayst purchase þer-with bothe ponde & parke, & do þer-with mekyl note. c1440Jacob's Well 197 Þin handyl is all to schort, þi schouyl is noȝt worthe. Þou doost no note.
d. in note, in use.
c1400Destr. Troy 792 Ho raught hym a ring with a riche stone,..Eneas it name & in note hade. c1440York Myst. xxxvi. 383 A graue..Þat neuer was in noote, it is newe.
e. dial. The milk given by a cow; the period of giving milk; the condition of a cow when giving, or beginning to give, milk after calving.
a1728Kennett in MS. Lansd. 1033 fol. 272 b, Noyt, a cow's milk for one year. W.R. Yorksh. where they hire out a cow for a summer at so much a Noyt. 1847in Halliw., Note,..the time during which a cow is in milk. North. 1875in Antrim & Down Gloss. (1880) 73 A Kerry cow,..at her note in May. 1880–in dial. glossaries (Cumb., Yks., Lanc., Chesh.).
2. Office; employment, occupation, or work, as properly pertaining or assigned to a person. Also, way of acting, practice.
c960Rule St. Benet (Schröer) 63 Ne ræden ᵹebroðru, ne ne singen..ac ða syn ᵹecorene to ðære note. c1000ælfric Gen. xl. 13 æfter þam Pharao..ᵹeset þe to þære ylcan note. 1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 963 Y swore..Þat y wlde nat..halewe þys day of my note. c1386Chaucer Reeve's T. 148 This meller goth agayn, and no word seyde, But doth his note,..Til that her corn was fair and wel i-grounde. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 8056 Þarfore prior turgote Þe bischope preferd to þis note. 1513Douglas æneis vi. iv. 26 Vtheris, quhilk wer ordanit for sic notis, The warme new blude keppit in coup and peis.
b. Work, as occupying one for or at a particular time; temporary occupation or employment.
c1325Metr. Hom. 61 Of thair not yet standes merk, In Babilony the tour yet standes. 13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 1233 Ȝet nolde neuer nabugo þis ilke note leue, Er he hade tuyred þis toun & torne hit to grounde. c1400Destr. Troy 284 Mony noble for þe nonest to þe note yode,..To this Journey with Jason. c1460How the Goode Wif 103 Hazl. E.P.P. I. 187 Loke what note is moste nede for to done.
1883Almondbury Gloss. 92 ‘What noit are ye at?’ = ‘What are you doing?’
c. Work of a specified kind.
c1400Sege Jerus. 800 Myche of masonus note þey marden þat tyme. 1419Surtees Misc. (1890) 15 The wryght note of a gutter betwix the newe house..and the hall.
d. A piece of work.
13..St. Erkenwolde 38 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 267 Þe temple..was..A noble note for þe nones & new werke hit hatte. 13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 921 In Iudee hit is þat noble note [sc. Jerusalem].
3. A matter, affair, or circumstance; a thing.
a1350St. Lucy 199 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 19 One of his men wightly ȝode To venge his lord of þis lang note. a1375Lay Folks Mass Bk. App. iv. 551 Hit is a nedful note to neuen. a1400–50Alexander 125 As many Besandis on his bake as he bere miȝt, And oþire necessari notis as nedis to his craftis. c1470Gol. & Gaw. 506 ‘Quhat nedis’, said Spinagrus, ‘sic notis to nevin’?
1883Almondbury Gloss. 92 ‘We sud be at the same noit as before,’ i.e. in the same position, or difficulty.
b. In phrase new note(s).
13..Evang. Nicod. 77 in Herrig Archiv. LIII. 393 Vs noyes gretely þir notes new. 13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 155 Þenne nwe note me com on honde Þat meued my mynde ay more & more. c1400Rowland & O. 49 Now come tham newe note one hande And wondirfull hasty tythande. c1470Gol. & Gaw. 501 Thoght I suld fynd thame new notis for this ix yeir.
4. The tenor or purport of a letter. rare—1.
a1400–50Alexander 1719 Now sall I neuen vs here next þe note of his lettir.
▪ II. note, n.2|nəʊt|
Also 3–4 (6 Sc.) not (7 Sc. notte), 4 noot, 5 noote, Sc. noyt, 6 Sc. noit, 6–7 noate, 7 noat.
[a. OF. note (12th c.), ad. L. nota, a mark. Cf. It., Sp., Pg. nota.]
I.
1. a. A written character or sign, expressing the pitch and duration of a musical sound.
c1300Learning Music in Rel. Ant. I. 292 Summe notes arn shorte and somme a long noke, Somme kroken a-weyward als a fleshoke. c1440Promp. Parv. 359/1 Noote, of songe yn a boke, nota. 1597T. Morley Introd. Mus. 11 Euery small note of a Ligature descending being a square note is a long. 1609Douland Ornith. Microl. 6 Now Notes is that by which the highnes, or lownes of a Song is expressed. 1662Playford Skill Mus. i. x, This swifter Triple Time is sometimes prick'd in Black Notes, which Black Note is of the same Measure with the Minim. 1716Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) V. 277 He hath got an old MS. with Musical Notes. 1762–71H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) II. 206 His own portrait done by himself with a pallet and pencils in his hand, and musical notes on a scrip of paper. 1848Rimbault Pianoforte 11 Two notes are obtained without the assistance of ledger-lines, by merely placing one below and the other above the staff. 1893Duff Early Printed Bks. 139 Higden's Polycronicon, the first English book containing musical notes.
b. A key of a pianoforte or similar instrument.
1848Rimbault Pianoforte 67 One is kept in motion by repeatedly striking the same note. 1884F. M. Crawford Rom. Singer I. 6 Two of the notes are dumb.
fig.1899J. Smith Chr. Charac. 172 Instinctively we discern in others a dumb note,..a moral insensitiveness, which awakens a sense of alarm.
2. a. A single tone of definite pitch, such as is produced by a musical instrument or by the human voice in singing.
c1300Learning Music in Rel. Ant. I. 292 Thu holdest nowt a note, by God! in riht ton... Thu tuchest nowt the notes, thu bites hem on sonder. 1340Ayenb. 105 Ine þise zonge byeþ zeue notes. 1390Gower Conf. III. 90 Nou scharpe notes and nou softe, Nou hihe notes and nou lowe, As be the gamme a man mai knowe. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 158 Not clipping the syllables,..not chauntyng nor brekynge your notes. 1590Shakes. Mids. N. v. i. 405 First rehearse this song by roate To each word a warbling note. 1611Bible Wisd. xix. 18 As in a Psaltery notes change the name of the tune, and yet are alwayes sounds. 1662Playford Skill Mus. i. i, Those below Gam-ut are called double Notes. 1753Hogarth Anal. Beauty ii. 16 The ear is as much offended with one even continued note. 1762Franklin Exp. Electr. (1769) 30 It often happens that two [glasses] of the same size differ a note or half a note in tone. 1824W. Irving T. Trav. I. 47 She even hummed an air, and did not make a single false note. 1887Bowen Virg. æneid vi. 646 Their Thracian priest..Chants them the air with the seven sweet notes of his musical scales.
fig.1885Harper's Mag. Apr. 696/2 The gardens and orchards..strike..joyous notes of color.
b. With reference to the song, or other musical utterance, of birds. (Cf. 3 b.)
1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xi. 65 Vnder lynde in a launde lenede ich a stounde, To lithen here laies and here loueliche notes. c1430Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 157 The yelwe swan..Ageyn his dethe melodyously syngyng His fatal notys. c1450Holland Howlat 716 Thar notis anone..War of Mary the myld. 1570Satir. Poems Reform. xv. 35 Thow luifsum Lark & gay Goldspink,..Lat be ȝour heuinly noitis. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. v. iv. 5 Here can I..to the Nightingales complaining Notes Tune my distresses. 1613–16W. Browne Brit. Past. i. iv. 72 Or to the groues, where birds..Sit sweetly tuning of their noates together. 1738Gentl. Mag. VIII. 596/2 Happy Bird,..You alone her heart could move With sweetest Notes of tender Love. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) V. 324 A region where the birds excel rather in the beauty of their plumage than the sweetness of their notes. 1810Scott Lady of L. iii. ii, In answer coo'd the cushat dove Her notes of peace, and rest, and love. 1875Newton in Encycl. Brit. III. 770/2 The notes to which we have..hearkened with rapt admiration are changed to a guttural croak.
3. a. A strain of music, a melody, a tune, a song. In later use only poet.
c1275Lay. 6999 Blaþgabarat was king ihote Of alle manere note. a1300Cursor M. 7407 Dauid cuth on sere-kin note; Bath he cuth on harpe and rote. c1305St. Dunstan 165 in E.E.P. (1862) 39 Kirieleyson, christeleyson, was þe murie note and song. 1390Gower Conf. I. 39 He song, that he the bestes wilde Made of his note tame and milde. 1493Festivall (W. de W. 1515) 90 b, Two yonge men began masse wt a solempne note. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 233 He made it also in metre, & set a note to it verye consonant to the argument. 1599B. Jonson Cynthia's Rev. iv. i, I made this ditty, and the note to it. 1635E. Pagitt Christianogr. i. iii. (1636) 131 If it be some high or Festivall day:..‘We praise thee O God’, is sung with a more solemne and curious note. 1667Milton P.L. iv. 683 Celestial voices..responsive each to others note Singing thir great Creator. 1750Gray Elegy 40 Through the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault The pealing anthem swells the note of praise.
b. The musical song or call of a bird. (Cf. 2 b.)
c1330Amis & Amil. 536 She herd the foules gret and smale, The swete note of the nightingale. 1500–20Dunbar Poems xxii. 17 The pyet with hir pretty cot Fenȝeis to sing the nychtingalis not. 1590Shakes. Mids. N. iii. i. 135 The plainsong Cuckow gray; Whose note full many a man doth marke. 1667Milton P.L. iii. 40 The wakeful Bird..in shadiest Covert hid Tunes her nocturnal Note. 1742Gray On Spring i, The Attic warbler pours her throat, Responsive to the cuckoo's note. 1800–24Campbell Poems, Field Flowers ii, The deep mellow crush of the wood⁓pigeon's note. 1846Dickens Cricket on Hearth i, A Cuckoo looked out of a trap-door in the Palace, and gave note six times.
†c. In phr. to say, sing, etc., by note. Obs.
1436E.E. Wills (1882) 106, xx s' to sey be note the dirige. c1485Digby Myst. (1882) iii. 1223 Ower servyse be note lett vs syng. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 82 b, The sayd lorde Cardinal sang an high and solempne masse by note before the two kynges and quenes. 1762Churchill Rosciad Poems 1767 I. 46 And, in six months, my dog shall howl by note.
4. A cry, call, or sound, esp. that made by a bird or fowl.
a1300Cursor M. 22467 Childer in moder wamb to lij, Witin þair wambs sal þai cri, Wit hei not and lude steuen. 1573Satir. Poems Reform. xxxix. 144, I saw thame fane To cry ‘Peccaui’ with the waithman noit. 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iii. ii. 40 Came he right now to sing a Rauens Note, Whose dismall tune bereft my Vitall powres. a1682Sir T. Browne Tracts (1683) 105 From the proper note it is called an Hoopebird with us. 1693J. Warder True Amazons (1713) 63 With a piteous and discontented Note, searching for their Queen. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 53 Fowls of many Sorts,..crying every one according to his usual Note. 1782Cowper Jackdaw i, There is a bird who..by the hoarseness of his note Might be suppos'd a crow. 1845P. Parley's Ann. VI. 36 [The bullfinch] has a wild hooping note. 1866C. W. Hatfield Notices Doncaster I. 86 The note of the carrion crow.., a note-call of danger.
5. a. In transferred applications.
1483Caxton G. de la Tour (1868) 183 She wold neuer here ne understand the noote and wordes of none, sauf one tyme that a knyghte prayd her. 1599Shakes. Hen. V, iv. Prol. 14 The Armourers.., With busie Hammers closing Riuets vp, Giue dreadfull note of preparation. 1702C. Mather Magn. Chr. iii. iii. (1853) I. 306 The gentry at the table were at their old notes. 1839Carlyle Chartism (1842) 49 The terror and horror they inspire is but the note of preparation for the truth they are to teach. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. iv. I. 492 Roger Lestrange..sounded the note of war in the Observator. 1877‘H. A. Page’ De Quincey I. viii. 151 We can catch clearly enough the note of extreme, almost austere self-dependence.
b. to change (one's) note: To alter (one's) way of speaking or thinking. (Cf. F. changer de note.)
1633G. Herbert Temple, Joseph's Coat 3 Sorrow hath chang'd its note. 1680Obs. on ‘Curse Ye Meroz’ 7 Do you imagine such a Fool would not think it high time to change Note and Coat? 1734tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. III. vii. 449 Finding that the more he declined the command the more they pressed him to accept it, he changed his note. 1778Sheridan Camp. i. i, Here he comes.—Now you'll change your note. 1873Dixon Two Queens xv. vi. III. 161 Tournay won, these Spanish allies had begun to change their note.
c. In perfumery, one of the basic components of the fragrance of a perfume which give it its character.
1905F. W. Burbidge Bk. of Scented Garden 34 Dr Piesse goes so far as to say that one false note amongst odours will destroy the whole harmony of the chord, just as in music or in colour. 1945E. Sagarin Science & Art of Perfumery xii. 145 The odors were like sounds..and a scale could be created going from the first or lowest note, the heavy smell, to the last or highest note, the sharp smell. 1954A. J. Krajkeman tr. Jellinek's Pract. Mod. Perfumery iv. 180 Honey-like odours, combining a sweet-floral with an animal note. 1960A. Ellis Essence of Beauty xii. 142 The characteristic a discerning and discriminating user looks for in a perfume..is what the perfumer calls ‘the soft odour note’. 1970Daily Tel. 16 Dec. 11/6 The top notes are the lightest and most volatile. 1973E. Maple Magic of Perfume vi. 51 There has long existed in perfumers' language a system of ‘musical notation’ in which the constituents of perfume are accorded ‘top notes’, ‘middle notes’ and ‘bass notes’.
II.
†6. A name or distinctive appellation. Obs.
1390Gower Conf. II. 16 A knave child..which was after hote Paphus, of whom yit hath the note A certein yle, which Paphos Men clepe.
7. a. A mark, sign, token, or indication of some quality, condition, or fact, or from which something may be inferred; a characteristic or distinguishing feature.
Common from c 1575 to 1690, and again in recent use (from c 1865).
c1374Chaucer Boeth. v. met. iii. (1868) 159 Wherfore eschaufiþ it so..to fynden þilke notes of soþe y-couered. 1547–64Bauldwin Mor. Philos. (Palfr.) 111 Patience & perseuerance are two proper notes; whereby Gods children are truly known from hypocrites. a1568R. Ascham Scholem. (Arb.) 37 The most speciall notes of a good witte for learning in a childe [etc.]. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts 435 Both kindes haue vnder their tailes a double note of passage. 1628T. Spencer Logick 288 That Axiome is probable which seemes so to all..by certaine frequent notes, and cleerenes. 1696Whiston The. Earth iv. (1722) 346 'Tis a plain Note of the Vileness of our present State. 1738Warburton Div. Legat. I. Ded. p. xxxii, To shew how certain Notes they are of the Temper of Mind I charge upon you. 1794Paley Evid. ii. vii. (1817) 185 Between the letters..of St. Paul..and his history in the Acts of the Apostles, there exist many notes of correspondency. 1846Keble Lyra Innoc. (1873) 12 The welcome notes of fatherhood. 1891Speaker 2 May 532/2 These are the notes of the ‘Neo-paganism’, which began a good hundred years ago.
b. Theol. One of certain characteristics by which the true Church may be known; a sign or proof of genuine origin, authority, and practice.
1555L. Saunders in Coverdale Lett. Martyrs (1564) 187 Besydes these outward notes and tokens declaryng yt we be the true church. 1563Homilies ii. xvi. (1859) 462 The true Church..hath always three notes or marks whereby it is known; pure and sound doctrine, the Sacraments ministered according to Christ's holy institution, and the right use of ecclesiastical discipline. 1656Bramhall Replic. i. 3 Other notes of the Church which did not please us so well, as Antiquity, and Uniuersality, and Splendour. 1749Wesley Wks. (1872) X. 88 How comes subjection to the Pope to be..an essential note of the Church? 1841J. H. Newman Lett. (1891) II. 354 Many persons are doubtful whether we have the notes of the true Church upon us. 1864― Apol. v. 198, I do not wish it supposed, that I considered the note of Catholicity really to belong to Rome [etc.].
transf.1871R. H. Hutton Ess. I. 337 To have a compact statement of the whole gist of Christianity is the principal ‘note’ of the Common-Sense Church.
8. a. A stigma, reproach. Const. of.
In common use from c 1570 to 1650; now rare.
1531Elyot Gov. (1580) 80 Augustus,..only for playing at dice,..sustaineth in hystories a note of reproche. 1570–6Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 323 Whatsoever note of infamie we heeretofore may have contracted. 1635R. N. tr. Camden's Hist. Eliz. i. 17 Amongst all men he underwent the note of cruelty. 1669Dryden Tyrannic Love Pref., My outward Conversation..shall never be justly tax'd with the Note of Atheism or Prophaneness.
1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 568 A crime on which divine and human laws have justly set a peculiar note of infamy. 1865Pusey Truth Eng. Ch. 130 To leave those who disbelieved it free from the note of heresy.
b. The mark of censure used by the Roman censors.
1614Raleigh Hist. World v. iii. §13. 422 Neither was the note of the Censors at this time (as otherwise it had used to be) hurtful onely in reputation.
†c. An object of censure. Obs. rare—1.
1563Foxe A. & M. 59/2 Better it were to sustaine pouerty with praise, than in greate promotions to be a common note to al men.
9. An objective sign, or visible token, which serves to identify or distinguish some person or thing, or to denote some circumstance or fact in connexion therewith.
Pretty common from c 1580 to 1680; now rare.
1577–87Holinshed Scot. Chron. (1806) II. 148 A red lion (the peculiar note of the kingdom of Scotland). 1583Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 110 So the other notes of apparell..may make a difference, and distinguish them from others of the laitie abroad. 1618Bolton Florus i. xviii. (1636) 54 Having first cast away his ensignes or notes of a King. 1683Ray Corr. (1848) 134 Those notes of having flat feet..argue it to belong to the genus of Colymbi. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 865 The ‘note’ of scabies is the burrow; and in this the parasite must be sought.
10. a. A sign or character (other than a letter) used in writing or printing; a mark of interrogation, etc. (Also fig.) note of interrogation: see interrogation 2 b.
1529More Dyaloge iv. Wks. 286/1, I haue laid you the places ready with ryshes betwene the leaues and notes marked in the margentes where the matter is touched. 1611Shakes. Wint. T. v. ii. 12 The changes I perceiued in the King, and Camillo, were very Notes of admiration. 1636B. Jonson Eng. Gram. Wks. 1816 IX. 345 If a sentence be with an interrogation, we use this note (?). 1668Wilkins Real Char. iii. xi. 365 There should be some Note or Mark to express when a Vowel is to be used long. 1748J. Mason Elocution 23 There are four more Notes or Distinctions of Pause, viz. a Parenthesis [etc.]. 1795L. Murray Eng. Gram. 169 A note of interrogation is used at the end of an interrogative sentence. 1859[see admiration 5]. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 775 Bald patches with note of exclamation hairs. Ibid. 856 The short hairs..are shaped like a note of exclamation (!).
†b. A mark on a flower or leaf. Obs. rare.
1578Lyte Dodoens 206 These be not those Hyacinthes wherein the notes or mourning markes are printed. 1691Ray Creation (1714) 113 The signatures of Plants or the Notes impressed upon them as indices of their vertues.
†11. A (Hebrew) particle. Obs. rare.
1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 339 The Hebrew notes cannot admit such a version or exposition. c1620A. Hume Brit. Tongue ii. v, This difference we declyne, not as doth the latines and greekes, be terminationes, but with noates, after the maner of the hebrues, quhilk they cal particles. a1653Gouge Comm. Heb. ii. 9 The passage may be brought in with discretive notes,..‘though’..‘yet’.
III. 12. Law. a. An abstract of essential particulars relating to transfer of land by process of fine, which was engrossed and placed on record.
1483Act 1 Rich. III, c. 7 §1 Notes and Fines levied in the King's Courts..should be openly and solemnly read. 1581Act 23 Eliz. c. 3 §1 The Concord, Note and Foot of every such Fine. 1594West 2nd Pt. Symbol. §58 The notes of all writs whereupon fines are to be levied. 1670Blount Law Dict. s.v., Note of a fine..is a Brief of a Fine made by the Chirographer, before it be engrossed. 1766Blackstone Comm. II. xxi. 351 The note of a fine: which is only..an abstract of the writ of covenant, and the concord; naming the parties, the parcels of land, and the agreement.
b. In Sc. Law applied to various forms of legal records and memoranda.
1560Rolland Crt. Venus iv. 292 Scho..thairupon tuik notis and Instrumentis. 1825Act 6 Geo. IV, c. 120 §9 A short and concise Note, drawn and signed by Counsel, of the Pleas in Law on which the Action or Defence is to be maintained. 1838W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. 679 The term note is also applied to various incidental applications, the occasions for which it would be difficult to enumerate. 1868–88[see reclaiming vbl. n. b].
13. a. A brief record or abstract of facts written down for the purpose of assisting the memory, or to serve as a basis for a more complete or full statement; also transf., a recollection or mental impression of something. (Usually pl.)
1548Patten Exped. Scotl. Peroration P ij b, The which indede I had not so perfitly written in my notes. 1595Shakes. John v. ii. 5 That..they and we, perusing ore these notes May know wherefore we tooke the Sacrament. 1617Moryson Itin. i. 287, I find in my notes that at Lasagna I changed a silver crowne for eight and twenty batzen. 1695Woodward Nat. Hist. Earth i. (1723) 4 And 'tis out of these Notes that my Observations are compiled. 1817W. Selwyn Law Nisi Prius (ed. 4) II. 798 Where the agreement is to be performed upon a contingency,..there a note in writing is not necessary. 1854Chr. Wordsw. Misc. (1879) I. 95 A brief account of my impression was published anonymously under the title of ‘Notes at Paris’. 1885Law Rep. 29 Chanc. Div. 543 There is merely a short note of what he decided.
b. In phr. to make, or take, a note or notes.
1548Patten Exped. Scotl. Ded., Hauying in these last warres againste Scotlande..made notes of actes thear done. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. ii. vii. 84 Goe with me to my chamber To take a note of what I stand in need of. 1641Sir S. D'Ewes in Forster Gr. Remonstr. 124, I drew out again my pen and ink, and took notes. 1726Swift Gulliver ii. vi, The King heard the whole.., frequently taking Notes of what I spoke. 1789Burns Capt. Grose i, A chield's amang you taking notes. 1837Southey Lett. (1856) IV. 538 He has only his memory to trust to, never having made any notes. 1848Dickens Dombey xv, When found, make a note of. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) IV. 234, I took notes.., which I afterwards filled up at leisure.
c. to compare notes: see compare v.1 2 b.
d. A brief memorandum made to serve as a help in discoursing on any subject. (Chiefly pl.)
1693Humours Town 19 'Tis as necessary as Notes to the Parson in the Pulpit. 1719Swift Lett. to Young Clergym. Wks. 1751 V. 15 My frequent hearing of Foreigners, who never make Use of Notes, may have added to my Disgust. 1796Pegge Anonym. (1809) 139 They call a Clergyman's Sermon, what he preaches from, his Notes; because formerly it was written in characters, or short-hand, usually called Notes. 1872Froude Short Stud. I. 2 He spoke for more than an hour without a note.
14. a. An explanatory or critical annotation or comment appended to a passage in a writing or book.
1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 40 b, This writing dyd Luther translate into the vulgare toungue, & set to his notes in the margente. 1618Bolton Florus To Rdr., The words..are for the most part explanatory of the Authors meaning, supplying marginall notes. 1653Milton Hirelings Wks. 1851 V. 369 The entire Scripture translated into English with plenty of Notes. 1714in Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 8 A new edition of Homer's Odyssey,..with Gronovius' notes. 1771Luckombe Hist. Printing 260 The Parallel is another Sign which serves for a Reference, and is fit to be used either for side or bottom Notes. 1809Lamb Let. to Coleridge 7 June, I found two other volumes.., the Arcadia, and Daniel, enriched with manuscript notes. 1841–[see footnote]. 1878R. Holt Ormulum I. p. v, In this new edition the Editor..has revised, and added somewhat to, the Notes.
†b. An observation deserving of notice or remembrance; an interesting or noteworthy remark.
1577Googe Heresbach's Husb. (1586) 24 b, There is also another necessarie note, to have the seede from strange grounde, and from the woorse to the better. 1601Shakes. Twel. N. iii. iv. 168 A good note, that keepes you from the blow of y⊇ Law. 1642–4Vicars God in Mount 203 To give thee but one note more concerning this fight.
15. A brief statement of particulars or of some fact; † a bill or account.
1587Galway Arch. in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. V. 444 A trewe noate and bill of accompt. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. iv. i. 27 Here's a note How much your Chaine weighs to the vtmost charect. 1597― 2 Hen. IV, v. i. 19 Heere is now the Smithes note, for Shooing, And Plough-Irons. 1602Dekker Satirom. Wks. 1873 I. 188 Flash, where's the note of the guestes you have invited? 1660F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 48 Then I produced the..notes, that witnessed the discharging of the excises and customes. 1715Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) V. 128 This Morning preached..Dr. Potter... Mr. Taylor of Xt. Ch. was put in the Note, there having been a Mistake in delivering the Moneo. 1732Acc. Workhouses 175 Keep the tradesmen's notes upon a file. 189519th Cent. Aug. 337 That little document is a note of the box-office receipts for the evening.
16. a. A short letter or written communication of an informal kind.
1594Shakes. Rich. III, v. iii. 41 Giue him from me, this most needfull Note. 1603― Meas. for M. iv. ii. 106 My Lord has sent you this note, And by mee this further charge. 1624in Cosin's Corr. (Surtees) I. 37, I received your note from Fetherston. I thank you for your pains. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. d, I shall Answer, Sir, in as few words as I can, the Note you did me the Honour to write to me. 1776Trial of Nundocomar 61/2 Did you send a verbal or a written message? I wrote a note. 1796–7Jane Austen Pride & Prej. xxvi. (1813) 130 Not a note, not a line did I receive in the mean time. 1846Dickens Battle of Life i, He sent them on, with a pencilled note to me. 1891A. H. Craufurd Gen. Craufurd's Light Div. 6 Six little notes addressed to the brothers Craufurd.
ellipt.1892Phot. Ann. II. 62 Get a piece of stiff paper (thick note does well), twist it into a sugar-loaf shape.
b. A formal diplomatic communication.
1796Burke Regic. Peace i. Wks. VIII. 120 Nothing can be more proper or more manly than the state publication called a note on this proceeding. 1848W. K. Kelly tr. Blanc's Hist. Ten Yrs. I. 473 M. de Talleyrand..warmly adopted the project, and promised to present a note to the British government in its favour. 1863Kinglake Crimea (1876) I. iii. 50 The Porte..acknowledged the validity of the Latin claims in a formal note.
17.
†a. A signed receipt or voucher. Obs. rare.
a1700Evelyn Diary 21 Apr. 1644, Two reasonable faire publiq Libraries whence one may borrow a booke to one's chamber, giving but a note under hand. 1722De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 60 When he had paid in all the money..he..stayed..to take notes..for what he had paid. 1739Lady M. W. Montagu Lett. III. 9 The Borromean library, where all strangers have..liberty, on giving a note for it, to take any printed book home with them.
b. A written promise to pay a certain sum at a specified time. (Cf. next.)
1683Lond. Gaz. No. 1862/8 A Note under the Hand of John Swettaple, Goldsmith,..for Ninety nine Pounds Ten Shillings, paid to Edward Callender or Bearer. 1712Arbuthnot John Bull i. xvi, His Note will go farther than my Bond. 1798W. Hutton Life 33, I..paid one hundred guineas down, and gave my note six months after date, for the remainder. 1806T. S. Surr Winter in Lond. III. 152, I shall give her a note at a month after date for fifty or a hundred pounds. 1879Pentecost Vol. of Bk. vi. (1882) 43 A man's note is only current..because the man is good.
c. More fully note of hand. (Cf. promissory a.)
1727–38Chambers Cycl. s.v. Note, In which sense we say, a promissory note, a note under hand,..&c. 1766Blackstone Comm. II. xxx. 467 Promissory notes, or notes of hand, are a plain and direct engagement in writing, to pay a sum specified at the time therein limited to a person therein named, or sometimes to his order, or often to the bearer at large. 1809R. Langford Introd. Trade 12 Notes of Hand under one pound are void. 1867Trollope Chron. Barset xxxvii, She can have my note-of-hand for it all at fourteen days.
18. a. A bank-note, or similar promissory note passing current as money.
1696Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) IV. 79 The said bank have resolved to take for subscriptions the bank of England's notes. 1728Swift Intelligencer No. 19 He gave notes instead of money (from twopence to twenty shillings) which passed current in all shops where meat or drink was sold. 1806–7J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) iv. xiii, You have involuntarily confided your..uncounted cash and notes to the care of the public. 1834Marryat P. Simple ii, Change for a one-pound note. 1856Mrs. Carlyle Lett. II. 302 The five-pound note I sent you.
b. Australia (and Sc.). A bank-note worth {pstlg}1; the amount of a pound sterling.
1864J. Rogers New Rush ii. 28 A note's so very trifling, it's no sooner changed than gone; For it is but twenty shillings. 1875Wood & Lapham Waiting for Mail 39 Even at half fifty notes a week You ought to have made a pile.
IV.
19. a. Distinction, mark, importance; reputation, fame. Esp. in phr. of (good, bad, etc.) note.
1538Bale Thre Lawes 293 Thynges of slendre note. 1601Shakes. All's Well v. iii. 14 The yong Lord Did to his Maiesty..Offence of mighty note. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 463 A towne of good note in these dayes for making of clothes. 1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 92 Their Windows, except some few of the highest Note, are usually folding Doors. 1708J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. i. i. iii. (1710) 5 It contains..12 Market-Towns: The chief in note are Reading,..Abington [etc.]. 1745P. Thomas Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 5 note, The same..is the frequent Repast even of those of better Note. 1788Priestley Lect. Hist. iv. xxi. 172 Polybius..was of the first note in his age as a soldier, statesman, and philosopher. 1838Macaulay Let. to Napier 22 July, As if he were a young writer struggling into note. 1873Dixon Two Queens i. ii. I. 11 Had he died at sixty years of age, he might have left behind him an obscure and blameless note.
b. of note, of distinction or eminence; notable.
1588Shakes. L.L.L. iii. i. 25 These betraie nice wenches.., and make them men of note. 1611Bible Transl. Pref. ⁋2 As oft as we do anything of note or consequence. 1667Primatt City & C. Build. 94 A Platform for a House in a high Street, or Lane of Note. 1710Steele Tatler No. 135 ⁋1 All the Philosophers of Note in Greece. 1780Harris Philol. Enq. Wks. (1841) 390 Among the Romans, the first critic of note was Cicero. 1840Dickens Barn. Rudge xlviii, The fluttering of a banner caught the eye, and became a circumstance of note. 1877Mrs. Oliphant Makers Flor. x. 254 Five noble citizens of Florence, all men of note and weight.
20. a. Notice, regard, or attention.
1598Bacon Ess., Of Ceremonies (Arb.) 24 Smal matters winne great commendation: because they are continually in vse and in note. a1635Naunton Fragm. Reg. (Arb.) 56 The factions of the Court, which were all his times strong, and in every mans note. a1641Sir J. Finett For. Ambass. 10 The Ambassador..kept himselfe all this while quiet without..thrusting for publique Note. 1789Cowper Tiroc. 641 To..commend, With designation of the finger's end, Its various parts to his attentive note. c1810Hogg May of Moril Glen l, The virgin cast on him a look,..As on some things below her note. 1886Law Q. Rev. Oct. 484 The manner in which these statutes were interpreted is worthy of note.
b. In phr. to take note of.
1596Shakes. Merch. V. v. i. 120 Giue order to my seruants, that they take No note at all of our being absent hence. 1601― All's Well i. iii. 195 My loue hath in't a bond Where of the world takes note. 1852Thackeray Esmond ii. xi, No one took note of me. 1863E. V. Neale Anal. Th. & Nat. 15 We select from the multitude what we want.., and take no note of the rest.
c. Knowledge, information; intimation. rare.
1598Bacon Ess., of Suitors (Arb.) 44 If intelligence of the matter coulde not otherwise haue beene had but by him, aduantage be not taken of the note. 1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iv. i. 43 Rouse him, and giue him note of our approach. 1610― Temp. ii. i. 248 She that from Naples Can haue no note, vnlesse the Sun were post.
1835W. Irving Tour Prairies vii, A streaming flight of wild geese..gave note of the waning year.
V.
21. attrib. and Comb., as (sense 1) note-head, note-value; (sense 2) note-singing; note-spinning vbl. n. and ppl. adj.; (sense 13) note-block, note-gatherer, note-maker, note-pad, note-taker, note-writer; note-taking; (sense 16) note-sized adj., note-wise adv., note-writing (also as adj.); (sense 18) note-case, note-issue, note-palming; note-broker U.S., a broker who deals in promissory notes and bills of exchange; note-cluster, several neighbouring notes played simultaneously; notehead paper, business notepaper having a printed heading; note-holder, a holder of notes (sense 17) issued by a business company or the like for temporary financing; note-layer (sense 18), a petty thief who operates a short-change swindle; note-row, -series = tone-row (tone n. 11).
1927R. A. Freeman Certain Dr. Thorndyke ii. xiv. 207 Jotting down on a *note-block a few brief memoranda.
1870W. W. Fowler 10 Yrs. Wall St. 226 This man..is an English Jew, who has gone into the business of a *note broker. 1929Encycl. Brit. IV. 233/1 Bill-brokers are practically unknown in the United States; their general analogue is the note-broker.
1838Dickens O. Twist ix, Placing a snuff-box in one pocket of his trousers, a *note-case in the other.
1934C. Lambert Music Ho! v. 330 Van Dieren's attitude towards harmony is more indicative of future developments than the ‘*note clusters’ of Henry Cowell. 1965New Statesman 24 Sept. 458/3 A younger composer like Peter Sculthorpe attempts to enter the heart of the Australian experience by way of a static technique of cumulative ostinati and note-clusters that is more Asiatic than occidental.
1637Dow Answ. to Burton 120 His *note-gatherers in the gallery.
1946H. Foss in A. L. Bacharach Brit. Mus. of our Time iv. 78 Warlock wrote with exquisite precision:..the shape of the *note⁓heads, the uprights, the binds and ties, were of enormous interest to him. 1974G. Read Music Notation v. 63 The note-head..is somewhat oval in shape, and is either open (or ‘white’..) or closed (‘black’..).
1909Westm. Gaz. 20 May 7/2 The..*notehead paper of a London firm of stock, share, and bond dealers.
1927Daily Tel. 21 June 2/3 Shareholders were prepared for unfavourable figures by the necessity for an arrangement regarding..the rights of the *note-holders. 1968Globe & Mail (Toronto) 13 Jan. B. 1/2 Fraudulent financial statements and a false prospectus were means used..to defraud 8,500 noteholders of Prudential Finance Corp. Ltd. of $20-million.
1893Times 27 Apr. 9/5 The privilege of *note issue enjoyed by the Scotch banks.
1928*Note-layer [see creep n. 1 d]. 1938D. Castle Do Your Own Time viii. 83 They boast of having been knock-off gees, gow peddlers,..note layers, and torpedo men. 1950H. E. Goldin Dict. Amer. Underworld Lingo 146/1 The note⁓layer usually works with an accomplice.
1638Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. II.) 61 Erecting as it were Trophees of like passages, after the fashion of our *Note-Makers now adayes. 1738Gentl. Mag. VIII. 634 Any Critick or Note-maker.
1922A. Bennett Lilian i. iv. 41 She repeated the number, even writing it on her *note pad. 1961Encounter Apr. 29/2 He asked me for one of my notepads. 1975D. Bagley Snow Tiger xi. 95 Smithers consulted his note-pad.
1900S. Weyman Sophia iii, Until you are away from here I'll answer there shall be no *note palming.
1955Oxf. Compan. Mus. (ed. 9) 698/1 *Note-row... This is a rigid method of composition introduced by Schönberg... All the twelve notes of the octave are employed in every composition, and all the notes are treated in such a way as to enjoy an equal footing. 1961Listener 12 Oct. 578/3 He spoke of his contrapuntal technique, of note rows, their combinations and inversions.
1947Penguin Music Mag. Dec. 20 ‘Twelve-tone technique’, in which the twelve notes of the chromatic scale are used in an order known as a ‘*note-series’, which remains the same throughout the work. 1962Times 19 Oct. 18/6 The American group admit to working from a note-series.
1896Musical Herald 1 Feb. 41/1 Thousands of teachers waste time in *note-singing practice. 1908E. M. Sneyd-Kynnersley H.M.I. xxiv. 288 The clergy encouraged note-singing for the sake of their choirs.
1870Routledge's Every Boy's Ann. June Suppl. 12 A small *note-sized envelope.
1946H. Foss in A. L. Bacharach Brit. Music of our Time iv. 67 He [sc. ‘Peter Warlock’] was no devotee of *note-spinning, of blowing up frog-ideas into bull-like proportions. 1961Listener 20 Apr. 717/3 The ideas in the other two movements are of an altogether lower standard and there is some tiresome note-spinning. 1970Times (Sat. Suppl.) 18 Apr. p. iii/5, I confess to finding it rather like late, not very strongly motivated, note-spinning Schumann.
1886T. Hardy Mayor Casterbr. xxviii, Henchard being no *note⁓taker himself. 1935Essays & Studies XX. 123 All these matters can be conscientiously taught to the plodding note-taker and be redelivered at examinations. 1961Sunday Express 29 Jan. 9/6 Police note-takers filled four foolscap pages.
1496–7Rec. St. Mary at Hill (1904) 224 Furst, paid at the *Note takyng of the Endentour of comnandes, ij d. 1862Thornbury Turner II. 134 That vast tenacious memory, which no note-taking habits could weaken. 1954J. Masters Bhowani Junction ii. xii. 107 They didn't want me for any more note-taking. 1955H. Roth Sleeper xi. 92 The stilted feeling that note-taking causes in some interviewees. 1975Times 5 July 2/5 Jurors..were often required to perform fantastic feats of attention and memory..without the aid of note-taking.
1915Musical Quarterly I. 191 An Indian [sc. North American Indian] can give short *note-values corresponding to eighth or sixteenth notes with perfect distinctness. 1917H. James Middle Years iv. 46 Whereas the smartness and newness beyond the sea supposedly disavowed the low, they did so but thinly and vainly, falling markedly short of the high; which the little boxed and boiled Albany attained to some effect of,..just by having its so thoroughly appreciable note-value in a scheme of manners. 1944W. Apel Harvard Dict. Mus. 497/2 The illustration shows the note values with their American terminology. 1955G. Abraham in H. van Thal Fanfare for E. Newman ii. 10 The first two bars were originally written as four, in double note-values. 1963Listener 17 Jan. 141/2 It [sc. the basic five-note figure] is repeated eight times in succession, with progressively lengthening note-values.
1703Rules of Civility 177 If we be desir'd to..write *Notewise, that is to say, without Sir, and the great Space at the top [of the letter], we must comply.
1836–48B. D. Walsh Aristoph. 394 note, Some of the Greek *note-writers call him a composer of tragedies.
1814Jane Austen Mansf. Park II. xiii. 291 Quite unpractised in such sort of *note-writing. 1826Miss Mitford Village Ser. ii. (1863) 274 The closetings, the note-writings, the whisperings. 1967G. Kelly in Coast to Coast 1965–66 101 He became the victim of their gum-chewing, note-writing, hair-combing inattention.
▪ III. † note, n.3 Obs.
(Prob. var. of nut n., here applied to the uropygial gland.)
1486Bk. St. Albans a vj, Youre hawke..fetcheth moystour like oyle at hir taill,..and strikyth the federis of hir wynges throw her beke, and it is calde the note, than as she fetchis the oyle. [Hence Guillim (1632) and Holme (1688).]
▪ IV. note
obs. f. nut; dial. variant of nowt.
▪ V. † note, a. Obs. rare.
(Meaning doubtful.)
Perh. properly an attributive use of note n.1, employed mainly for alliteration. L. nōtus has also been suggested.
13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2092 Now nar ȝe not fer fro þat note place. a1400–50Alexander 1227 Arystes..noyed of þare note-men at þe nete kepid. Ibid. 4870 Fra þens oure note men be northe nymes þaim þe way.
▪ VI. † note, v.1 Obs.
Forms: α. 1 notian, 3 notien, 4 notye. β. 3 noten, 4 notun (6 Sc. noyt, noit, not), 4–5 (6 Sc.), note.
[OE. notian, f. notu note n.1 Cf. Icel. nota.]
1. trans. To use, to make use of (something).
αc888K. ælfred Boeth. xviii. §1 Eall moncynn & ealle netenu ne notiᵹað nawer neah feorðan dæles þisse eorðan. c960Rule St. Benet (Schröer) 52 Ᵹif he furðon þurh þa ᵹebedu ᵹehæled ne bið, notiᵹe þonne se abbod cyrfes. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 189 Hereð nu to wiche fihte we oȝen þis strengðe notien. a1250Owl & Night. 1033 Þar men habbeþ milde mod, Ich noti mid hom mine þrote. c1315Shoreham Poems i. 2198 In fourme of bred and eke of wyn, Þat we hyt notye scholde. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xviii. 101 Tyliers..tolden here maystres By þe seed þat þei sewe what þei shoulde notye.
βa1000Colloq. ælfric in Wr.-Wülcker 100 Se treow-wyrhta seᵹð, hwilc eower ne notaþ cræfte minon. c1200Ormin 12228 Swa þatt tu nohht ne notesst itt At naness kinness nede. c1250Gen. & Ex. 3144 So mikil hird so it noten mai. 13..Cursor M. 23763 (Gött.), If we will note on þaim vr might, Certes þai er feld in flight. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 2403 Folyly hold we þis meyne þus, Þat mykel þyng al day notes. c1400Destr. Troy 402 Of nygramansi ynogh to note when she liket. c1440Promp. Parv. 359/2 Notun, or vsyn, utor. 1513Douglas æneis xiii. vi. 64 The agit Drances with curage hoit Begowth the first hys toung for to noit. c1560A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) i. 221 Noblest natour, nurice to nurtour, not This dull indyte.
2. intr. To make use of (something). rare—1.
c1220Bestiary 612 No golsipe is hem minde, til he noten of a gres, ðe name is mandragores.
▪ VII. note, v.2|nəʊt|
Also 3 notien, 3, 6–7 noat(e, 4 (6 Sc.) not, 6 notte, noth (Sc. noit).
[ad. OF. noter, notter, ad. L. notāre, f. nota note n.1]
I.
1. a. trans. To observe or mark carefully; to give heed or attention to; to notice closely.
a1225Ancr. R. 158 Her beoð, in þeos wordes, two eadie wordes to noten. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxxviii. (Adrian) 43 Þe king..notyt wel..þe ansuere þat ilkane mad. a1400–50Alexander 5655 Now sall I neuyn ȝow þe names, note ȝe þe wordis. 1483Caxton Cato g j, Euery man ought to note and reteyne them in their mynde and wytte. a1533Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) L viij b, It is a thyng well to be noted, howe all good and yll heartes are applied. 1596Drayton Legends ii. 400 My Paths by Spyes he diligently noted. 1630R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 144 Of both these Forces of horse and foot of France, you are to note this which followeth. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 162 His Age and Courage weigh: Nor those alone, But note his Father's Virtues and his own. 1774Burke Corr. (1844) I. 516, I received your lordship's letter, and as the merchants say, note the contents. 1791Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest ii, I took special care to note how the trees stood. 1850McCosh Div. Govt. ii. ii. (1874) 162 This is a circumstance worthy of being noted. 1878Huxley Physiogr. 79 It may be well to note the characters of the two constituents.
absol.1605B. Jonson Volpone ii. i, I haue some generall notions; I do loue To note, and to obserue.
b. To take notice of; to observe, perceive.
c1315Shoreham i. 60 Þat he so wel yþeawed be, Þat alle men hit noteþe. c1386Chaucer Pars. T. ⁋336 If ther hadde be no synne in clothing, Crist wolde not so soone have notid and spoke of the clothing of thilke riche man in the gospel. c1400Love Bonavent. Mirr. xxxiii. (B.N.C. MS.) lf. 73 In þis processe of þe gospelle..we mowe noten and vnderstonde many faire þinges. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 11 b, In the whiche mercyfull liberalite, I note the superaboundant goodnes of god. 1582Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 68, I noted on suddeyn the goast of verye Creüsa. 1632J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 19 The slave noting his master all alone, presented himselfe before him. 1658Jer. Taylor in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. V. 5 If ever you have noted or heard of any overtures of unkindnesse betweene them. 1712Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) III. 373, I told him I had noted it before. 1821–22Shelley Chas. I, ii. 456 Have you not noted that the Fool of late Has lost his careless mirth? 1874Green Short Hist. iv. §4. 192 Such severances as we note in the thirteenth century of the cloth-merchant from the tailor.
2. To mention separately or specially among other items or matters committed to writing.
c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. II. 345 Poul notiþ first þis word. Ibid., Poul notiþ, as trewe men shulden, ech variynge of Goddis word. 1390Gower Conf. II. 172 Nereïdes that thei ben hote, The Nimphes whiche that thei note To regne upon the stremes salte. c1450Godstow Reg. (1905) 273 The forsaid acre of lond, with all the mede and xviij. d. of yerely rent afore-noted. 1563Fulke Meteors (1640) 16 Generally it is noted of all Historiographers, that after the appearing of Comets, most commonly follow great..calamities. 1641J. Jackson True Evang. T. iii. 185 Which thing the Evangelist notes as one of the criticall passages of his Passion. 1692Ray Creation i. (1704) 150 They not being able, as I noted before, to see them at that distance. 1721De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 123, I shall only note this. 1873Helps Anim. & Mast. i. (1875) 11, I must just note that Bastiah's censure does not apply to England as much as to France.
3. a. To set down in writing; to put down as a memorandum; † to write, indite.
a1400–50Alexander 2795 To Nostanda on next þus notis he a lettir. 1535Coverdale Isa. xxx. 8 Write them this in their tables, and note it in a booke. 1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, ii. iv. 101 Ile note you in my Booke of Memorie. 1663Gerbier Counsel 25 He ought also to note in his book the materials. 1697C'tess D'Aunoy's Trav. (1706) 114, I contented myself to note only on my Table-Book these Lines. 1806Pike Sources Mississ. (1810) App. 51 Lieut. Wilkinson..carries with him a..sketch of the route, noting the streams, hills, &c. that we crossed. 1834Sir H. Taylor Artevelde i. i. ix, 'Twere well to note him on your list. 1868Morris Earthly Par. (1870) I. i. 342 At the King's command A clerk that day did note it every whit.
b. So with down.
1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. iv. xvii. 205 If there be any Current, you may..allow for it, and note it down. 1695–6T. Smith in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 239 Additions and alterations..which I have noted down. 1754Sherlock Disc. (1759) I. vii. 225 Things noted down in God's Book. 1784Cowper Task vi. 899 Thy prophets..noting down The features of the last degen'rate times. 1836–7Dickens Sk. Boz, Scenes viii, A hard-featured old man..was intently perusing a lengthy will..and slily noting down some brief memorandum of the bequests contained in it.
†4. To set down as having a certain (good or bad) character. Obs.
1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 65 Or els bycause they wolde be noted outwardly religyous. 1533Cranmer Misc. Writ. (Parker Soc.) 250 If I had not, or would not so have done, I might right well have been noted negligent. 1573L. Lloyd Marrow of Hist. (1653) 105 In divers autheurs and places, this prince is noted a glutton and drunkard.
II.
†5.
a. To denote, or signify (something). Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 25204 Wit þis word ‘in heuen’, us es Noted sothfast buxumnes. 1399Langl. Rich. Redeles iv. 54 Þan satte summe as siphre doth in awgrym, Þat noteth a place and no þing availith. 1559Mirr. Mag. (1563) X viij, Both sence and names do note them very nere. 1579Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 38 A woman..hauing one hande in his pocket as noting hir theft. 1644Bulwer Chirol. 168 The coyners of the Hieroglyphiques introduce this gesture to note Taciturnity. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 442 The Shepherd knows it well; and calls by Name Hippomanes, to note the Mother's Flame. 1755Johnson s.v. Ling, The termination notes commonly diminution; as Kitling [etc.].
†b. To point at, indicate by pointing. Obs.
1517R. Torkington Pilgr. (1884) 3 The Fynger of Seynt John Baptiste whych he notyd or shewyd crist Jhu whanne he seyd Ecce Agnus Dei. 1581J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 249 Doth he herein not note you excellently (Osorius) and (as it were) poynt at you with the finger?
c. To indicate; † to point out, set or show forth.
1521Warham in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. I. 242 My lorde of London to note out..all other suche names of writers..as they perceyve to be erroneous. 1565Cooper Thesaurus Pref., I haue thought it good by examples to note vnto them, what fruit & commodity they may take therof. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 63 The Turks use in their greatest feasts..to roast or seethe an Ox whole,..to note forth their plenty. 1646P. Bulkeley Gospel Covt. iv. 337 To note out the property and nature of that faith. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 252 Distinguish all betimes, with branding Fire; To note the Tribe, the Lineage, and the Sire. 1812Woodhouse Astron. ix. 61 A sidereal clock will note that time. 1813Shelley Q. Mab iv. 67 Black ashes note where their proud city stood.
6. a. To mark (a book, words, etc.) with a musical score. rare. Also absol.
c1440Lydg. Hors, Shepe & G. 184 Men plukke stalkes out of my weengis tweyn, Somme to portraye, somme to noote & write. c1440Promp. Parv. 359/2 Notun songe, noto. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iv. v. 122, I will carie no Crochets, Ile Re you, Ile Fa you, do you note me? Mus. And you Re vs, and Fa vs, you Note vs. 1755Johnson, Note, to set down the notes of a tune. 1850Helmore Accomp. Harmonies to Hymnal Noted Pref. 2 The English Words Noted, for the use of all who sing. 1866Rogers Agric. & Prices I. xv. 285 The payments made at Oxford in the year 1308 for noting an antiphonary. 1897Musical Herald 1 June 189/1 They organise vocal music competitions, but they have no sight-singing, and no noting music by ear.
†b. To mark; to distinguish by a mark. Obs.
1490Caxton Eneydos vi. 24 The fenyces fonde to note wyth rede colour or ynke firste the sayd lettres. 1559W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 129 Draw arkes in every of the divisions,..and note the hiest Arke next with G.H. a1568R. Ascham Scholem. (Arb.) 152 Whan Varros name..was brought in a schedule vnto him, to be noted to death, he tooke his penne and wrote his warrant of sauegard. 1604E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies vi. xxvi. 488 Every order of these Knightes had his lodging in the pallace noted with their markes. 1641J. Jackson True Evang. T. i. 71 It is sufficient to note these things with an obeliske. 1725Watts Logic (ed. 2) 75 What Remarks you find there worthy of your riper Observation, you may note them with a marginal Star.
c. to note a bill (see quots.).
1727–38Chambers Cycl. s.v., To note a bill, is when a public notary goes as a witness, or takes notice, that a merchant will not accept or pay it. 1809R. Langford Introd. Trade 133 Noting a bill, the customary form executed by a notary when a bill is not honoured. 1835Penny Cycl. IV. 403/1 Inland bills..are merely noted for non-acceptance, which itself also is a useless form.
d. To annotate; to write notes in.
1809Lamb Let. to Coleridge 7 June, I wish every book I have were so noted. 1844Disraeli Coningsby iv. v, Nibbing their pens, noting their memorandum-books. 1885Law Times LXXVIII. 356/1 Decided cases bearing upon the matter..have been..noted where a note seemed necessary.
†7.
a. To affix to (one) the stigma or accusation of some fault, etc. Obs.
1412–20Lydg. Chron. Troy ii. vi, I might..merked be And noted eke of wilfull nycetye To folylye to voyde away my grace. 1513Douglas æneis xiii. iii. 135 Bot thai sal nocht behald the with sik lak.., Ne note the of na cowardys in thar mynd. 1579Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 125 If the mother be noted of incontinencie, or the father of vice. 1653Ashwell Fides Apost. 244 None have either denied the Author, or defamed the Creed, but such whom the Church hath noted of Heresy. 1680Dryden Ovid's Epist. Ess. (Ker) I. 232 The Julias who were both noted of incontinency.
†b. To mark or brand with some disgrace or defect. Obs.
1565Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Aspergo, To be in suspicion, and noted with infamy. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 739 Lest he peraduenture should be noted with the spot of Nigardship. 1615Walsal Life Christ (1622) B 2 Can wee once imagine, that Christs bodie..was euer..enfeebled with infirmitie, or noted with deformitie? 1652Gaule Magastrom. 265 The children marry publikly, and by the law are noted with no reproach for it.
†c. To stigmatize for some reason. Obs.
1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 279 Notyng Sylla, that the same had purchaced y⊇ said office by gevyng greate giftes. 1548Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Matt. v. 43 No man shall note her as an aduoutresse. 1575Fenton Gold. Epist. (1582) 62 Also you note me, that in saying of service, I am very long. 1601Shakes. Jul. C. iv. iii. 2 You haue condemn'd, and noted Lucius Pella For taking Bribes heere of the Sardians.
III. 8. intr. To produce musical notes; to practise singing (cf. record v. 2). rare.
1430–40Lydg. Daunce Machabre, Bochas (1554) 224/2 O thou minstrall that can so note and pipe Vnto folke for to done pleasaunce.
1906Westm. Gaz. 27 Mar. 2/1 The thrush and the blackbird fluted in the wood, noting for their coming songs.
▪ VIII. † note, n'ote, no'te, v.3
‘could not’, a misuse of note not v. ‘know(s) not’. Obs.
1590Spenser F.Q. ii. vii. 39 Mammon was much dis⁓pleasd, yet no'te he chuse But bear the rigour. 1630Quarles Hymn to God Wks. (Grosart) II. 27 And euery minute's time ten ages were, To chaunt forth all thy praise it no'te auaile. 1642H. More Song of Soul i. iii. 22 The fiercest but of Ram no'te make them fall.
▪ IX. † note
variant of nort nurt v.
1674Ray N.C. Words 34 To Note: to push, strike or goar with the horn as a Bull or Ram. |