nodn.1
/nɒd/, U.S. /nɑd/ I. An inclination of the head indicating acknowledgement, assent, etc.† 2. A person who is nodded at. Obsolete. rare.† 3. A forward or downward movement. Obsolete. rare.
1.
a. A quick, voluntary inclination of the head, esp. one conveying salutation or recognition, expressing assent or approval, or directing attention to something. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > [noun] > nodding the head > nod
nod1541
noddle1765
society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > other gestures > [noun] > head gestures
nod1541
nodding1550
headshake1603
shake of the head1713
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous act or expression > [noun] > greeting or salutation > gesture > nod
nod1541
1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance xiv. f. 25 Not withstandyng they receiued nothing in conclusion but noddes with the heed.
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus Nutus, a signe that one maketh with his eyes or head; a becke; a nodde.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III i. iii. 49 Because I cannot..Ducke with french nods and apish courtesie. View more context for this quotation
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary i. 40 A Doctor..commanded me to draw water for his horse, giving me no reward presently but only a nod.
1649 J. Bulwer Pathomyotomia i. §6. 37 All the ready variations of his cunning fingers being done by the Nods of the Soule.
1653 H. More Antidote against Atheisme i. xi. §8 To move itself and by its motions and nods to determinate the course of the Spirits.
1692 J. Locke Some Thoughts conc. Educ. §77 A Look or Nod only ought to correct them, when they do amiss.
1711 E. Budgell Spectator No. 77. ⁋5 Those Nods of Approbation which I never bestow unmerited.
1782 F. Burney Cecilia III. v. i. 8 [The] smirk..was converted into a familiar nod.
a1822 P. B. Shelley Scene from ‘Tasso’ in Wks. (1904) 512/2 Those nods and smiles were favours worth the zechin.
1886 J. Ruskin Præterita II. viii. 278 Delivering the last words of each paragraph with two or three energetic nods of his head.
1958 A. Miller Coll. Plays Introd. 39 I watched men pass me by without a nod whom I had known rather well for years.
1990 Daughters of Sarah Mar. 24/2 ‘They're not my role models,’ she maintained, to vigorous nods from her coreligionists.
b. Such a motion used by a person in power to give an order. Hence: authorization, command; absolute power.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > command > command or bidding > [noun] > a command > nod as conveying
nod1567
1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest f. 29 The race of this life was..eche moment at death his nod and beck.
1619 M. Drayton Legend Pierce Gaueston in Poems (new ed.) 364 Whose very Nod acts with a thousand Hands.
1692 R. South 12 Serm. I. 395 Masianello..with a Word, or a Nod, absolutely Commanding the whole City of Naples.
1718 M. Prior Solomon on Vanity ii, in Poems Several Occasions (new ed.) 466 Nations obey my word, and wait my nod.
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall (1787) III. xxxiv. 361 They watched his nod; they trembled at his frown.
1792 T. Jefferson Notes 1 Oct. in Papers (1990) XXIV. 435 These measures had established corruption in the legislature, where there was a squadron devoted to the nod of the treasury.
1826 E. Irving Babylon II. 365 The whole western empire was at his nod.
1850 G. Mazzini Royalty & Republicanism in Italy 152 You have..multitudes of men dependent on your nod.
1870 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer Iliad I. i. 28 That thou Mayst be assured, behold, I give the nod.
a1902 F. Norris Pit (1903) viii Was it true that the mere nod of his head was enough to call her back to him?
1984 A. Brookner Hotel du Lac (1985) ii. 31 At a nod from the head waiter, he..removed the half-finished bottle of Frascati.
c. With the. Approval to go ahead with a course of action or to take on a function. Chiefly in to get the nod, to give the nod.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > [noun] > expression of approval
suffrage1566
vote1608
seal of approval1833
accolade1852
back-pat1894
nod1924
nice one1970
like2009
1924 N.Y. Times 18 Jan. 16/1 The illustrious Chairman..declared that if Senator La Follette would only ‘give us the nod’ he would be nominated for the Presidency on a third party ticket.
1947 N.Y. Herald-Tribune 26 Sept. 16 (heading) Dizzy Gillespie, Yardbird Parker, Thelonius Monk get nod in up-beat set.
1962 New Yorker 17 Nov. 43/2 Industry has at last given literature the nod.
1992 Canad. Geographic July 79/1 The idea of holding a world's fair in Canada..was first put forward in the late 1950s... But alas, the nod went to the Soviet Union.
d. Originally U.S. In the entertainment industry: (a nomination for) an award.
ΚΠ
1944 Washington Post 26 Feb. 9/6 Fontaine is up for the best actress' nod,..for her..characterization in ‘The Constant Nymph’.
1963 Chicago Tribune 16 Jan. ii. 1/6 London Awards... The best actress nod went to Maggie Smith in ‘The Private Ear and the Public Eye’.
1989 Los Angeles Times (Electronic ed.) 26 Feb. 86 If they gave Grammy nods to reggae sound tracks, the year's most adventuresome entry would be the music to ‘The Mighty Quinn’.
2006 Wales on Sunday (Nexis) 29 Oct. 28 He received nods from both BAFTA and the Oscars but only ended up walking home with a Golden Globe award.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > condition of being held in contempt > [noun] > state or quality of being contemptible > contemptible person
wormc825
wretchOE
thingOE
hinderlingc1175
harlot?c1225
mixa1300
villain1303
whelpc1330
wonnera1340
bismera1400
vilec1400
beasta1425
creaturec1450
dog bolt1465
fouling?a1475
drivel1478
shit1508
marmoset1523
mammeta1529
pilgarlica1529
pode1528
slave1537
slim1548
skit-brains?1553
grasshopper1556
scavenger1563
old boss1566
rag1566
shrub1566
ketterela1572
shake-rag1571
skybala1572
mumpsimus1573
smatchetc1582
squib1586
scabship1589
vassal1589
baboon1592
Gibraltar1593
polecat1593
mushroom1594
nodc1595
cittern-head1598
nit1598
stockfish1598
cum-twang1599
dish-wash1599
pettitoe1599
mustard-token1600
viliaco1600
cargo1602
stump1602
snotty-nose1604
sprat1605
wormling1605
brock1607
dogfly?1611
shag-rag1611
shack-rag1612
thrum1612
rabbita1616
fitchock1616
unworthy1616
baseling1618
shag1620
glow-worm1624
snip1633
the son of a worm1633
grousea1637
shab1637
wormship1648
muckworm1649
whiffler1659
prig1679
rotten egg1686
prigster1688
begged fool1693
hang-dog1693
bugger1694
reptile1697
squinny1716
snool1718
ramscallion1734
footer1748
jackass1756
hallion1789
skite1790
rattlesnake1791
snot1809
mudworm1814
skunk1816
stirrah1816
spalpeen1817
nyaff1825
skin1825
weed1825
tiger1827
beggar1834
despicability1837
squirt1844
prawn1845
shake1846
white mouse1846
scurf1851
sweep1853
cockroach1856
bummer1857
medlar1859
cunt1860
shuck1862
missing link1863
schweinhund1871
creepa1876
bum1882
trashbag1886
tinhorn1887
snot-rag1888
rodent1889
whelpling1889
pie eatera1891
mess1891
schmuck1892
fucker1893
cheapskate1894
cocksucker1894
gutter-bird1896
perisher1896
skate1896
schmendrick1897
nyamps1900
ullage1901
fink1903
onion1904
punk1904
shitepoke1905
tinhorn sport1906
streeler1907
zob1911
stink1916
motherfucker1918
Oscar1918
shitass1918
shit-face1923
tripe-hound1923
gimp1924
garbage can1925
twerp1925
jughead1926
mong1926
fuck?1927
arsehole1928
dirty dog1928
gazook1928
muzzler1928
roach1929
shite1929
mook1930
lug1931
slug1931
woodchuck1931
crud1932
dip1932
bohunkus1933
lint-head1933
Nimrod1933
warb1933
fuck-piga1935
owl-hoot1934
pissant1935
poot1935
shmegegge1937
motheree1938
motorcycle1938
squiff1939
pendejo1940
snotnose1941
jerkface1942
slag1943
yuck1943
fuckface?1945
fuckhead?1945
shit-head1945
shite-hawk1948
schlub1950
asswipe1953
mother1955
weenie1956
hard-on1958
rass hole1959
schmucko1959
bitch ass1961
effer1961
lamer1961
arsewipe1962
asshole1962
butthole1962
cock1962
dipshit1963
motherfuck1964
dork1965
bumhole1967
mofo1967
tosspot1967
crudball1968
dipstick1968
douche1968
frickface1968
schlong1968
fuckwit1969
rassclaat1969
ass1970
wank1970
fecker1971
wanker1971
butt-fucker1972
slimeball1972
bloodclaat1973
fuckwad1974
mutha1974
suck1974
cocksuck1977
tosser1977
plank1981
sleazebag1981
spastic1981
dweeb1982
bumboclaat1983
dickwad1983
scuzzbag1983
sleazeball1983
butt-face1984
dickweed1984
saddie1985
butt plug1986
jerkweed1988
dick-sucker1989
microcephalic1989
wankstain1990
sadster1992
buttmunch1993
fanny1995
jackhole1996
fassyhole1997
fannybaws2000
fassy2002
c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme cix. 67 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 178 Alas! I am their scorne, their nod, When in their presence I me show.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > forward movement > [noun]
forthgangc900
racea1400
processa1450
remuea1450
profectiona1538
procession1585
advance1593
nod1597
progressa1599
riddance1598
run1626
advancement1637
incession1651
progression1651–3
march1683
progrediency1701
waygate1825
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > [noun]
avalingc1380
descendinga1382
downcominga1398
lowinga1398
descenta1413
descencec1425
descensionc1425
degression1486
downcomea1522
downstroke1551
decourse1585
vailinga1593
nod1597
delapsion1603
delapse1625
down1647
fall1647
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III iii. iv. 100 Like a drunken sayler on a mast, Ready with euery nod to tumble downe. View more context for this quotation
1693 R. Bentley Boyle Lect. viii. 22 By those surprizing Nods of the Pole we might be tossed backward or forward from January to June.
4. figurative. Usually with to, toward(s). An acknowledgement of or concession to the importance or influence of something; (esp. in the arts) a use of or allusion to one or more of the elements characteristic of a particular genre, artist, work, etc.
ΚΠ
1935 H. H. Hatcher Creating Mod. Amer. Novel xix. 255 It is a comic and satirical version of Channing Pollock's The Fool, with liberal suggestions of Candide and Don Quixote, and even a nod toward Elmer Gantry, but it is still Thornton Wilder.
1944 ELH 11 60 This nod toward Juvenal was conventional in the works of..satirists who strove to write on a literary level.
1983 Art & Artists June 9/1 The status accorded..during their life is..remarkable and this nod in their direction heralded other social changes.
1995 Times Educ. Suppl. 10 Feb. 16/5 A feel-good musical with a nod to pantomime, the show boasted a bevy of bouncy songs and corny jokes.
II. An involuntary movement of the head when falling asleep.
5.
a. An involuntary forward movement of the head in a person who has fallen asleep or is drowsy; a short sleep, a nap; (in extended use) a lapse (cf. nod v. 2c). Now chiefly in to cop a nod (U.S. slang): to have a short sleep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [noun] > an instance or period of > short or light > with movement of head
nodc1610
c1610–15 Life St. Margaret in C. Horstmann Lives Women Saints (1886) 111 She permitted her bodie to take a little nodd or sleepe.
1640 J. Fletcher & J. Shirley Night-walker iv. sig. H1v Common wealths men Are ever subjects to the nods; sit downe sir, A short nap is not much amisse.
a1704 T. Brown Walk round London in 3rd Vol. Wks. (1708) iii. 21 When the Spewing-fit is over, he'll sit down to take a Nod.
1793 Regal Rambles 69 Even Homer had his nods now and then.
1851 H. Melville Moby-Dick lix. 309 With a stiletto-like cry that startled every man from his nod, the negro yelled out—‘There!’
1894 A. I. Ritchie Chapters from Mem. vi. 70 My own head..came down with a sleepy nod.
1944 C. Calloway Hepsters Dict. Nod, sleep. Ex., ‘I think I'll cop a nod.’
1971 D. Wells & S. Dance Night People 99 He would start rehearsing when I was trying to cop a nod.
1997 J. Tate Shroud of Gnome 62 Most of these people have big plans, careers the likes of which I can barely imagine. Cop a plea, cop a nod, that kind of thing.
b. the land of Nod [punning on the biblical place name (see Genesis 4:16)] : sleep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [noun]
sleepc825
swevenOE
swevetOE
repasta1382
slumberc1386
lib1665
the land of Nod1738
balmy1841
shut-eye1899
beddy-byes1906
dreamland1912
sleepy-bye1925
sack drill1946
sack duty1954
zed1973
1738 J. Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. 214 I'm going to the Land of Nod.
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian v, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. III. 124 There's queer things chanced since ye hae been in the land of Nod.
1863 C. Reade Hard Cash xviii [It] had my lady into the land of Nod in half a minute.
1900 Chambers's Jrnl. 3 642/2 In the night-time, when human beings..are absent in the Land of Nod.
1995 Mother & Baby June 5/2 A sleep plan guaranteed to send babies and toddlers to the land of Nod.
c. slang (originally and chiefly U.S.). The state of drowsiness brought on by taking narcotic drugs; a drug-induced stupor. See also on the nod at Phrases 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > effects of drugs > [noun] > of narcotics
narcosis1671
kef1808
narcoticism1822
narcotism1829
treacle sleep1841
nod1937
1937 B. Dai Opium Addiction in Chicago Gloss. 202 Playing the nod, to go to sleep from over-indulgence.
1963 Sat. Evening Post 27 July 76 After the first shock it sends the user into a ‘nod’, a sort of semi-conscious daydream.
1969 H. Waugh Young Prey (1970) xxiii. 180 Once you went into the nod, the surroundings no longer mattered.
1993 R. Shell Iced 13 If you couldn't find him at any of those places then you knew that he was off somewhere in a nod in junkie-land.
Phrases
P1.
a. a nod and a wink: an indication that a course of action, etc., will be followed or is approved of; (also) a hint, an innuendo; a thing which is not openly admitted or authorized. Also in plural. Cf. wink n.1 2a.
ΚΠ
1710 S. Palmer Moral Ess. Prov. 100 A nod and a wink are very often treacherous and false.
1773 R. Graves Spiritual Quixote II. vii. x. 155 Mrs. Cullpepper..assured Wildgoose, with a nod and a wink, ‘that any little distress, which his charitable disposition might have occasioned, would be relieved by their Society’.
1814 W. Scott Waverley (1830) I. xi. 110 The Laird.., now superior to the nods and winks with which the Baron..had hitherto checked his entering upon political discussion.
1849 W. Irving Oliver Goldsmith (rev. ed.) xxxi. 272 [He] sought by nods and winks and inuendoes to intimate his authorship.
1887 R. Browning Parleyings 115 So tells a touch Of subintelligential nod and wink—Turning foes friends.
1901 T. Hardy Poems Past & Present 224 From nod and wink I read they think That I am fool and blind.
1982 Sunday Times 12 Dec. 47/1 The change follows none too subtle nods and winks from institutional shareholders.
1995 New Statesman & Society 17 Mar. 19/3 It's not a formal policy, obviously, more a nod and a wink. But we all understand each other.
b. Proverb. a nod is as good as a wink (to a blind horse) and variants.
ΚΠ
1793 J. Ritson Let. 14 Feb. (1833) II. 11 A nod, you know, is as good as a wink to a blind horse.
1822 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas (rev. ed.) I. ii. ix. 224 I shall say no more at present; a nod is as good as a wink.
1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple III. xiii. 179 A nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse.
1893 J. H. McCarthy Red Diamonds II. 28 A nod is as good as a wink to such a dark horse as you are.
1935 T. S. Eliot Murder in Cathedral i. 24 My Lord, a nod is as good as a wink. A man will often love what he spurns.
1954 C. P. Snow New Men iv. xxxviii. 268 Now you can forget everything that I've told you. But a nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse.
1989 M. Bragg Rich: Life of Richard Burton (BNC) 45 There were government coupons for almost everything... No coupons, no goods. But not at the Co-op when Rich was alone. A nod was a good as a wink.
P2. on the nod.
a. slang. Asleep; falling asleep. Later also (originally and chiefly U.S.): drowsy or intoxicated through taking narcotic drugs.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > effects of drugs > [adjective]
intoxicated1576
drunk1585
besotted1831
drugged1871
dopey1896
doped1903
piped1906
lit1912
loaded1923
high1932
polluted1938
stone1945
straight1946
impaired1951
on the nod1951
buzzed1952
stoned1953
hung1958
strung out1959
zonked1959
shot1964
out of (also off) one's bird1966
ripped1966
wiped1966
amped1967
tanked1968
wrecked1968
whacked out1969
wired1970
jagged1973
funked up1976
annihilated1980
junked out1982
obliterated1984
caned1992
wankered1992
twatted1993
1827 R. Montgomery Age Reviewed i. 135 Dear William! thou for ever on the nod, Receive my praises for the drowsy god.
1951 Life 11 June 126/2 Instead of a warming, bright ‘charge’, he merely becomes comatose and lethargic (goes on the nod in junkie parlance).
1967 H. S. Thompson Hell's Angels 198 Crashing means nothing more sinister than going on the nod, either from booze or simple fatigue.
1983 W. Kennedy Ironweed (1988) ii. 34 Rudy, on the nod, flared into wakefulness with a wild swing of the left arm.
1991 J. Phillips You'll never eat Lunch in this Town Again (1992) 453 He told us he was the pride of William Morris until he went on the nod in the middle of his own pitch at a staff meeting. They waited two weeks till they fired him.
b. slang. On credit; free, gratis.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > solvency > [adverb] > on credit
to fristc1440
on (also upon, of) trust1509
on (also upon) credit1560
in, upon, on (the) score1568
on time1628
on or upon (the) tick1642
upon the tally1807
on the nod1882
on the slate1909
on the cuff1927
on the knocker1934
1882 Rag 30 Sept. in J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang (1902) V. 59/1 A pay-on-the nod, An always-in-quod young man.
1897 Westm. Gaz. 11 June 5/3 We went into a..shop and wanted to be served on the nod.
1907 ‘I. Hay’ Pip ix. 286 He looked all round the room, and I knew he knew everything in it had been got on the nod.
1929 P. G. Wodehouse Mr. Mulliner Speaking ii. 52 Ignatius Mulliner, the man, might entertain the idea of pleasing the girl he worshipped by painting her on the nod, but Ignatius Mulliner, the artist, had his schedule of prices.
1945 B. Naughton in C. Madge Pilot Papers I. 106 Edith..got them a house,..and Edith filled it with furniture on the ‘nod’.
1992 J. Curtis Sons of Morning (BNC) 254 Ira Sanchez offered a bet and the bookie took it on the nod.
c. With merely formal assent and no discussion; without the taking of a vote.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > assent > [adverb] > with merely formal assent
on the nod1959
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > expression of choice by some approved method > expression of choice [phrase] > assent without voting
on the nod1959
1959 Times 14 Mar. 4/2 The Bill..was given a second reading ‘on the nod’ by the House.
1973 C. Mullard Black Brit. iii. vii. 85 The late Lord (Learie) Constantine, then a member of the Board, opposed the appointment of John Lyttle on the nod, and urged that the job should be advertised in the press.
1990 Cork Examiner 14 July 7/5 Worker's Party leader Proinsias de Rossa objected to estimates involving huge sums of money being put through on the nod.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† nodn.2
Obsolete. rare.
A fool, a simpleton; = noddy n.1 1.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > foolish person, fool > [noun]
dizzyc825
cang?c1225
foolc1225
apec1330
mopc1330
saddle-goosec1346
mis-feelinga1382
foltc1390
mopec1390
fona1400
buffardc1430
fopc1440
joppec1440
fonda1450
fondlinga1450
insipienta1513
plume of feathers1530
bobolynec1540
dizzard1546
Little Witham?1548
nodc1563
dawkin1565
cocknel1566
nigion1570
niddicock1577
nodcock1577
cuckoo1581
Jack with the feather1581
niddipol1582
noddyship?1589
stirkc1590
fonkin1591
Gibraltar1593
fopper1598
noddypeak1598
coxcombry1600
simple1600
gowka1605
nup1607
fooliaminy1608
silly ass1608
dosser-head1612
dor1616
glow-worm1624
liripipea1625
doodle1629
sop1637
spalt1639
fool's head1650
buffle1655
Jack Adams1656
bufflehead1659
nincompoopc1668
bavian1678
nokes1679
foolanea1681
cod1699
hulver-head1699
nigmenog1699
single ten1699
mud1703
dowf1722
foolatum1740
silly billy1749
tommy noddy1774
arsec1785
nincom1800
silly1807
slob1810
omadhaun1818
potwalloper1820
mosy1824
amadan1825
gump1825
gype1825
oonchook1825
prawn1845
suck-egg1851
goosey1852
nowmun1854
pelican1856
poppy-show1860
buggerlugs1861
damfool1881
mudhead1882
yob1886
peanut head1891
haggis bag1892
poop1893
gazob1906
mush1906
wump1908
zob1911
gorm1912
goof1916
goofus1916
gubbins1916
dumb cluck1922
twat1922
B.F.1925
goofer1925
bird brain1926
berk1929
Berkeley1929
Berkeley Hunt1929
ding1929
loogan1929
stupido1929
poop-stick1930
nelly1931
droop1932
diddy1933
slappy1937
goof ball1938
get1940
poon1940
tonk1941
clot1942
yuck1943
possum1945
gobdaw1947
momo1953
nig-nog1953
plonker1955
weenie1956
nong-nong1959
Berkshire Hunt1960
balloon1965
doofus1965
dork1965
nana1965
shit-for-brains1966
schmoll1967
tosspot1967
lunchbox1969
doof1971
tonto1973
dorkus1979
motorhead1979
mouth-breather1979
wally1980
wally brain1981
der-brain1983
langer1983
numpty1985
sotong1988
fanny1995
fannybaws2000
c1563 Jack Juggler in W. C. Hazlitt Dodsley's Sel. Coll. Old Eng. Plays (1874) II. 130 For it would grieve my heart, so help me God, To run about the streets like a masterless nod.
1606 W. Warner Continuance Albions Eng. xiv. To Rdr. 331 [The poets] most-what but for Nods doe cense Saints, senselesse of more Recompence.
1656 J. Collop Poesis Rediviva 61 No dialect of nodds, thee Noddy speaks, While th' hogshead fears a vent, lest all out Leaks.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
nodn.3
/nɒd/, U.S. /nɑd/ English regional (chiefly south-eastern).
The back or nape of the neck; = noddle n.1 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > neck > [noun] > back of neck
napea1325
hattrelc1330
nolla1382
skull1382
polla1398
nape of the neck (also head)1440
noddle1547
niddick1558
nuke1562
nuque1578
nub1673
nod1695
cuff of the neck1740
nucha1768
scuff1787
scruff1790
scroop1850
kitchen1964
1695 W. Kennett Parochial Antiq. at Coppire The knape or nape.., in Kent the Nod of the neck.
1838 W. Holloway Gen. Dict. Provincialisms at Niddick The node of the neck is the nape of the neck. Hants.
1875 W. D. Parish Dict. Sussex Dial. (at cited word) It catched me right across the nod of my neck.
1884 J. C. Egerton Sussex Folk 112 A bit of hair from the ‘nod’.
1967 H. Orton & M. F. Wakelin Surv. Eng. Dial. IV. ii. 688 Q[uestion]. If someone takes hold of a man here, he will take him... [Sussex] By the nod..of the neck.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
nodv.
/nɒd/, U.S. /nɑd/ 1.
a. intransitive. To make a brief inclination of the head, esp. in salutation, assent, or command, or to draw attention to something.In extended use in quot. 1583.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > move to and fro or up and down [verb (intransitive)] > nod the head
nodc1390
noddle1740
nug1866
society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > other gestures > [verb (intransitive)] > head gestures
to shake one's heada1300
nodc1390
to tip a nod1861
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous act or expression > use formal courtesy in act or expression [verb (intransitive)] > greet > use other specific gestures
move1594
nod1600
bow1651
salaam1698
to rub noses1819
hongi1853
heil1939
namaste1969
wai1972
c1390 G. Chaucer Manciple's Tale 47 The cook wax wrooth..And on the manciple he gan nodde faste For lakke of speche.
a1450 (?c1421) J. Lydgate Siege Thebes (Arun.) (1911) 169 (MED) Gynne some tale of myrth or of gladnesse, And nodde not with thyn heuy bekke.
?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 86v To nodde, conquinescere.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 644/1 I nodde with the heed, je fais signe de la teste. Whan I nodde upon the, than go.
a1566 R. Edwards Damon & Pithias (1571) sig. Biv I lyke not this Soyle: for as I go ploddynge, I marke there two, there three, their heades alwayes noddinge, In close secret wise.
1583 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Deuteronomie clxx. 1057 Like the Asse which can well ynough nodde with his Eares.
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream iii. i. 166 Nod to him Elues, and doe him curtesies. View more context for this quotation
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 138 Young Ganimeds..went up and downe..to powre out wine to such as noded for it.
1656 A. Cowley Davideis i. 34 in Poems The Poets are so civil to Jupiter, as to say no less when he either Spoke, or so much as Nodded.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 12. ¶2 Upon which my Land-lady nodds, as much as to say she takes my Meaning, and immediately obeys my Signals.
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa IV. xxi. 99 I therefore wink'd at her. She primm'd; nodded, to shew she took me.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth vii, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. I. 176 Some of the citizens..began to nod and look exceedingly wise upon the advocate of acquiescence.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Godiva in Poems (new ed.) II. 113 And nodding, as in scorn, He parted.
1877 ‘Mrs. Forrester’ Mignon I. 65 Sir Tristram nods and smiles at her and goes off to the garden.
1906 J. London White Fang i. i. 6 The front man turned his head until his eyes met the eyes of the man behind. And then, across the narrow oblong box, each nodded to the other.
1965 ‘W. Trevor’ Boarding-house xvii. 197 Two other women..nodded wisely, agreeing with the observation.
2000 P. Beatty Tuff vii. 73 Winston nodded at his friend's motorcycle... ‘Let's go.’
b. transitive. To incline (the head) briefly in a nod. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > move to and fro or up and down [verb (transitive)] > nod the head
noda1522
doddle1653
noddle1734
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1960) Direct. 67 Quha sa lawchis heirat or hedis noddis [rhyme goddis], Go reid Bochas.
1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique iii. f. 118 Some noddes their head at euery sentence.
1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (1586) i. 34 They nodde theyr heads, and abase their eyes.
1667 J. Dryden Annus Mirabilis 1666 ccxxii. 56 He..nods at every house his threatning fire.
1695 W. Congreve Pindarique Ode on Namure v. 4 Craggy Cliffs..Nod impending Terrours o'er the Plain.
1746 J. Warton in R. Dodsley Coll. Poems by Several Hands (1748) III. 80 Where Mirth and Youth each evening meet, And lightly trip with nimble feet, Nodding their lilly-crowned heads.
1798 S. T. Coleridge Anc. Marinere i, in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads 7 Nodding their heads before her goes The merry Minstralsy.
1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge x. 292 John contented himself with nodding his head in the affirmative.
1898 H. R. Haggard Dr. Therne 20 I nodded my head.
1939 S. O'Casey I knock at Door in Autobiogr. (1980) I. 9 The soldiers..noddin' misrule and persecution to the whole of us.
a1948 D. Welch I left my Grandfather's House (1984) 95 I should have a stone cell in a garden..with enormous sunflowers nodding their black faces along my hedge.
1995 Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch 30 July f1/1 Never apologize, it's a sign of weakness, John Wayne said..and a generation seemed to nod its head and take its cue.
c. transitive. To direct (a person) by a nod.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > command > command or bidding > command [verb (transitive)] > by sign
beckonc1440
nod1605
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > move to and fro or up and down [verb (transitive)] > nod the head > cause or effect by nodding
nod1605
noddle1788
1605 J. Marston Dutch Courtezan i. sig. A3v The Drawer for female priuatnes sake is nodded out.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iii. vi. 66 Cleopatra Hath nodded him to her. View more context for this quotation
1647 J. Trapp Comm. Epist. & Rev. (1 Pet. v. 6) If God can..nod us to destruction.
1684 T. Brooks Precious Remedies 266 God can speak or nod you to hell in a moment.
1742 J. Yarrow Love at First Sight 74 He cries play; the Harper uncases, the Drawer is nodded out.
1821 J. Clare Village Minstrel II. 82 The beckoning lover nods the maid away.
1889 F. Barrett Under Strange Mask II. xv. 96 I nodded him out of the room.
1962 ‘K. Orvis’ Damned & Destroyed xiv. 91 The little ex-pusher nodded his successor off to a corner.
1985 D. Johnson Fiskadoro ii. 30 Mr. Cheung..nodded his protégé into the seat beside him.
d. transitive. To signify or express (assent, salutation, etc.) with a nod.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > other gestures > [verb (transitive)] > gesture with head > express by head gesture
nod1713
waggle1852
the mind > possession > giving > give [verb (transitive)] > confer > by curtseying or nodding
curtsy1775
nod1775
1713 R. Steele Englishman No. 8. 50 Ay, ay nodded the Porter; but, Sir, whom must I say I came from?
1775 R. B. Sheridan Rivals Epil. She..Curtsies a pension here—there nods a place.
1819 W. Scott Legend of Montrose viii, in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. IV. 188 The Major laid his hand upon his nose, and nodded intelligence.
1847 F. Marryat Children of New Forest I. ix. 148 The keeper nodded adieu to Edward.
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola III. vii. 67 He nodded assent, and Romola set out.
1883 Harper's Mag. Apr. 741/2 The officer nodded an affirmative.
1955 O. Manning Doves of Venus i. v. 58 Mrs. Mackie nodded her acceptance of this apology.
1987 R. Hall Kisses of Enemy (1990) i. iii. 27 Childhood, she once remarked to her husband who surprised her by nodding agreement, is the only time in our lives when anything has three solid dimensions.
2. † b. intransitive. To overlook or connive at an offence, etc. Obsolete. rare.
a. intransitive. To let the head fall forward with a quick, short, involuntary motion, esp. when drowsy or asleep; to doze, esp. in an upright position. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (intransitive)] > nod head in sleep
nodc1425
dodder16..
neeb1866
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > drowsiness > be or become drowsy [verb (intransitive)]
nodc1425
dow1502
dream1548
drowse1598
winka1616
doze1693
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. 5781 (MED) He..noddeth ofte with his Iowsy hed, As he had on an hevy cappe of led; And who þat be of þis condicioun, He entre may þe religioun Of myȝti Bachus.
1550 J. Heywood Hundred Epigrammes x. sig. Av I nother nodde for sleepe.., Nor blisse for spirite.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) iv. ii. 322 If thou do'st nod, thou break'st thy Instrument. View more context for this quotation
1633 G. Herbert Temple: Sacred Poems 127 For fear the starres should sleep and nod, And trip at night.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan i. ii. 7 As one that noddeth in a chayre.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 112. ¶3 If he sees any Body else nodding, [he] either wakes them himself, or sends his Servant to them.
1783 Med. Communications 1 303 Oppressed with inclination to sleep, he frequently nodded.
1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge li. 230 She would be seen..to nod a little way forward, and stop with a jerk.
1879 W. Thomson & P. G. Tait Treat. Nat. Philos. (new ed.) I: Pt. i. §106 It is the case of a common spinning-top..; not sleeping upright, nor nodding, but sweeping its axis round [etc.].
1880 J. Thomson City of Dreadful Night 25 A man sits nodding on the shaft.
1911 J. M. Barrie Peter & Wendy i. 15 Then her head nodded, oh, so gracefully. She was asleep.
1978 L. Duncan Killing Mr. Griffin vi. 69 When he went back to the bedroom his grandmother was nodding. ‘Tired, Gran?’
1994 Details Sept. 217/1 The pain, though, is not without its benefits. For one thing, it keeps me from nodding back to sleep.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > ignoring, disregard > ignore, disregard [verb (transitive)] > allow to pass unnoticed
to look through ——OE
to let (something) overpassa1375
overpassa1382
unseea1395
forgoa1400
balkc1440
dissimulea1450
pass?c1475
dissemblea1500
dissimulatea1533
to wink at1535
nod1607
connive1641
beholdc1650
to wink against1653
to shut one's eyes to (also against, on)a1711
blink1742
1607 T. Middleton Revengers Trag. ii. sig. E2v It well becomes that Iudge to nod at crimes.
c. intransitive. To be momentarily inattentive or inaccurate; to make a slip or mistake.Often used in Homer nods and similar phrases to indicate that no one, however great, is immune from error (with allusion to Horace Ars Poetica 359: indignor quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus ‘I feel aggrieved when sometimes even excellent Homer falls asleep’).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > be inattentive [verb (intransitive)]
nod1677
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > be mistaken, err [verb (intransitive)]
dwelec900
haltc900
marOE
slidea1000
misfangOE
missOE
to have wough?c1225
misnimc1225
misrekec1275
mis-startc1275
err1303
to go wrongc1340
misgo1340
slipc1340
snapperc1380
forvay1390
to miss of ——c1395
to make a balkc1430
to run in ——1496
trip1509
fault1530
mistake1548
misreckon1584
misstep1605
warpa1616
solecize1627
hallucinate1652
nod1677
to go will1724
to fare astray (misliche, amiss)a1849
slip1890
skid1920
1677 W. Hughes Man of Sin i. v. 20 We see a Jesuite may sometimes nod as well as Homer.
1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 12 Those are but Stratagems which Errors seem, Nor is it Homer Nods, but We that Dream.
1796 E. Burke Let. to Noble Lord 35 Homer nods; and the duke of Bedford may dream.
1855 A. Trollope Warden ii. 21 He is always the archdeacon; unlike Homer, he never nods.
a1876 G. Dawson Shaks. & Other Lect. (1888) 50 If Homer sometimes nods, Johnson snores.
1887 19th Cent. Feb. 196 Scientific reason, like Homer, sometimes nods.
1928 G. W. Hendy Lure of Bird Watching 240 Clare, though in many ways an accurate observer, nodded when he made his ‘little trotty wagtail’ stoop to get a worm.
1967 Brit. Jrnl. Psychiatry 113 940/2 Homer nods, but books of readings rightly exploit the occasions when various Homers were least inclined to nod.
1997 A. R. Ammons Glare 25 If Homer can nod, I can have Narcolepsy.
d. intransitive. to nod off: to fall asleep, esp. briefly or unintentionally.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [verb (intransitive)] > go to sleep or fall asleep > for a short time or lightly
to nod off1684
to doze off or over1860
neeb1866
drowse1886
1684 J. Harington Grecian Story i. 64 Grandsires nodded off, talk'd are and o're.
1845 C. Dickens Chimes iv. 137 This cosy couple..sat looking at the glowing sparks that dropped into the grate; now nodding off into a doze; now waking up again.
1858 W. M. Thackeray Virginians II. v. 33 The old lady nodded off to sleep many times during the narration.
1915 V. Woolf Voy. Out i. 4 Old men and women were nodding off to sleep upon the seats.
1966 K. Amis Anti-Death League 340 Lucy took an illustrated magazine to Churchill's bed-side, but she too was underslept, and in a few minutes she nodded off.
1993 D. A. Smith In Cube xvii. 229 Put my head down on the desk a couple of times and nodded off.
e. intransitive. slang (originally and chiefly U.S.). To be or become drowsy or intoxicated through taking narcotic drugs.
ΚΠ
1958 Southern Folklore Q. Sept. 132 Nodding, succumbing to a drug.
1967 S. Fiddle Portraits from Shooting Gallery ii. 35 Addicts..prefer to nod rather than to sleep. Sleeping, they say, keeps a man from enjoying the nod.
1982 E. L. Abel Marihuana Dict. (at cited word) If he wants to nod he gets marihuana soaked in opium.
1997 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 4 May 16 Shooting up in empty lots, nodding on the hulks of abandoned cars.
f. intransitive. slang (chiefly U.S.). to nod out: to drift in and out of consciousness; to fall asleep or pass out, esp. under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
ΚΠ
1961 J. Clark Fantastic Lodge 121 I had too much eyes to sleep... I didn't dig nodding out.
1962 ‘K. Orvis’ Damned & Destroyed xi. 73 He served over sixty of the bunch and was still nodding out.
1975 N.Y. Times 14 Oct. 50/5 Mr. French said that after one drink, Miss Quinlan ‘started to nod out at the bar’. ‘We walked her out to the car,’ he said ‘and she stumbled a couple of times. I drove her back to the house.’
1994 B. A. Staples Parallel Time 138 Smackheads nodded out on their feet—bang, gone in the middle of a sentence. They slept standing up.
3. † b. intransitive. Of a structure, etc.: to swing or sway from the perpendicular, as when falling or about to fall. Also figurative, of an empire, etc. Obsolete.
a. intransitive. Of a thing (esp. a plant): to bend or incline downward or forward with a swaying or jerking movement.In quot. 1899: to be covered with something which bends or inclines in such a way.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > oscillate [verb (intransitive)] > sway
wawc888
swang1340
waltera1375
swayve1377
swayc1500
nod1578
weave1596
showd1599
swing1607
swag1608
slinger1767
wintle1786
swale1820
daven1977
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball 330 The flowers hang uppon tender stalkes, nodding or beckning downewardes.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iv. xv. 6 A forked Mountaine..With Trees vpon't, that nodde vnto the world. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis x, in tr. Virgil Wks. 535 His glitt'ring helm..was grac'd With waving horsehair, nodding from afar.
1744 M. Akenside Pleasures Imagination ii. 203 The shade More horrid nodded o'er me.
1785 W. Cowper Task v. 26 The bents And coarser grass,..fledged with icy feathers, nod superb.
1805 W. Scott Lay of Last Minstrel i. xxv. 25 Green hazels o'er his basnet nod.
1842 J. R. Lowell in Graham's Mag. Feb. 90/1 With long black garments trailing slow, And plumes anodding to and fro.
1899 S. R. Crockett Kit Kennedy 28 The little green bank..nodding with fern and queen-of-the-meadow.
1934 National Geographic Mag. 65 598 The dainty white display of floating-heart nods over its own reflection in the water.
1980 G. Lord Fortress xii. 93 Winter grass..blew in the light wind; nodding, dying.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > unsteady movement > move unsteadily [verb (intransitive)] > totter
shake1297
waive1338
wagc1340
falterc1386
waverc1440
branglea1522
totterc1522
wave1538
swerve1573
nod1582
tittera1618
cockle1634
labascate1727
teeter1904
oversway1994
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis i. 4 Theire ships too larboord doo nod, seas monsterus haunt theym.
1631 W. Gouge Gods Three Arrowes ii. §25. 169 Tottering to and fro, nodding and sliding much like carved pictures without life.
1681 J. Dryden Absalom & Achitophel 25 If ancient Fabricks nod, and threat to fall.
1718 M. Prior Solomon on Vanity ii, in Poems Several Occasions (new ed.) 458 Porches and schools..Uncover'd, and with scaffolds cumber'd stood, Or nodded, threatening ruin.
1733 A. Pope Ess. Man (rev. ed.) i. 247 Heav'ns whole foundations to their Centre nod.
1752 E. Young Brothers i. i His empire shakes, And all her lofty glories nod to ruin.
1822 P. B. Shelley Hellas 43 A later Empire nods in its decay.
1849 J. Ruskin Seven Lamps Archit. v. 145 The arches nodding westward and sinking into the ground.
1871 A. Austin Golden Age 78 Leave them but these, the gamblers come to call, Nor heed an Empire nodding to its fall!
c. transitive. To cause (a thing, esp. a plant) to bend or sway. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > oscillate [verb (transitive)] > cause to sway
sway1555
showd1599
roll1608
devolve1726
nod1818
1818 J. Keats Endymion i. 15 By every wind that nods the mountain pine.
1991 G. H. Godbert & J. Ramsay For Now (BNC) 11 The wind blows.., softly Nodding the heads of flowers, Its movement tactile as stone.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > tendency > tend or incline [verb (intransitive)]
wryc888
driveOE
drawc1175
rine?c1225
soundc1374
tendc1374
lean1398
clinea1400
movec1450
turnc1450
recline?a1475
covet1520
intend?1521
extenda1533
decline?1541
bow1562
bend1567
follow1572
inflecta1575
incline1584
warpa1592
to draw near1597
squint1599
nod1600
propend1605
looka1616
verge1664
gravitate1673
set1778
slant1850
trend1863
tilt1967
1600 B. Jonson Every Man out of his Humor ii. i. sig. Fii My Brother sir, for want of education sir, somewhat nodding to the Boore, the Clowne. View more context for this quotation
5. transitive. Association Football. To head (a ball). Also intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > play football [verb (transitive)] > actions or manoeuvres
place-kick1845
punt1845
dribble1863
head1871
tackle1884
mark1887
foot1900
boot1914
rumble1954
late-tackle1957
dummy1958
crash-tackle1960
to pick up1961
nod1965
slot1970
welly1986
1965 D. Law Tackle Soccer this Way xv. 101 I nodded the ball..in his path.
1972 G. Green Great Moments in Sport: Soccer ix. 89 The centre half got above Bonetti..to nod in.
1992 Today (BNC) Dec. Eric Cantona..twice figures in the move, freeing Ince on the left and nodding the midfielder's cross into the danger area.
6. British (chiefly Politics). to nod through.
a. transitive. Parliament. To record the vote of (a member of Parliament) when he or she is within the precincts of Westminster but has not passed through the voting lobby, esp. in the case of illness or disability. Also more fully to nod through the division (lobby).
ΚΠ
1965 Times 7 May 14/1 The whips have a civilized old practice whereby M.P.s who are so unfit or incapacitated that they cannot walk through the division lobby may be nodded for by the appropriate chief whip.]
1971 H. Wilson Labour Govt. vii. 99 There was morbid speculation on the question whether, if a member were to die at say 9.00 p.m., the Chief Whip would be justified in ‘nodding him through’ a ten o'clock division, while the ambulance was still on its way.
1975 Daily Tel. 19 July 2/6 Mr Wood, Conservative M P for Bridlington, who has a war disability, was ‘nodded through’ the division lobby after he had ‘paired’ with a Labour M P.
1996 Times 28 Feb. 8/8 The ambulance men escorted him in for a drink and the Tory whips nodded him through in the dining room.
b. transitive. To pass (a bill) or agree (a point) without lengthy debate or a formal vote; to ratify or approve quickly or informally. Occasionally more fully to nod through Parliament. Cf. on the nod at nod n.1 Phrases 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > procedure of parliament or national assembly > [verb (transitive)] > pass motion or bill
carry1640
snap1883
to nod through1976
1976 Economist (Nexis) 24 Jan. 63 It was nodded through unanimously by heads of government.
1987 Times 18 June 21/8 The Channel Tunnel Bill is expected to be nodded through when it comes up for ratification in Westminster next month.
1999 Daily Tel. 28 Jan. (Connected section) 6/2 When politicians nod the census White Paper through Parliament by the end of this year they'll want to know religion and incomes as well.
Derivatives
ˈnodded adj. rare
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > age > old age > [adjective] > decrepit or senile
decrepit?a1500
wintry1579
superannated1605
superannate1608
superannuated1616
superannuate1647
doitereda1790
doitering1828
rickety1841
senile1847
nodded1887
geriatric1968
1887 G. Meredith Ballads & Poems 131 And thou perform The nodded part of pantaloon.
1892 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker xxiii. 373 ‘Well, we've got the guts out of you!’ was the captain's nodded farewell to the hulk of the Currency Lass.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.11541
n.2c1563
n.31695
v.c1390