observationn.
/ˌɒbzəˈveɪʃn/, U.S. /ˌɑbzərˈveɪʃ(ə)n/ I. Senses relating to the observance of custom, duty, etc.† 3. Regard, respect, deference; respectful or courteous attention. Cf. observance n. 5. Obsolete.† 4. Attentive care, heed; = observance n. 3. Obsolete.
1. An action, esp. of a religious and ceremonial nature, performed in accordance with prescribed usage; a customary action, ceremony, or ritual; = observance n. 1. rare after 17th cent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > carrying out > observance or carrying out a promise, law, etc. > [noun] > a ritual or ceremony
observationa1382
observancea1450
society > society and the community > customs, values, and civilization > customs, values, or beliefs of a society or group > [noun] > custom of a society or group > formal
observancea1250
observationa1382
rite?a1475
ritual1611
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) 2 Esdras xii. 44 Þei kepten þe obseruacioun [L. observationem] of þer god & þe besynesse of clensing.
1449 in W. H. Godfrey Sussex Wills (1938) III. 207 (MED) [Masses to be sung] and that v mark be distribute for that observation.
a1500 tr. A. Chartier Traité de l'Esperance (Rawl.) (1974) 124 (MED) Thei wolde seche..to appeace the wrath of their goddis by sacrifices and obseruacions.
1540 Act 32 Hen. VIII c. 26 The laufull rites ceremonies and obseruacions of goddes seruice.
1633 Bp. J. Hall Plaine Explic. Hard Texts ii. 272 Circumcision, and the rest of those legall observations.
1656 J. Bramhall Replic. to Bishop of Chalcedon vi. 241 To persist in an old observation when..the end for which the observation was made, calleth upon us for an alteration, is not obedience but obstinacie.
a1718 W. Penn Let. to Young Convicted in Wks. (1782) I. 76 Will-performances and external observations.
1911 W. J. Locke Glory of Clementina Wing xxii. 277 The daily calls to inquire after her health and happiness had grown to be a sacred observation.
2. More generally: the action or practice of following or heeding a particular law, duty, etc.; adherence or regard to a particular custom, practice, principle, etc.; = observance n. 4a. Usually with of. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > carrying out > observance or carrying out a promise, law, etc. > [noun]
fulfilling1340
keepingc1380
observancea1393
observation?a1425
solemnityc1440
observing1458
conservation1544
observancy1609
the mind > language > speech > agreement > observance > [noun]
i-kepyngec1230
heed1357
keepingc1380
observancea1393
observation?a1425
contemplation1440
observing1458
conscience1483
conservation1544
heedfulness1561
heediness1596
religion1597
observancy1609
punctualness1620
punctuality1622
heeding1678
adherence1715
?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 121 (MED) Procede in þe cure þerof wiþ obseruacioun of þe reules & obseruacioun of þe condicioun and þe place & of þe diete to þou be siker of apostumacioun.
c1475 tr. Henri de Mondeville Surgery (Wellcome) f. 154 Þe empostyme schal be opened biside þe wounde in þe place þat is moost dependaunt..which obseruacioun of þe rulis þat schal be obserued, the which schal folowen in þe chapitre of helynge of enpostymes.
1535 Act 27 Hen. VIII c. 11 §10 This present act..shall..binde euery officer..to thobservacion thereof.
1551 R. Robinson tr. T. More Vtopia sig. Qviv Diuinations of vayne superstition, which in other countreys be in greate obseruation.
1581 J. Marbeck Bk. Notes & Common Places 254 Affirming that Circumcision was necessarie & the observation of the Lawe.
1657 in T. Burton Diary (1828) I. 310 An Act for the better observation of the Lord's day, read the first time.
1738 T. Middleton Let. 21 Aug. in A. P. Jenkins Corr. T. Secker (1991) 9 I shall..presumably exhort my Parish to a better Observation of the Lord's-Day.
1784 Ann. Reg. 1782 Hist. Europe 11/2 An inviolable observation of public faith.
1809 S. T. Coleridge Friend 28 Sept. 104 The faithful observation of a contract.
1825 T. B. Macaulay Milton in Edinb. Rev. Aug. 305 The observation of the Sabbath.
1873 R. Giles Slang & Vulgar Phrases States of Union 24 Observation, for observance; as, ‘The observation of the Sabbath is a duty incumbent upon all people.’
1955 G. Gorer Exploring Eng. Char. ii. 22 I somewhat suspected that the multiplication of laws and controls under wartime and post-war rationing had weakened the general observation of the law.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > respect > [noun] > respectful attention
observancec1425
court1590
courtship1597
attendancya1600
observancy1601
observation1605
courting1607
assiduity1641
observantness1727
peculiarity1747
1605 G. Chapman et al. Eastward Hoe ii. sig. B3 And doe the costly garments; the title and fame of a Lady, the fashion, obseruation, and reuerence proper to such preferment, no more enflame you?
a1644 F. Quarles Judgem. & Mercy (1646) 55 A countenance that's reserv'd, breeds feare and observation.
1721 J. Strype Eccl. Memorials I. xlv. 339 They continued in their loving and friendly observation of his Majesty.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > care, carefulness, or attention > [noun]
yemec893
carefulnessa1000
getec1175
gomec1175
tenta1300
curec1300
keepa1325
diligence1340
heed1357
tentivenessa1382
observancec1390
businessa1398
reasona1398
attendancec1400
resporta1413
curiosityc1430
mindingc1449
reckc1475
respect1509
regardshipa1513
looking unto1525
peradvertencea1529
looking toa1535
solicitudea1535
looking after?1537
solicitudeness1547
care1548
solicitnessc1550
caring1556
heedfulness1561
solicitateness1562
hofulness1566
regard1573
charishness1587
on-waiting1590
heediness1596
take-heed1596
respectiveness1598
observationa1616
solicitousness1636
heeding1678
curiousness1690
solicitation1693
attention1741
craftsmanship1850
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iii. iii. 87 So with good life, And obseruation strange, my meaner ministers Their seuerall kindes haue done. View more context for this quotation
1672–3 Sir C. Lyttelton in E. M. Thompson Corr. Family of Hatton (1878) I. 104 I have at this time more than an ordinary observation how I behave myself.
II. Senses relating to observing or taking notice.† 9. An object of attention. Obsolete. rare.
5. † b. Noteworthiness, notability. Usually with modifying adjective in of —— observation. Obsolete.† d. Attention to, or inspection of, omens; augury, divination; an instance of this. Obsolete.
a. The action or an act of observing, watching, or noticing; the fact or condition of being watched or noticed; notice; perception. Cf. observance n. 6.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > notice, observation > [noun]
marka1400
notea1400
notinga1427
markingc1443
viewc1450
noticec1487
observation1547
observancy1567
animadversion1573
observance1602
remark1614
remarking?1626
notification1659
observala1734
observe1830
1547 C. Langton Very Brefe Treat. Phisick sig. Av Suche thynges as they have noted and observed..which is to saye an obseruacion made by chance.
1557 Bible (Whittingham) Luke xvii. 20 The kingdome of God commeth not with obseruation.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost iii. i. 26 Brag. How hast thou purchased this experience? Boy. By my penne of obseruation . View more context for this quotation
1646 J. Hall Horæ Vacivæ 46 Some lurking vice, which fled ones owne observation, and had not been hinted by..friends.
1667 T. Sprat Hist. Royal-Soc. i. 28 There are Five new ways of Philosophy, that come into my observation.
1702 Eng. Theophrastus 41 I made a thousand observations during this short journey, that fully confirmed me in this Opinion.
1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest I. i. 24 They..were..in less danger of observation.
1814 J. Austen Mansfield Park II. vii. 167 The different modes of dancing which had fallen within his observation . View more context for this quotation
1863 C. Kingsley Lett. (1878) II. 161 The first thing for a boy to learn, after obedience and morality, is a habit of observation.
1895 S. Crane Red Badge of Courage iii. 45 Awakening from his trance of observation he turned and beheld the loud soldier.
1935 W. G. Campbell Compar. Investig. Behaviour of Students under Honor Syst. & Proctor Syst. 4 Under the proctor system at the University of Texas, a student was permitted to report any dishonesty that came to his observation, but he was under no compulsion to do so.
1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day i. 23 In distancing myself unconsciously from adult interests and values, I must have weakened my capacity for attention and observation.
2000 Native Peoples: Arts & Lifeways No. 5. 55/2 There was a look of curiosity, then intense observation of my presence.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > worthy of notice
specialc1405
eminentc1420
markablec1449
noteworthy1552
regardable1572
respectable1584
of —— observation1587
considerable1589
of (great, little, etc.) mark1590
signal1591
remarkable1593
conspicuous1604
noble1604
observative1608
observable1609
significant1642
noteful1644
signalized1652
tall1655
curious1682
notice-worthy1713
unco1724
noticeable1793
handsome1813
epoch-forming1816
measurable1839
epochal1857
epoch-making1863
era-making1894
epoch-marking1895
high profile1950
landmark1959
1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. 578/2 Others glansinglie passe by it, as a matter of no great observation.
1641 Naunton's Fragmenta Regalia sig. D3 It is of further observation, that my Lord of Essex, after Leicesters decease,..never loved him in sincerity.
1655 E. Terry Voy. E.-India 104 There is one very great and fair Tree growing in that Soyl, of special observation.
1679 Ld. Finch in Buccleuch MSS (Hist. MSS Comm.) (1899) I. 330 The case being of great consequence to the public, and of great observation.
c. The faculty or power of observation; the habit of observing, perceiving or taking notice. Now rare. Perhaps Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > notice, observation > [noun] > faculty or quality of
seeing eye1579
animadversion1596
observation1605
animadversal1647
observancya1871
observantness1909
1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. Ff2 Men of narrowe obseruation . View more context for this quotation
1628 O. Felltham Resolves: 2nd Cent. xxviii. 88 Hee is thought one of too prying an obseruation.
1694 Acct. Several Late Voy. (1711) i.96 Men of good observation to inspect into matters of this Concern.
1813 J. Austen Pride & Prejudice I. iv. 30 With more quickness of observation and less pliancy of temper than her sister..she was very little disposed to approve them. View more context for this quotation
1837 W. Irving Adventures Capt. Bonneville III. 225 The senior chief..was a thinking man, and a man of observation.
1860 N. Hawthorne Marble Faun II. viii. 92 The statue had life and observation in it.
1876 H. James Roderick Hudson iii. 81 Rowland had been struck..by the instinctive quickness of his observation and his free appropriation of whatever might serve his purpose.
1971 P. Quennell Marcel Proust 11 The sense of his own separateness..intensified his gift of observation.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > divination > [noun] > an act of
observation1605
1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. Mm1v [Experimental divination] for the most part, is superstitious: Such as were the Heathen obseruations, upon the inspection of Sacrifices, the flights of birds, the swarming of Bees. View more context for this quotation
1620 J. Melton Astrologaster 61 The viperous generation of Negromancy, which are Idolatry, Diuination, and vaine obseruation.
1718 Free-thinker No. 52. 2 The bare Observation of Omens was not sufficient: It was likewise necessary to Accept them.
e. Military. The watching of an enemy's positions, movements, responses, etc.; reconnaissance (chiefly in compounds: see Compounds 1). army of observation n. a force employed in watching an enemy force. Similarly corps (etc.) of observation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > vigilance > keeping watch > [noun] > surveillance
markingc1443
watch1611
observation1776
surveillance1802
surveilling1966
1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. xiii. 378 Diocletian..assembled in Syria a strong army of observation.
1835 A. Alison Hist. Europe during French Revol. IV. xxx. 332 No less than 30,000 being in observation or garrison.
1900 Dict. National Biogr. at William Augustus Hostilities were to cease, and the army of observation was to be broken up.
1923 R. Kipling Irish Guards in Great War I. 30 Artillery fire, directed by air observation.
1945 C. E. Balleisen Princ. Firearms ix. 90 Greatest reliance must be placed upon fire control by observation of tracer bullets.
1973 J. Quick Dict. Weapons & Mil. Terms 331/1 A captive balloon used for purposes of aerial observation, artillery spotting, etc.
6. Observed truth or fact; something learned by observing; a rule or maxim gathered from experience.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > saying, maxim, adage > [noun] > observation
consideration1477
observation1550
experience1570
note1577
reflection1610
reflexa1641
sagacities1867
1550 R. Sherry Treat. Schemes & Tropes sig. Ciii To speke is no lawe, but an obseruacion or markyng, not leanyng vpon cause, but vpon example.
1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies iii. iv. 131 The Mariners hold it for a certaine rule and observation, that within the Tropickes continually raine Easterly windes.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) ii. vii. 41 In his braine..He hath strange places cram'd With obseruation, the which he vents In mangled formes. View more context for this quotation
1721 J. Swift Let. to Young Gentleman 26 There is one Observation which I never knew to fail..that no Gentleman of a Liberal Education, and regular in his Morals, did ever profess himself a Free-Thinker.
1793 C. Marshall Gardening (1813) xviii. 112 It may prove an observation of some use, that trees and shrubs raised from seed grow the largest.
1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits vii. 127 A slow temperament makes them less rapid and ready than other countrymen and has given occasion to the observation, that English wit comes afterwards.
1891 G. B. Shaw Quintessence of Ibsenism i The first shock to rationalism came from the observation that though nothing could persuade women to adopt it their inaptitude for reasoning no more prevented them from arriving at right conclusions than the masculine aptitude for it saved men from arriving at wrong ones.
1965 Language 41 502 The concept of diglossia rests..on the observation that different languages or dialects enjoy varying social and political status within a community.
1989 Jrnl. Middle Atlantic Archaeol. 5 32 Complete competitors cannot live in the same place at the same time, an observation that has come to be known simply as the competitive exclusion principle.
7.
a. The action or an act of observing scientifically; esp. the careful watching and noting of an object or phenomenon in regard to its cause or effect, or of objects or phenomena in regard to their mutual relations (contrasted with experiment). Also: a measurement or other piece of information so obtained; an experimental result.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > experiments > [noun] > scientific method > observation
observation1559
the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > [noun] > variable > observation(s)
observation1559
time series1887
moment1893
variate1899
outlier1907
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > branch of knowledge > systematic knowledge, science > [noun] > scientific procedure > observation
observation1559
1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 161 What be th' observations of this neadle, by whiche you affirme that it doth not exactlye poynte Northe and Southe?
1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. G2v Gilbertus our Countrey man hath made a Philosophie out of the obseruations of a Loadstone. View more context for this quotation
1695 J. Woodward Ess. Nat. Hist. Earth 1 Observations are the only sure Grounds whereon to build a lasting and substantial Philosophy.
1714 T. Hearne Ductor Historicus (ed. 3) I. iii. 398 Aristotle having requested his Nephew Calisthenes..to..send him an account of their earliest Observations, it appear'd..that they amounted no higher than 1903 Years before that time.
1814 J. Playfair Outl. Nat. Philos. II. ii. ii. 261 The result of these investigations..agrees nearly with observation.
1843 J. S. Mill Syst. Logic I. iii. vii. §4 448 Observation..without experiment..can ascertain uniformities, but cannot prove causation.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xvi. 94 I halted, to check the observations already made.
1879 W. Thomson & P. G. Tait Treat. Nat. Philos. (new ed.) I: Pt. i. §371 Isothermal Lines, Lines of Equal Dip..and a host of other data and phenomena..are thus deducible from Observation merely.
1934 A. H. R. Goldie Abercromby's Weather (rev. ed.) ii. 14 Beaufort's original specification has been replaced by one appropriate to land observations and a scale of equivalent speeds in miles per hour has been added.
1987 S. Gibson & R. Gibson Homoeopathy for Everyone (BNC) 71 By experiment and observation, Hahnemann worked out the drug pictures of many remedies and laid down the principles whereby they were to be used.
2000 Newsweek 1 Jan. 66/1 Pluto Express..will make the first close-up observations of the planet and its water–ice-covered moon Charon when it arrives sometime after 2010.
2001 J. McPhee Center of Things viii. 156 The observation of one photon will determine the polarization of the other instantaneously and no matter how far apart they are—it's known as quantum teleportation.
b. spec. The measurement of the altitude of the sun (or other celestial object) by means of an astronomical instrument, in order to ascertain latitude or longitude; an instance of this. †to work an observation: to ascertain the latitude or longitude by means of calculations based on a measurement of the sun's altitude.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > cosmology > science of observation > [noun] > taking of altitudes
observation1559
star-shooting1639
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > [noun] > position > sight or observation
observation1559
sight1834
shot1867
the world > the universe > cosmology > science of observation > observe [verb (intransitive)] > ascertain latitude or longitude
to work an observation1669
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > direct or manage ship [verb (intransitive)] > work an observation or reckoning
to work an observation1669
to fudge a day's work1830
the world > the universe > cosmology > science of observation > [noun] > taking of altitudes > result
observation1882
1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 136 Longitudes and Latitudes..require longe and diligent observation.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. ii. 82 I have shewed you how to take an Observation by the Fore-Staff. The next thing..will be to shew you how to work your Observation.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 18 I..learn'd how to..take an Observation.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 738 Working an observation, reducing the altitudes or distances of heavenly bodies by calculation.
1882 E. A. Floyer Unexplored Baluchistan 396 I got capital observations, both of sun for longitude, and Polaris for latitude.
1935 C. J. Smith Intermediate Physics (ed. 2) xli. 688 From Nautical Tables, the latitude and longitude for the station where the observations are being carried out being known, the azimuth of the sun at any instant is determined.
1991 P. O'Brian Nutmeg of Consol. (1993) v. 118 We had an excellent observation of Rasalhague and the moon which confirmed not only our position by chronometer but even by our dead reckoning almost to the very minute of longitude.
8. As a mass noun: comment, animadversion. More usually as a count noun: a remark, statement, or comment prompted by something seen, heard, or noticed.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > [noun] > commenting or mentioning > comment or remark
speechc1305
mindc1350
touchc1400
to make reporturec1475
observation1564
wipe1596
remark1629
propos1816
comment1850
by-the-way1896
trailer1941
1564 P. Moore Hope of Health ii. ii. f. 20v I thought it worthie of obseruacion, that there bee not a preposterous order vsed in eatyng of diuerse meates.
1582 R. Mulcaster 1st Pt. Elementarie xiv. 96 Neither do I my self in these obseruations, so much regard, what the print will stamp well..as what the pen will write well.
1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 ii. vi. 108 Tush thats a childish obseruation.
1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. Dd3 A scattered History of those actions..with politique discourse and obseruation thereupon. View more context for this quotation
1681 (title) Some observations upon the tickling querie, viz. whether the admitting of a popish successor be the best way to preserve the Protestant religion [etc.].
1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews II. vi. vi. 207 Slipslop then fell on Fanny..concluding with an Observation that there was always something in those low-life Creatures which must eternally distinguish them from their Betters. View more context for this quotation
1790 W. Paley Horæ Paulinæ Rom. i. 8 The first passage..upon which a good deal of observation will be founded.
1846 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) ii. 8 Mrs. Chick made this impressive observation in the drawing-room.
1877 H. James American xx. 356 His guide had left him alone, with the observation that he would call Madame la Comtesse.
1914 S. Lewis Our Mr. Wrenn ii. 27 She listened..to Mr.Wrenn's observation that that was ‘an awful big hat the lady with the funny guy had on’.
1983 L. K. Bendro & A. E. Ness Re-educating Troubled Youth 129 Redl challenged his psychoanalytic colleagues with the argument that ‘surface behaviour’ was itself worthy of observation and manipulation.
2002 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 10 Mar. 19/4 Paul is..a starter-marriage survivor whose observations evoke a winning combination of laugh, wince and nod.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > that which is important > worthy of notice
notabilityc1390
notables1484
bumming sound1598
grandee1622
observable1639
remarkable1639
observanda1663
remark1675
observation1736
crowning glory1780
attentiona1806
notabilia1849
day1918
one for the (end) books (also book)1922
1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. ii. vii. 261 Insomuch that this one Nation should continue to be, the Observation and the Wonder of all the World.
Phrases
under observation.
a. Being watched closely or systematically; (being, becoming, or kept) subject to close scrutiny or monitoring, spec. as the object of scientific study under experimental or natural conditions. Cf. sense 7a, under prep. 13c.
ΚΠ
1674 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 9 130 Earthy particles and filaments, which, without this precaution, might be taken for parts of the matter itself that is under observation.
1775 R. Cumberland Choleric Man ii. iii. 23 I dread the artificial graces which young women are too apt to put on, when they act under observation.
1835 W. Kirby On Power of God in Creation of Animals II. xix. 283 No animals fall more universally under observation than the Araneidans or spiders.
1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede v. 37 She had wandered about..always recovering her air of proud self-dependence whenever she was under observation.
1871 Trans. Royal Soc. Edinb. 26 486 Of the mammals, the placentation of which most commonly comes under observation, the sow and the mare also offer well-known examples of the diffused form of placenta.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 55/1 One such star..was selected and kept under observation.
1933 E. W. Golding Electr. Measurem. xv. 526 In some forms of cathode-ray oscillograph special provision is made for photographing the wave-form under observation.
1995 Countryman Spring 74/1 Starlings feeding in a garden were under observation when it was noticed that one bird always stood at the edge of the lawn, squawking to be fed, just as fledglings do.
2000 G. F. Douglas-Sherwood Gloss. Lighthouse Service Terminol. (Assoc. Lighthouse Keepers) at False light The reflection off a nearby vertical surface, such as a cliff face or snow squall, resulting in a misleading identification of the light under observation.
b. Of a suspect, enemy, etc., or a location: (being kept) under surveillance, esp. as part of a criminal investigation or military campaign.
ΚΠ
1862 W. Leadbetter in Southern Hist. War (Confederate States Amer. War Dept.) (1864) 420 I prefered to retire to Chattanooga, disembarassing ourselves of sick, wounded, and baggage, and then returning to a favorable point on the road, hold the enemy under observation.
1883 N. Amer. Rev. July 45 He [sc. the prisoner] is, on reaching a point of probable safe release, at once restored to the rights, the privileges, and the obligations, too, of good citizenship, to be under observation until established in well-doing and re-adjusted to current affairs.
1913 in N.E.D. at Shadowed ppl. a. 9 Followed by a ‘shadow’ or spy, kept under observation.
1934 Discovery Nov. 319/2 The buildings under observation were the Great Temple, the Records Office and the Police Barracks.
1975 Economist 5 July 70/1 Two [tunnels]..are being blocked, and others are ‘under observation’.
1997 Wantage & Grove Herald 1 May (Beat Suppl.) 6/2 This is where the Neighbourhood Watch can and does come in to provide those missing components—and the miscreants can never know if and when they are under observation, a positive preventive measure in itself.
c. Medicine. Of a patient, esp. one kept in hospital: (being, kept, or becoming) subject to close scrutiny or monitoring as to the symptoms, progress, etc., of a medical condition, esp. pending diagnosis or as an aid to prescribing an appropriate treatment.
ΚΠ
1876 Harper's Mag. June 77 Beaumont, securing the co-operation of the patient, and keeping him daily under observation from the year 1825 to 1832, studied with great patience and ability the character of this liquid when withdrawn from the stomach, and the successive changes taking place in the aliment during digestion.]
1879 S. O. Vanderpoel in A. H. Buck Treat. Hygiene & Public Health II. ii. 494 A rigid quarantine should be maintained over those in hospital as well as over those under observation.
1901 E. L. Munson Theory & Pract. Mil. Hygiene xvii. 752 Individuals who have been exposed should be segregated and kept under observation until the period of incubation of the disease concerned has passed.
1934 G. B. Shaw On the Rocks (new ed.) i, in Too True to be Good 201 Twelve guineas a week at her sanatorium in the Welsh mountains, where she wants to keep you under observation for six weeks.
1952 W. Plomer Museum Pieces xxi. 178 It was thought..that he had a tropical disease, and he was under observation.
1988 Washington Post 4 Dec. d1/6 Buddy Ryan spent Wednesday night under observation after a piece of pork lodged hazardously in his throat.
Compounds
C1. General attributive (chiefly with reference to constructions, etc., used for observation).
observation aircraft n.
ΚΠ
1942 R. A. Griffin School of Citizen Soldier xxvii. 411 A tremendous change in observation aircraft is about to come.
2001 Herald (Glasgow) (Electronic ed.) 14 Mar. A flotilla of ships is taking tourists and the sky will be busy with observation aircraft.
observation balloon n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > balloons and airships > [noun] > balloon > types of balloon
fire balloon1754
Montgolfier1783
hot-air balloon1843
sausage1858
sausage balloon1874
observation balloon1909
obbo1925
aerostat1974
1909 London Mag. Sept. 15/2 He made numerous ascents in captive observation balloons.
1983 J. D. Harvey Tumbling Mirth (1986) 80 Speaking as an old infantryman, I should like to pay tribute to a very special band of RAF kite-balloon pilots who manned the first observation balloons.
observation corps n.
ΚΠ
1862 N. B. Forrest Let. 6 Aug. in War of Rebellion (U.S. War Dept.) (1898) 1st Ser. LII. ii. 338 Several citizens informed me that a force of 12,000 or 15,000 of the enemy had come in this morning. I immediately sent forward a reconnoitering force and ascertained that it was only an observation corps, which remained but a very few minutes.
1922 19th Cent. Jan. 48 The establishment of a British observation corps, similar to the ‘Piffers’ of later times.
1999 Global News Wire (Nexis) 11 Aug. The work will be carried out in two directions, one of which is political enlightenment of the population and formation of an observation corps.
observation deck n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > airfield or airport > [noun] > airport > terminal building > part for observing only
observation deck1941
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > spacecraft > parts of spacecraft > [noun] > deck or gallery on fictional spacecraft
observation gallery1938
observation deck1941
1941 New Yorker 20 Dec. 9/3 There are posts on Staten Island, in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, and there is that much-photographed one for Manhattan on the observation deck of the Empire State Building.
2000 Ralph 7 July 86/1 One day he was loitering in the foyer and found the door to the observation deck unlocked.
observation duty n.
ΚΠ
1962 Lancet 24 Nov. 1103/1 Some 60%..will go forward to the next stage of observation duty..under the charge of a senior Samaritan.
observation gallery n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > spacecraft > parts of spacecraft > [noun] > deck or gallery on fictional spacecraft
observation gallery1938
observation deck1941
1938 Amer. Home Jan. 14/1 In planning our grounds we kept the formal area in front of the house. In the rear, with a paved terrace as an observation gallery, we visioned a small lawn surrounded with a perfect tangle of trees.
1993 K. S. Robinson Green Mars (new ed.) 439 So now, as the grinning Earthborn hydrologists showed her as she stepped into an observation gallery cut into the side of the lava tube.
observation hole n.
ΚΠ
1876 H. T. Williams Pacific Tourist 228 The vigilant eye will be rewarded by a sight of it [sc. Donner Lake] through the observation holes in the snow sheds.
1991 Salt Water Sportsman Feb. 25/3 Only the door or hatchway, and possibly an observation hole in the top of the canopy, is furlable and the entire raft remains enclosed.
observation period n.
ΚΠ
1895 Proc. Royal Soc. 58 466 The curve is frequently seen to be commencing its depression towards the end of the observation period.
1992 Internat. Jrnl. Food Sci. & Nutrition 43 158/1 The experience of watery stools, abdominal cramping, or gaseousness..during the 5h observation period classified the subject as lactose-intolerant.
observation plane n.
ΚΠ
1920 T. M. Knappen Wings of War xxi. 202 The two-place observation 'plane has to fight an unequal battle before it can get away with its information.
2000 Canoeist Apr. 38/1 Their only encounter with civilization had been earlier when the tiny army observation plane had flown low over them.
observation platform n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > place where view obtained > [noun] > place of observation
speculatory1619
observatory1878
observation platform1890
1890 Science 15 39/2 An observation car with a large open room luxuriously furnished, as well as an observation platform.
1957 D. Robins Noble One x. 103 She could imagine him climbing up the ladders to the observation platforms on the tree tops.
1995 FHM Sept. 77/1 During the First World War planes were used only as eye-in-the-sky observation platforms to guide the on-ground artillery.
observation post n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > place where view obtained > [noun] > look-out place
garret1340
tooting-towera1382
watch-house1482
watchtower1544
watch-stand1610
beacon1611
mount1612
belfry1631
lookout1662
mirador1672
lookout tower1748
toot1770
watch point1893
observation post1909
lookout station1928
1909 Westm. Gaz. 17 Sept. 3/1 The way of this little bird is to sit on its observation post.
1974 ‘K. Royce’ Trap Spider vii. 124 I could see the entrance... I had as good an observation post as any.
1992 Independent 21 Dec. 5/2 Where the occupier of premises used by police as an observation post feared harassment..the judge was entitled to refuse a request for disclosure.
observation room n.
ΚΠ
1889 Atlantic Monthly June 724/2 Surmounting this and 124 feet higher is a small observation room.
1954 Amer. Sociol. Rev. 19 778/2 The output of the pre-amplifier connects to a monitor speaker in the observation room.
1990 S. Miller Family Pictures i. v. 83 His wild shouts made the speaker mounted on the wall in the observation room crackle with static.
observation terrace n.
ΚΠ
1968 N.Y. City (Michelin Tire Corp.) 129 An observation terrace..offers a splendid view of the airport.
2000 Gazette (Montreal) (Nexis) 21 Oct. h1 We are sipping quite decent cappuccino on the observation terrace of Victoria Peak.
observation tower n.
ΚΠ
1888 Overland Monthly Dec. 572 A continuous outer wall, portholes, and observation towers.
1942 Time 14 Sept. 29/1 Inside a sturdy observation tower a mile from the exploding block busters which the Army is now testing.
1994 Equinox June 86/2 The ubiquitous Cape Island boats lie at the wharves beside draggers.., tuna boats, with observation towers, [etc.].
observation vehicle n.
ΚΠ
1972 Police Rev. 10 Nov. 1444/1 They merge into almost any background—and for this reason they are the colours selected for Police observation vehicles.
observation window n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > place where view obtained > [noun] > hole or window
oillet1333
tooting-holea1382
tote-hole1561
peepholea1570
eyehole1655
eyelet1762
eyelet hole1774
eye-loop1803
Judas hole1858
peek-hole1867
oillet pane1873
squint1891
observation window1897
viewport1942
port1949
1897 R. Kipling Captains Courageous ix, in McClure's Mag. Mar. 430/1 The secretary and typewriter sat together..by the plate-glass observation-window at the rear end.
1974 P. Dickinson Poison Oracle i. 7 Wesley Morris stared at Dinah [sc. an ape] through the observation window.
1999 M. Van Walleghen Last Neanderthal 68 Unless, of course, one counts at the foggy observation window all their several amputations and propeller scars.
C2.
observation-based adj. (of a description) based on observation rather than theory.
ΚΠ
1965 Language 41 212 The value of observation-based description.
1995 Sociol. Theory 13 304 Descriptions of ritual that can be both observation-based and demonstrably relevant.
observation basis n. Philosophy a set of observation statements constituting the fundamental, agreed observations associated with a particular branch of science, scientific problem, etc.
ΚΠ
1965 P. Caws Philos. of Sci. xxiv. 182 The observation basis must consist of carefully formulated protocol sentences.
1976 Jrnl. Philos. 73 310 When analyzing a composite theory of geometry plus physics, one can isolate an observation basis..from the theory in its entirety.
observation car n. chiefly North American a railway carriage designed to provide a good view of passing scenery.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > rail travel > rolling stock > [noun] > railway wagon or carriage > carriage designed to carry passengers > other types of passenger carriage
caravan1821
private car1826
Jim Crow car1835
ladies' car1841
saloon car or carriage1842
palace car1844
ladies' carriage1847
parliamentary carriage1849
parlour car1859
composite carriage1868
Pullman1869
observation car1872
first1873
compo1878
bogie carriage1880
chair-car1880
club car1893
corridor carriage1893
tourist-car1895
birdcage1900
dog box1905
corridor coach1911
vista-dome1945
Stolypin1970
1872 Harper's Mag. May 876/1 You look out of the open ‘observation car’ as you sweep down from a height of 7000 feet.
1936 P. G. Wodehouse Laughing Gas ii. 17 These observation cars, in case you don't know, are where the guard's van is on an English train.
1995 Abilities Spring 8/2 Another feature of The Canadian was the observation car with glass-domed roofs.
observation cell n. a cell for prisoners or detainees who are being kept under observation.
ΚΠ
1898 Westm. Gaz. 1 Oct. 7/1 The deceased..was placed in an observation cell, being visited every quarter of an hour. The door would not be opened every time, but he would look through the observation place in the door.
1994 Scotsman (Electronic ed.) The spokesman also refused to say whether Torres had been in a special observation cell, where inmates thought likely to take their lives are checked every 15 minutes.
2001 Courier (Dundee) (Electronic ed.) 11 May Days later he was an inmate in a federal prison beside gangsters, the shock of which saw him placed in an observation cell after staff mistakenly believed him to be suicidal.
observation mine n. a mine detonated remotely by an observer (see quot. 1973).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > explosive device > [noun] > land-mine
petard1566
powder minea1639
fougade1643
bomb-chest1704
caisson1704
globe of compression1771
torpedo1786
fougasse1832
stifler1836
landmine1875
observation mine1886
egg1917
1886 Pall Mall Gaz. 19 Aug. 10/1 ‘Observation mines’ are now automatically fired by a most ingenious method.
1915 Chambers's Jrnl. May 293/1 There are two kinds of submarine mines—namely, the ‘observation’ mine, which is fired by an observer on shore..and the ‘contact’ mine.
1973 J. Quick Dict. of Weapons & Mil. Terms Observation mine, a system in which a mine is moored below a contact buoy. If a ship strikes the buoy, a signal is displayed to an observer. If the observer identifies the ship as belonging to the enemy, he detonates the mine.
observation officer n. Military = observer n. 3b.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > leader or commander > officer according to function > [noun] > officers with other specific functions
Master of the Artillery1512
trench-master1577
supernumerary1644
trench-sergeanta1753
beach-master1874
observation officer1904
censor1914
cipher officer1915
range safety officer1942
1904 Daily Chron. 22 June 9/3 The aim of the Japs..was deadly true, and the observation officers were able to see, through their field-glasses, men falling in every direction.
1991 A. Beevor Inside Brit. Army (rev. ed.) xv. 219 First went a reconnaissance screen of the 16th/5th Lancers, accompanied by artillery forward observation officers.
observation report n. Philosophy an observation statement.
ΚΠ
1945 C. G. Hempel in Mind 54 97 If we are given an observation report to the effect that a certain object a is a metal and is heated [etc.].
1974 M. Hesse Struct. Sci. Inference i. 35 The ‘meaning’ of observation reports is ‘theory-laden’.
observation sentence n. [after German Beobachtungssatz (M. Schlick 1934, in Erkenntnis 4 90)] Philosophy (in a scientific theory) a sentence that directly reports or relates to observed phenomena.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > empiricism > [noun] > observationalism > elements of
observation sentence1936
observation statement1940
1936 Jrnl. Philos. 33 41 In this case the mode of verification will be the formulation of certain observation-sentences about Smith's body.
1970 W. V. Quine Philos. of Logic i. 5 Usually observation sentences are..individually responsive to observation. This is what distinguishes observation sentences from theoretical sentences.
1992 J. Dancy Introd. to Contemp. Epistemology (BNC) 99 These asymmetries revolve..around the notion of an observation sentence.
observation statement n. [after German Beobachtungssatz; compare earlier observation sentence n.] Philosophy a report of a directly observed phenomenon, esp. in a scientific experiment.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > empiricism > [noun] > observationalism > elements of
observation sentence1936
observation statement1940
1940 Mind 49 363 Emphasis is laid upon the fact that not all statements of a scientific theory need be capable of translation..into observation statements.
1992 A. F. Chalmers What is this Thing called Sci.? (BNC) 62 An observer may be led to accept some observation statement on the basis of a perception and yet that observation statement may be false.
observation term n. Philosophy a term used in reporting directly observed phenomena.
ΚΠ
1944 Philos. & Phenomenol. Res. 4 404 If all the terms of a given sentence were either defined by or reduced to observation terms, there would be at least an infinite class of observation sentences from which the former could be derived.
1977 A. Giddens Stud. in Social & Polit. Theory i. 74 A phenomenalist or physicalist standpoint connects observation terms unproblematically to entities that exist.
observation ward n. a hospital ward for patients under observation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > places for the sick or injured > [noun] > hospital or infirmary > hospital ward > types of ward
foul ward1734
day ward1801
eye ward1828
casualty ward1836
scarlet ward1888
out-ward1890
observation ward1908
open ward1919
casualty1927
post-op1929
Nightingale ward1930
private1942
surgical1961
SCBU1968
NICU1971
pre-op1991
1908 Lancet 26 Dec. 1943/1 (heading) Mental observation wards in Glasgow Parish Hospital.
1984 J. Frame Envoy from Mirror City (1987) xv. 114 In the admission and observation ward the ratio was one nurse to five patients.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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