noise

English

Etymology

From Middle English noise, from Old French noise (“a dispute, wrangle, strife, noise”), of uncertain origin. According to some, from Latin nausia, nausea (“disgust, nausea”); according to others, from Latin noxia (“hurt, harm, damage, injury”); but neither explanation is satisfactory in regard to either form or sense.

Pronunciation

• enPR: noiz, IPA^(key): /nɔɪz/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔɪz

Noun

noise (countable and uncountable, plural noises)

1. Various sounds, usually unwanted or unpleasant.

   He knew that it was trash day, when the garbage collectors made all the noise.

   • (Can we date this quote?) Francis Bacon

     The heavens turn about in a most rapid motion without noise to us perceived.

   • 1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax:

     Charles had not been employed above six months at Darracott Place, but he was not such a whopstraw as to make the least noise in the performance of his duties when his lordship was out of humour.

2. Sound or signal generated by random fluctuations.
3. (technology) Unwanted part of a signal. (Signal to noise ratio)
4. (genetics) The measured level of variation in gene expression among cells, regardless of source, within a supposedly identical population.
5. Rumour or complaint.

   The problems with the new computer system are causing a lot of noise at Head Office.

   • (Can we date this quote?) T. Baker

     What noise have we had about transplantation of diseases and transfusion of blood!

   • (Can we date this quote?) Spectator

     Socrates lived in Athens during the great plague which has made so much noise in all ages.

6. (obsolete) Music, in general; a concert; also, a company of musicians; a band.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Ben Jonson

     The king has his noise of gypsies.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Milton to this entry?)

7. (music) A genre of rock music that uses static and other non-musical sounds, also influenced by art rock.

Synonyms

See also: Thesaurus:sound

• (Various sounds): sound

Hyponyms

• (Various sounds): bang, boom, crash, thud

Derived terms

• signal-to-noise
• noiseless
• noises off
• noisy

Translations

various sounds, usually unwanted

• Arabic: ضَوْضَاء‎‎ m (ḍawḍāʾ)
• Armenian: աղմուկ (hy) (ałmuk), աղաղակ (hy) (ałałak)
• Belarusian: шум m (šum)
• Breton: trouz (br) m, trouzoù (br) pl
• Bulgarian: шум (bg) m (šum), шумотевица (bg) f (šumotévica), дандания (bg) f (dandaníja)
• Burmese: အသံ (my) (a.sam)
• Catalan: soroll (ca) m
• Chechen: гІовгІа (gІowgІa)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 雜音 (zaap⁶ jam¹), 噪音 (cou³ jam¹)

  Mandarin: 噪音 (zh) (zàoyīn), 響聲 (zh), 响声 (zh) (xiǎngsheng)

• Chukchi: ӄуԓиԓьэт (quḷiḷʹėt)
• Czech: hluk (cs) m
• Danish: støj (da) c, larm (da) c, spektakel c
• Dutch: lawaai (nl) n, herrie (nl) f, geluid (nl) n
• Esperanto: bruo
• Finnish: melu (fi)
• French: bruit (fr) m, vacarme (fr) m, brouhaha (fr) m
• Friulian: romôr m
• Galician: barullo (gl) m
• Georgian: ხმაური (xmauri)
• German: Lärm (de) m, Geräusch (de) n, Krach (de) m (as in Krach machen: to make a lot of noise)
• Greek: θόρυβος (el) m (thóryvos)
• Hebrew: רעש‎‎ (he) m (ra'ash)
• Hindi: शोर (hi) (śor), रव (hi) (rav), आहट (hi) (āhaṭ)
• Hungarian: zaj (hu), zörej (hu)
• Ido: bruiso (io)
• Indonesian: kebisingan (id)
• Irish: torann (ga) m, callán m
• Italian: rumore (it) m
• Japanese: 雑音 (ざつおん, zatsuon), 騒音 (ja) (そうおん, sōon), ノイズ (noizu)
• Kabuverdianu: barudju
• Khmer: សូរ (km) (soo)
• Korean: 소음 (ko) (so-eum)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: ده‌نگه‌ده‌گ‎‎ (dengedeg)

• Ladin: fuera f
• Lao: ສຽງ (lo) (sīang)
• Latgalian: trūksnis, žvyuksts
• Latin: strepitus m
• Latvian: troksnis
• Macedonian: шум m (šum)
• Malay: bunyi
• Maori: matioke, tawē, haunene, ngē
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: støy m, larm m

  Nynorsk: støy m, larm m

• Occitan: bruch (oc) m
• Old English: breahtm m, cearm m, gehlyd n, gehruxl n, gestund n, geþun n, hleoþor n, hlyd n, hlyding f, hream m, ungerydnes f, woma m
• Persian: صدا‎‎ (fa) (sedā), نوفه‎‎ (fa) (nufe)
• Polish: hałas (pl) m, szum (pl) m
• Portuguese: barulho (pt) m, ruído (pt) m
• Romanian: gălăgie (ro) f, larmă (ro) f, vacarm (ro) n,, zgomot (ro) n
• Russian: шум (ru) m (šum)
• Scottish Gaelic: fuaim m, faram m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: шум m, бука f

  Roman: šum (sh) m, buka (sh) f

• Slovak: hluk (sk) m
• Slovene: hrup (sl) m
• Spanish: ruido (es) m
• Svan: გულ (gul)
• Swahili: sura (sw)
• Swedish: oljud (sv) n, buller (sv) n
• Tagalog: ingay
• Thai: เสียง (th) (sǐiang)
• Tibetan: སྐད་ཅོར (skad cor)
• Tok Pisin: nois
• Turkish: gürültü (tr)
• Ukrainian: шум (uk) m (šum)
• Vietnamese: tiếng ồn (vi)
• Walloon: brut (wa) m, araedje (wa) f

sound or signal generated by random fluctuations

• Bulgarian: шум (bg) m (šum)
• Catalan: soroll (ca) m
• Czech: šum (cs) m
• Danish: lyd (da) c
• Dutch: ruis (nl) m
• Finnish: kohina (fi)
• French: bruit (fr) m
• Galician: ruído (gl) m
• German: Rauschen (de) n, Störung (de) f
• Hebrew: רעש‎‎ (he) m
• Japanese: ノイズ (noizu)
• Polish: szum (pl) m

• Portuguese: ruído (pt) m
• Romanian: zgomot (ro) n, sunet (ro) n
• Russian: шум (ru) m (šum)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: шум m

  Roman: šum (sh) m

• Slovene: hrup (sl) m
• Spanish: ruido (es) m
• Swahili: sura (sw)
• Swedish: brus (sv) n
• Tok Pisin: nois
• Walloon: brut (wa) m

technical: unwanted part of a signal

• Bulgarian: шум (bg) m (šum)
• Catalan: soroll (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 噪音 (zh) (zàoyīn)

• Czech: šum (cs) m
• Danish: støj (da) c
• Dutch: ruis (nl) m
• Finnish: kohina (fi)
• French: bruit (fr) m
• German: Rauschen (de) n
• Hebrew: רעש‎‎ (he) m
• Persian: نویز‎‎ (fa) (noyz)

• Polish: szum (pl) m
• Portuguese: ruído (pt) m
• Romanian: perturbație (ro) f, răsunet (ro) n, zgomot de semnal n
• Russian: шум (ru) m (šum), шумы́ (ru) m pl (šumý)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: шум m

  Roman: šum (sh) m

• Slovene: šum m
• Spanish: ruido (es) m
• Swahili: sura (sw)
• Swedish: brus (sv) n

level of variation in gene expression

• Finnish: kohina (fi)
• French: bruit (fr)
• Italian: rumore (it)

• Portuguese: ruído (pt)
• Spanish: ruido (es)

rumour or complaint

• French: bruit (fr) m (dated)

genre of rock music using non-musical sounds

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Lithuanian: ^{(please verify)} triukšmas m
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} ruido (es) m
• Swahili: ^{(please verify)} kilele (sw)

• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} శబ్దం (te) (śabdaṃ), ^{(please verify)} మోత (te) (mōta), ^{(please verify)} గోల (te) (gōla)
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} gürültü (tr), ^{(please verify)} patırtı (tr), ^{(please verify)} şıltak

References

(Genetics meaning) "Noise in Gene Expression: Origins, Consequences, and Control." Jonathan M. Raser and Erin K. O'Shea (2005). Science. 309(5743):2010-2013.

Verb

noise (third-person singular simple present noises, present participle noising, simple past and past participle noised)

1. (intransitive) To make a noise; to sound.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Milton to this entry?)

2. (transitive) To spread news of; to spread as rumor or gossip.
   • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Acts II:

     When this was noysed aboute, the multitude cam togedder and were astonyed, because that every man herde them speake in his awne tongue.

Translations

make noise

• Ido: brusar

• Swedish: brusa (sv), väsnas (sv)

Further reading

• noise in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• noise in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• noise at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• NESOI, Senoi, eosin

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French

Etymology

From Old French noise, possibly from Latin nausia, nausea, or alternatively noxia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nwaz/

Noun

noise f (plural noises)

1. (archaic or literary) quarrel, argument

Derived terms

• chercher des noises

Further reading

• “noise” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• noies

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Middle French

Etymology

Old French noise.

Noun

noise f (plural noises)

1. noise

Descendants

• French: noise

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Old French

Etymology

Origin uncertain; according to some, from Latin nausia, nausea (“disgust, nausea”), compare Old Occitan nauza (“noise, quarrel”); according to others, from Latin noxia (“hurt, harm, damage, injury”); but neither explanation is satisfactory in regard to either form or sense.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnoj.zə/

Noun

noise f (oblique plural noises, nominative singular noise, nominative plural noises)

1. dispute, argument
2. noise, sound

Descendants

• English: noise
• French: noise