English
noise
Noise comes from Middle English noyse ‘a noise’, and goes back to Old French noise.
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400noise‘a dispute’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500noyse‘a noise’
- Englishearliest quotation 1526noise
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400noise‘a dispute’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500noyse‘a noise’
- Englishearliest quotation 1526noise
Earliest quotation: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “When this was noysed aboute, the multitude cam togedder…”
The story
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. Potentially a reduced form of Old French enoiier (‘to bother, to disturb’), from Latin inodio (‘to make repulsive’) - which would make it a doublet of English annoy (‘to bother, to irritate’) and English ennui (‘boredom, jadedness, depression’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *néh₂us ‘boat’
navy, naval, navigation, navigate, navigator, navigable, nao, nau, nef, nacelle, navicular, 9 more
through Ancient Greek ναῦς ‘ship’
nautical, aeronautics, nautilus, astronautics, 3 more
through Ancient Greek ναυσία ‘seasickness’
Today it means
noun Various sounds, usually unwanted or unpleasant.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old French noise / noise