"noise" = reputation, fame, in 1786; postdating --1556

[Dan Goncharoff]

I think the modern synonym is "buzz".

DanG

On Sun, Apr 24, 2011 at 11:47 AM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:

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> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      "noise" = reputation, fame, in 1786; postdating --1556
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> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>      NOISE
> The love of noise, though a passion observable in all times and
> countries, has been so predominant of late years, and give rise to so
> many modern customs, that it is by no means unworthy of an author's
> attention.
>      In many instances this passion is subordinate to, and proceeds
> from another, which is not less universal, and no less commendable; I
> mean the love of fame. Noise, or sound, generally has been considered
> as a means whereby thousands have rendered themselves famous in their
> generation, and this is the reason, why to be famous, and to make a
> noise in the world, are commonly understood as equivalent expressions.
>
> [Almost as definitive as a dictionary?]
>
> Pennsylvania Packet [Philadelphia], Aug. 21, 1786, page 3, col. 3.  EAN.
>
> "noise" noun, sense 6.b., postdates OED3 (Dec. 2003) --1556.   I
> suggest "The love of noise" fits this sense, separately from the "to
> make a noise", which has persisted into the 20th century (sense 6.c.).
>
> Joel
>
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