the meeting began on a promising note

note [nəʊt]

note ⇒ 1 (a), 1 (c), 1 (d), 1 (f), 1 (g), 1 (h) mot ⇒ 1 (b) billet (de banque) ⇒ 1 (e), 1 (i) ton ⇒ 1 (f) remarquer ⇒ 2 (a), 2 (c) noter ⇒ 2 (a), 2 (b) observer ⇒ 2 (c)

1 noun

(a) (record, reminder) note f;

∎ to take or to make notes prendre des notes;

∎ she spoke from/without notes elle a parlé en s'aidant/sans s'aider de notes;

∎ make a note of everything you spend notez toutes vos dépenses;

∎ figurative I must make a note to myself to ask her about it il faut que je pense à le lui demander;

∎ he made a mental note to look for it later il se promit de le chercher plus tard;

∎ they have no note of any such meeting ils n'ont aucune trace de cette réunion;

∎ figurative to compare notes échanger ses impressions;

∎ University lecture notes notes fpl (de cours)

(b) (short letter) mot m;

∎ she left a note to say she'd call back later elle a laissé un mot pour dire qu'elle repasserait plus tard

(c) (formal communication) note f;

∎ diplomatic note note f diplomatique;

∎ a doctor's or sick note un certificat ou une attestation du médecin (traitant); School un certificat (médical)

(d) (annotation, commentary) note f, annotation f;

∎ notes in the margin notes fpl dans la ou en marge;

∎ editor's note note f de la rédaction;

∎ see note 6 voir note 6;

∎ programme notes notes fpl sur le programme

(e) British (banknote) billet m (de banque);

∎ ten pound note billet m de dix livres

(f) (sound, tone) ton m, note f; figurative (feeling, quality) note f;

∎ the piercing note of the siren le son strident de la sirène;

∎ there was a note of contempt in her voice il y avait du mépris dans sa voix;

∎ the meeting began on a promising note la réunion débuta sur une note optimiste;

∎ on a more serious/a happier note pour parler de choses plus sérieuses/plus gaies;

∎ the flowers add a note of colour les fleurs apportent une touche de couleur;

∎ her speech struck a warning note son discours était un signal d'alarme;

∎ to strike the right/a false note (speech) sonner juste/faux; (behaviour) être/ne pas être dans le ton;

∎ literary to sound the note of war parler de guerre

(g) Music note f; British (piano key) touche f;

∎ to hit a high note sortir un aigu;

∎ the black notes les touches fpl noires

(h) (notice, attention)

∎ to take note of sth prendre (bonne) note de qch

(i) Commerce

∎ (promissory) note, note of hand billet m à ordre

2 transitive verb

(a) (observe, notice) remarquer, noter;

∎ he noted that the window was open il remarqua que la fenêtre était ouverte;

∎ we have noted several omissions nous avons relevé plusieurs oublis;

∎ note that she didn't actually refuse notez (bien) qu'elle n'a pas vraiment refusé;

∎ please note that payment is now due veuillez effectuer le règlement dans les plus brefs délais;

∎ it should be noted that… il est à noter que…

(b) (write down) noter, écrire;

∎ I noted her address j'ai noté son adresse;

∎ all sales are noted in this book toutes les ventes sont enregistrées ou consignées dans ce carnet

(c) (mention) (faire) remarquer ou observer;

∎ as I noted earlier comme je l'ai fait remarquer précédemment

3 of note adjective

∎ a musician of note un musicien éminent ou renommé;

∎ a musician of some note un musicien d'une certaine renommée;

∎ everyone of note was there tous les gens importants ou qui comptent étaient là;

∎ nothing of note has happened il ne s'est rien passé d'important, aucun événement majeur ne s'est produit;

∎ we have achieved little of note nous n'avons pas fait grand-chose d'important

►► Finance note issue émission f fiduciaire;

note issue facility autorisation f d'émettre les billets de banque

➲ note down separable transitive verb

(write down) noter, écrire;

∎ I'd better note down your e-mail address je vais prendre votre adresse électronique

SUBJECT AREA: Electricity, Land transport, Railways and locomotives

[br]

[br]

[br]

Davidson, son of an Aberdeen merchant, attended Marischal College, Aberdeen, between 1819 and 1822: his studies included mathematics, mechanics and chemistry. He subsequently joined his father's grocery business, which from time to time received enquiries for yeast: to meet these, Davidson began to manufacture yeast for sale and from that start built up a successful chemical manufacturing business with the emphasis on yeast and dyes. About 1837 he started to experiment first with electric batteries and then with motors. He invented a form of electromagnetic engine in which soft iron bars arranged on the periphery of a wooden cylinder, parallel to its axis, around which the cylinder could rotate, were attracted by fixed electromagnets. These were energized in turn by current controlled by a simple commutaring device. Electric current was produced by his batteries. His activities were brought to the attention of Michael Faraday and to the scientific world in general by a letter from Professor Forbes of King's College, Aberdeen. Davidson declined to patent his inventions, believing that all should be able freely to draw advantage from them, and in order to afford an opportunity for all interested parties to inspect them an exhibition was held at 36 Union Street, Aberdeen, in October 1840 to demonstrate his "apparatus actuated by electro-magnetic power". It included: a model locomotive carriage, large enough to carry two people, that ran on a railway; a turning lathe with tools for visitors to use; and a small printing machine. In the spring of 1842 he put on a similar exhibition in Edinburgh, this time including a sawmill. Davidson sought support from railway companies for further experiments and the construction of an electromagnetic locomotive; the Edinburgh exhibition successfully attracted the attention of the proprietors of the Edinburgh 585\& Glasgow Railway (E \& GR), whose line had been opened in February 1842. Davidson built a full-size locomotive incorporating his principle, apparently at the expense of the railway company. The locomotive weighed 7 tons: each of its two axles carried a cylinder upon which were fastened three iron bars, and four electromagnets were arranged in pairs on each side of the cylinders. The motors he used were reluctance motors, the power source being zinc-iron batteries. It was named Galvani and was demonstrated on the E \& GR that autumn, when it achieved a speed of 4 mph (6.4 km/h) while hauling a load of 6 tons over a distance of 1 1/2 miles (2.4 km); it was the first electric locomotive. Nevertheless, further support from the railway company was not forthcoming, although to some railway workers the locomotive seems to have appeared promising enough: they destroyed it in Luddite reaction. Davidson staged a further exhibition in London in 1843 without result and then, the cost of battery chemicals being high, ceased further experiments of this type. He survived long enough to see the electric railway become truly practicable in the 1880s.

[br]

PJGR / GW