N

N
  (ɛn)
  the fourteenth letter of the modern, and thirteenth of the ancient Roman alphabet, represents historically the Greek nū and the Semitic nun. The earlier Greek forms were {egnu1} and {egnu2}, corresponding to the Phœnician 𐤍. The sound usually denoted by the letter is a voiced nasal consonant with front closure (the point of the tongue touching the teeth or the fore part of the palate). It is, however, also capable of being used as a sonant or vowel, here denoted by ((ə)n), as in bidden (ˈbɪd(ə)n), bitten (ˈbɪt(ə)n), slacken (ˈslæk(ə)n). With one or other of these values the letter is very frequent in English, and is silent only in a few cases at the end of syllables after l and m, as kiln, damn, condemn, contemn, limn, hymn, solemn, column.
  Before the sounds (g) and (k) the letter n is also employed in English to denote a nasal with back tongue-closure, in this dictionary distinguished as (ŋ), as in finger (ˈfɪŋgə(r)), think (θɪŋk). When not followed by these sounds, this back-nasal is expressed by the digraph ng, as in hang (hæŋ), sing, song. (On the difference in pronunciation between finger and singer, etc., see the note to the letter G.)
  In Scottish texts of the 15–16th centuries the change of Latin and French gn to ng is frequently represented in the spelling of such words as sing sign, ring, reng reign, and ngn is common between vowels, as resingnit resigned, mangnitude, etc.
  2. In OE. n is very frequent as the terminal letter of inflectional syllables, as in the -an of the infinitive and the oblique cases of weak nouns. In southern texts this n is always retained, but in the north it appears to have been generally dropped by the middle of the 10th century. In ME. the retention or dropping of the letter varied in the different midland and southern dialects. On the other hand, the -en of strong past pples., which became -ë in southern dialects, was retained in the north as in modern English.
  In inflectional syllables (as in reading, writing, etc.) -ng has in many dialects been reduced to n, and this pronunciation (usually called ‘dropping one's g's’) may sometimes be heard even from educated speakers.
  3. In ME. the n of the indefinite article an is frequently transferred to a following word beginning with a vowel (while a converse process has given such forms as adder, apron, and auger). The forms thus produced occasionally alliterate with words properly beginning with n, and in one or two cases (as newt and nickname) have finally established themselves in the language. The following are examples of the practice from ME. and early modern texts.

c 1220 Bestiary 503 in O.E. Misc. 16 Tu wuldes seien..ðat it were a neilond. a 1400–50 Alexander 1066 Alexander..him a narawe hent. c 1420 Anturs Arth. 349 (Irel. MS.) This is a nayre and a knyȝt. c 1420 Avow. Arth. xv, As he neghet bi a noke. c 1420 J. Page Siege Rouen (Camden) 18 A negge at ixd. a nappyle at xd. 1448 Paston Lett. I. 74 On..smot hym on the hede with a nege [= edge] tole. 1519 Knaresborough Wills (Surtees) I. 8 To Richard Hardestie ..a nox. 1532 in Marsden Sel. Pleas Crt. Adm. (Selden) 37 It shall be lefull for the said master to take in a nable lodysman. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 36 An ax and a nads. 1609 MS. Acc. St. John's Hosp., Canterb., For sending a letter to Lonndon and the retorning of a nanser.

  b. A similar transference also takes place with the n of myn, mine, and þīn, thyn, thine. (See also own a. 1 ε, nain, naunt, neam, nuncle.)

c 1320 Sir Tristr. 921 Mark, mi nem, to se. Ibid. 2150 Mark, þi nem. Ibid. 2135 Sweet ysonde, þi nare! 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2467 Þerfore I eþe þe..to com to þy naunt. a 1400–50 Alexander 1356 (D), I vndertake it..tyre is þi nawne. c 1420 Sir Amadace (Camden) liii, I haue a doȝtur, that my nayre ho isse. 1439 E.E. Wills (1882) 118 My Noych with my Baleys. c 1530 Redforde Wit & Science (1848) 21 Foorth shal I bete thy narse, now. 1545 Test. Ebor. VI. 225, I give to my nawnte..the graie horse.

  c. More rarely the n is derived from the old dative of the def. article: see ale 2 and nonce¹.

a 1330 Rowland & V. 389 At þe nende of þritti niȝt. Ibid. 581 When it com to þe neue.

  B. I. 1. The letter used to represent the sound.

c 1000 ælfric Gram. (Z.) 6 Semivocales syndon seofan, f, l, m, n, r, s, x. 1530 Palsgr. Introd. p. xix, M, N, and R..never lese theyr sounde,..excepte only N, whan he commeth in the thyrde parson plurell of verbes after E. c 1620 A. Hume Brit. Tongue 12 The top of the tongue stryking on the inward teeth formes d, l, n, r, s, t, and z. 1668 Wilkins Real Char. iii. xii. 367 The reason why this Letter N, and L, and R, are for the most part, both in Greek and Latin immutable. 1710 Steele & Addison Tatler No. 260 ¶5 Which would..pronounce the Letters M. or N. and in short, do all the Functions of a Genuine and Natural Nose. 1727–38 Chambers Cycl. N, In the French the n is frequently a mere nasal vowel. 1841 Latham Eng. Lang. 108 Of the Liquids it may be predicated..that n is allied to the Series t. 1886 T. L. Kington-Oliphant New English I. 257 The n is prefixed, as in neke name for eke name.

  b. In Printing used as a unit of measurement (freq. en: cf. em); also n-quadrat.

1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing xiii. ¶1 Some [types] are n thick; that is to say, n Quadrat thick, viz. half so thick as the Body is high. 1824 J. Johnson Typogr. II. 65 The use of the n-quadrat in spacing must be guided by circumstances. Ibid. 138 We always indent an m and an n, or even two m's. 1892 Academy 3 Sept. 199/3, 49,000 American ems (equal to 98,000 English ens).

  c. Used with reference to its shape.

1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 810 The loops being..made to assume the outline of the letter N. Ibid., In one case where N-like bends were produced. 1899 J. G. Millais Breath fr. Veldt 55 The birds alighting in the background are represented in their usual N-shaped formation.

  2. Used to indicate that the name of a person is to be inserted by the reader or speaker. † Also put instead of a particular day.

c 1000 Oratio Poetica 1 in Be Domes Dæᵹe 36 Thænne gemiltsað þe N...ðeoda þrym-Cyningc. 14.. Eng. Fragm. Med. Service-Bks. 6, I. N. take the N. to myn wedded wyf. c 1440 Myrc Festial 260 Such a day N. ȝe schull haue Seynt Lukes day. 1552 Bk. Com. Prayer, Priv. Baptism, Yf thou be not baptysed already, N, I baptyse thee in the name of the Father [etc.]. 1574 Reg. Privy Council Scot. II. 402, I, N, now electit Provest (or Baillie) of the Burgh.

  3. Used as a distinguishing letter, to denote one of a series of things, a point in a diagram, etc.

1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 28 Fasten these staples as at NN to the Main-plate. 1733 Tull Horse-Hoeing Husb. xxi. (Dubl.) 301 The Plow-Tail consists of the Beam N; the Coulter O [etc.]. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XI. 723/1 At N is a dove-tailed piece of brass. 1873 Skeat Piers Plowman Pref. p. xlvii, I had intended to collate it, denoting it by the letter N. 1884 Pall Mall G. 14 Aug. 10/1 The two policemen connected with the N division.

  4. a. In Math. used to indicate an indefinite number. to the n{supt}{suph} (power), to any required power; hence fig. to any extent, to the utmost. Also used in place of bi-, di-, tri-, etc., in words (e.g. n-ary).

1852 Smedley L. Arundel xxiii, Minerva was great upon the occasion; starched to the n{supt}{suph}. 1873 G. Salmon Treat. Higher Plane Curves (ed. 2) p. xi, Number of points which determine a n-ic. 1885 Pall Mall G. 21 Mar. 1/2 It is the n{supt}{suph} power of man. 1897 Edin. Rev. July 4 The Neapolitan..is an Italian to the n{supt}{suph} degree. 1903 B. Russell Princ. Math. xxxvii. 310 Even an n-dimensional series of such terms..is still denumerable. 1924 Galsworthy White Monkey ix. 193 For the nth time it inspired in him a certain liking and confidence. 1940 W. V. Quine Math. Logic 42 The truth table for an n-ary mode of composition appears as in Table 3. Ibid. 225 A range of n-argument functionality..is itself an n-adic relation. 1940 W. de la Mare Pleasures & Speculations 223 Its children's children to the n-th generation. 1954 I. M. Copi Symbolic Logic ix. 306 A dyadic or triadic or n-adic relation. 1956 F. Pohl Alternating Currents (1966) 85 Spaceships ran from point to point in n-dimensional hyperspace. 1963 Dict. U.S. Mil. Terms (U.S. Dept. Defense) 156 Nth country,..the next country of a series to acquire nuclear powers. 1964 E. Bach Introd. Transformational Gram. vii. 154 Relations..are accordingly named dyadic, triadic, (or, for n terms, n-adic) or binary, ternary, and so on. Ibid. 155 A relation is the set of ordered pairs (triples, n-tuples) for which it holds. 1965 Patterson & Rutherford Elem. Abstract Algebra v. 156 A vector space, namely the set..of all ordered n-tuples a = [α1,..,αn] of elements from a field F. 1972 H. B. Enderton Mathematical Introd. Logic i. 50 An n-ary connective symbol combines with n wffs to produce a new wff. 1974 Observer (Colour Suppl.) 1 Sept. 10/1 (Advt.), This is where the standby duty crews wait, in full flying clothing, ready for the off. N-number of aircrew will always be there—24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

  b. In Physics and Chem. n represents the principal quantum number of an electronic orbit in an atom, which determines the energy of the orbit (to the first order) and can take the values 1, 2, 3,{ddd}(corresponding to increasing energy). In molecular spectroscopy n was introduced to denote the vibrational quantum number of a diatomic molecule (now usu. replaced by v), and later (as N) the total angular momentum, apart from spin, of diatomic and polyatomic molecules (see also quot. 1962¹).

[1914 N. Bohr in Phil. Mag. XXVII. 507 According to Balmer, Rydberg, and Ritz the frequency of the lines in the line-spectrum of an element can be expressed by the formula v = fr(n1) - fs(n2), where n1 and n2 are whole numbers and f1, f2,{ddd}a series of functions of n, which can be expressed by fr(n) = (K/n2)ϕr(n), where K is a universal constant and ϕ a function which for large values of n approaches the value unity.] Ibid. 508 We shall assume that this spectrum is emitted by a system possessing a series of stationary states in which, corresponding to the nth state, the energy, omitting the arbitrary constant, is given by λn = - hK/n2. Ibid. 509 For n = 1, corresponding to the normal state of the atom, we get [etc.]. 1920 Sci. Abstr. A. XXIII. 423 If the nuclei are related in a quasi-elastic manner to the equilibrium positions, then the energy values for a diatomic non-rotating molecule are the same as for a Planck oscillator, namely: E = nhω, where n denotes the quantum number for the atomic oscillation. 1922 A. D. Udden tr. Bohr's Theory of Spectra iii. i. 67 This quantum number which will always be denoted by n will therefore be called the ‘principal quantum number’. 1926 E. C. Kemble et al. in Bull. Nat. Res. Council No. 57. 5 Some discrepancies in minor details of notation will be found from chapter to chapter in this report. The following major items, however, have been followed consistently:..Vibrational quantum number for diatomic molecule: n. 1951 D. Bohm Quantum Theory xv. 348 n = the principal quantum number..defined as one plus the total number of nodal surfaces in the wave function. 1953 Jrnl. Optical Soc. Amer. XLIII. 425/1 [Report of Sub-committee of the Joint Commission for Spectroscopy.] Notation for diatomic molecules... N. Total angular momentum of the electrons and nuclei, excluding spin... Replaces former K. 1962 P. J. & B. Durrant Introd. Adv. Inorg. Chem. vii. 207 The angular momentum due to the rotation of the [diatomic] molecule about an axis at right angles to the internuclear axis is denoted by N. 1962 J. Potter tr. Messiah's Quantum Mech. II. xxi. 964 Each quantum number n represents the number of vibrational quanta relative to a particular normal mode of vibration. 1966 G. Herzberg Molecular Spectra & Molecular Struct. III. i. 73 For 3σ states each rotational level except the one with N = 0 is split into three component levels..corresponding to J = N + 1, N, N - 1, respectively. 1973 J. Yarwood Atomic & Nuclear Physics vi. 188 The quantum mechanical treatment [of the one-electron atom] introduces the integral principal quantum number n which..decides the total energy of the system, the quantum number l which..has any integral value between o and (n - 1), and the azimuthal magnetic quantum number ml which is an integer having (2l + 1) values between + l and - l.

  5. n-declension, the ‘weak’ declension of Teutonic nouns and adjectives, in which the stem ends in n; so n-stem, n-plural.

1843 Proc. Philol. Soc. I. 73 The n declension..makes its appearance in many of the Indo-European languages, besides the Gothic. 1866 Morris Ayenb. Inwyt p. xxxv, They are remnants of the n declension. 1886 T. Le M. Douse Introd. Gothic p. x, Consonant Declensions; n-stems. 1894 V. Henry Comp. Gram. Engl. & Germ. 236 The n-plural requires no explanation.

  6. N-rays (originally n-rays), a form of radiation app. identified in 1903 by R. Blondlot of the University of Nancy, from the initial letter of which the name is derived. N¹-rays (originally n₁-rays), another form of radiation, having, in some respects, the opposite effects. [Soon after their alleged discovery it was concluded that such rays do not exist and Blondlot's work was in error.]

1903 Nature LXVIII. 119/2 The name n-rays is suggested for these radiations. Ibid. 578/1 Several papers on the so-called N rays discovered by M. Blondlot are printed in the Journal de Physique for August. 1904 ― LXIX. 455/2 The n1-rays, described in the previous note, have exactly the opposite effect. 1906 Nature 1 Mar. 413/1 It would be interesting to know whether anyone has obtained success in repeating the latest experiment designed to show the objective reality of the n-rays. 1925 A. Huxley Let. 25 Jan. (1969) 241 You remember the unanimously favourable verdict in favour of N rays? 1941 W. Seabrook Doctor Wood: Mod. Wizard of Laboratory xvii. 234 According to Blondlot, the rays were given off spontaneously by many metals. A piece of paper, very feebly illuminated, could be used as a detector, for, wonder of wonders, when the N rays fell upon the eye they increased its ability to see objects in a nearly dark room. 1973 Nature 12 Oct. 344/2 The protracted error immortalised in scores of publications can be due only to psychological (self-deception), not to chemical causes. The ‘anomalous’ water belongs to the category exemplified by the N rays of Blondlot.

  † 7. Radiology. A unit of neutron dosage (see quot. 1942). Obs.

1942 Aebersold & Lawrence in Ann. Rev. Physiol. IV. 36 In this laboratory, a standard Victoreen r-meter with a 100r condenser-chamber is used. The unit of fast neutron exposure is arbitrarily taken as that amount which produces the same reading with this meter as a roentgen of x-ray. Thus an n of fast neutrons produces inside this 100r Victoreen thimble chamber the same amount of ionization as produced by an r of x-rays. 1948 E. Paterson in R. Paterson Treatment of Malignant Dis. by Radium & X-Rays xxxiii. 593 The n unit has fulfilled a useful function, however, in demonstrating differences in effect between X- or gamma-radiation and neutrons when ratios of the dosage required to produce effects are compared.

  II. Abbreviations.
  1. N. = various proper names, as Nathaniel, Nicholas, Noah, etc.; N, naira (formerly, {pstlg}N, Nigerian pound); N., Nationalist; N (Chem.), Nitrogen; N, nuclear; n. (Gram.), noun, neuter; N.A., National Academician (U.S.); N.A.A.C.P., National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (U.S.); N.A.A.S., National Agricultural Advisory Service; N.A.B., National Assistance Board; N.A.C.A., National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (U.S.); NAD(P), nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide (phosphate); N.B., New Brunswick; N.B.C., National Broadcasting Corporation (U.S.); N.B.G., no bloody good (cf. N.G.); N.C.B., National Coal Board; N.C.O., non-commissioned officer; N.C.R., no carbon required, the registered trade-name for paper chemically treated so that the pressure of writing or typing alone produces duplicate copies without the use of carbon paper between sheets; n.d., N.D., no date; N.D.C., National Defence Contribution; N.D.P., National Democratic Party (Canad.); NEB, National Enterprise Board; N.E.B., New English Bible; N.E.D., New English Dictionary; N.E.D.(C.), National Economic Development (Council); N.F., National Front; N.F., New Franc (nouveau franc); N.F., Norman French; N.F.S., National Fire Service; N.F.T., National Film Theatre; N.G., n.g., no go, no good (the latter is the current use, cf. N.B.G.); N.H.I., National Health Insurance; N.H.S., National Health Service; NIC, Nic (also with pronunc. nɪk), newly industrialized (or industrializing) country; NIMBY, nimby, orig. U.S. (with pronunc. ˈnɪmbɪ), ‘not in my backyard’, a slogan expressing objection to the siting of something considered unpleasant, such as nuclear waste, in one's own locality; freq. attrib.; NIR [f. the initials of Russ. Nauchno-Issledovatel{p}skaya Rabota scientific research work], a colour television system developed in Russia, similar to SECAM; N.I.R.A., National Industrial Recovery Act (U.S.); N.K.V.D. [Russ. Naródnȳĭ Komissariát Vn{uacu}trennikh Del], Soviet Commissariat of Internal Affairs, replacing the Ogpu; N.l., North latitude; N.L.F., National Liberation Front; NNI, noise and number index (see noise n. 3 d); N.O., Natural Order; Naval Officer; N.O.R.A.D., North American Air Defence; N.O.W., National Organization for Women (U.S.); N.P., Notary Public; n.p. (see quot. 1952); also, not paginated; N.P.D. [G. Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands], National Democratic Party of Germany; N.P.L., National Physical Laboratory; N.P.V., Net Present Value; N.R.A., National Recovery Administration (U.S.); N.R.D.C., National Research Development Corporation; N.S., New Style; N.S. (Banking) not sufficient; N.S.P.C.A., National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; N.S.P.C.C., National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; N.S.W., New South Wales (Austral.); N.T., New Testament; N.T., Northern Territory (Austral.); N.T.S.C., National Television System Committee (U.S.); N.U.M., National Union of Mineworkers; N.U.R., National Union of Railwaymen; N.U.S., National Union of Students; N.U.T., National Union of Teachers; N.Y.S.E., New York Stock Exchange.
  See also I., O., , , A., P., Nibmar, C., n-p-n, (as main entries).

1789 J. Brown Sel. Rem. (1807) 155 It is neither *N. nor F. nor P. that I either fear or trust.

1960 Brit. Exports & Exchange Restrictions (Swiss Bank Corporation) May 108, 1 Nigerian Pound = 20 Shillings. 1{pstlg}*N = 1{pstlg}stg. 1973 Times 1 Oct. (Nigeria Suppl.) p. xi/3 Each member would be paid N120 a month.

1958 Oxford Mail 19 July 1/2 Beirut battle group is part of *N-weapon division... U.S. paratroopers..equipped with tactical nuclear weapons. 1958 Observer 2 Nov. 6/1 Plenty of Aldermaston badges, with their semaphore symbol of ND—nuclear disarmament.

1883 Harper's Mag. Nov. 843/2 He enjoys..the unusual distinction of being an *N.A. and an A.R.A.

1910 Crisis Nov. 12 (heading) The *N.A.A.C.P. 1974 Black Panther 16 Mar. 4/4 The NAACP filed its first suit attacking segregation and discrimination in education on March 15, 1933, against the University of North Carolina.

1948 Sci. News VI. 48 The *N.A.A.S., which is the only body giving advice on the whole of agriculture. 1971 Arable Farmer Feb. 70/1 A nationwide series recently completed by NAAS, of 77 experiments testing nitrogen, phosphate and potash rates for spring barley.

1953 B. Abel-Smith Reform of Social Security 27 Malingering is very hard to detect, as the *N.A.B. is constantly aware. Ibid., We might keep our whole system on a flat rate basis but take the N.A.B. level as representing the community's present definition of subsistence. 1969 Listener 12 June 834/3 In Northborough..mothers were not allowed to collect the father's weekly contribution..through the NAB.

1922 Aviation 13 Nov. 665/1 (heading) *N.A.C.A. For National Air Policy. 1970 N. Armstrong et al. First on Moon i. 17 Vaguely co⁓ordinated by something called NACA—the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.

1961 Biochem. Jrnl. LXXX. 322/1 *NAD formation almost certainly involves nucleophilic attack on the α-phosphorus of ATP. 1964 W. G. Smith Allergy & Tissue Metabolism viii. 85 The resulting α-β- unsaturated acid is reduced to its saturated counterpart by an enzyme which requires the reduced form of NADP. 1970 R. W. McGilvery Biochemistry xvi. 319 In general, NADP is used as an electron carrier for reductive syntheses, such as the formation of fatty acids.., whereas NAD is used more in the processes of energy production.

a 1912 W. T. Rogers Dict. Abbrev. (1913) 133/1 *N.B... New Brunswick. 1929 F. W. Wallace Rec. Canad. Shipping 2 Abyssinia, ship, 833 tons. Built 1868, St. John, N.B. 1973 Fisheries Fact Sheet (Environment Canada Fisheries & Marine Service) No. 1. 1 (caption) Purse seining in Baie des Chaleurs, N.B.

1950 G. Marx Let. 7 Nov. in Groucho Lett. (1967) 75, I heard you on the *NBC radio show. 1969 Listener 13 Nov. 667/1 The Duke of Edinburgh ‘met the press’ recently on America's NBC network.

1903 R. Bedford True Eyes xxxiv. 195 So see here—this place is *N.B.G., Billy, me man. Let's do what I say—sell everythin' an' clear. 1929 C. Mackenzie Three Couriers ii. v. 180 Crowder messing about with a typewriter? O.K. Crowder outside an office? N.B.G. 1956 A. Wilson Anglo-Saxon Attitudes ii. iii. 369 Those Barkers were n.b.g.: I saw quite a lot of their dishonesty at Melpham. 1973 G. Mitchell Murder of Busy Lizzie iii. 42 Bang goes our reason for coming here... She said it was N.B.G. and that seems to be just about right.

1948 Coal Dec. 12/2 There are many complaints and criticisms of the *N.C.B. It would be surprising if there were not. 1955 Times 3 Aug. 11/4 An official of the N.C.B. opencast executive said that the prospecting had shown the site to contain about 750,000 tons of good quality coal. 1963 Times 7 Feb. 13/4 It is essential not to impair the work at the N.C.B. which has made it possible to raise productivity four times above the national average.

1803–10 Orderly Bks. of Manx Fencibles in Yn Lioar Manninagh (1890) I. 152 Any party, consisting of 6 men or upwards, must have a *N.C.O...appointed to go with them. 1883 Army Regulations II. 102 Report on conviction of N.C.O. by civil power. 1915 Cornhill Mag. Mar. 388 Had a chat with my N.C.O.s. 1955 Times 11 May 6/7 Corporal J. R. Saunders, who receives the George Medal, was the n.c.o. in charge of fire fighting at the storage unit. 1973 K. Giles File on Death i. 5 Old top secrets..guarded by superannuated N.C.O.s.

1954 in Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Off.) (1955) 12 July 104/1 *NCR no carbon required paper. 1956 Brit. Printer Mar. 42/1 Since its appearance on the US market some 18 months ago, ncr paper..is now being manufactured in this country. The initials ncr represent not only the name of the manufacturers—the National Cash Register Co Ltd—but the particular characteristics of the paper (No Carbon Required). 1967 C. Wilson in Wills & Yearsley Handbk. Management Technol. 46 Copies of print-outs are obtained with carbon paper or NCR paper. The latter (‘no carbon required’) has a chemically coated surface activated by percussion.

1834 William Pickering's Catal. Manuscripts & Bks. 19 Angler's Guide{ddd}Lond. *n.d. 1879 Blackwell's Catal. No. i. 10 Chappell's Old English Ditties..n.d. 1917 T. J. Wise Bibliogr. Brontë Family vi. 225 Museum of Brontë Relics.. A Descriptive Catalogue. (N.D., but circa 1890). 1952 J. Carter ABC for Book-Collectors 124 No date (n.d.). This term, unqualified, means that research has failed (or has not attempted) to establish even an approximate date for the book described. 1959 N. & Q. CCIV. 292/1 A Chronicle History of Portsmouth by Henry Slight (3d. edit., n.p., n.d.).

1937 Times 1 June 17/5 The present *N.D.C. scheme..imposes a high rate of tax on excess profits only. 1939 Times 4 Jan. 17/2 The figures in each case are struck after provisions for income-tax and N.D.C.

1961 Edmonton (Alta.) Jrnl. 4 Aug. 17/3 The *NDP organizers produced mimeographed songsheets complete with Tommy Douglas lyrics. 1972 Maclean's Mag. Mar. 12/2 The NDP..refused to have the issue even raised for discussion.

1973 J. Hart et al. National Enterprise Board (Labour Party Green Paper) i. 12 The *NEB would ‘hold’ all existing government shares in joint public–private firms. 1983 Times 30 June 15/2 The British Technology Group..includes the NEB and the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC).

1961 Theology May 175 There is no need to give an account here of the principles and methods of the *N.E.B. 1980 G. B. Caird Lang. & Imagery of Bible i. iv. 97 Does the prophet (Isa. 13:5) foresee the devastation of the whole land (AV, NEB) or of the whole earth (JB)?

1904 A. S. Palmer in R. C. Trench On Study of Words (rev. ed.) 175 Dr. Murray decides in favour of this explanation, of unknown authorship, and so spurious, uncanonical,—*N.E.D. 1961 Essays & Studies XIV. 35 Of the many accounts of the origin and progress of the dictionary, it may suffice to mention here the following: the Preface to Vol. 1 of N.E.D., [etc.]. 1973 Jrnl. Soc. Bibliogr. Nat. Hist. VI. 229 The work is known familiarly as NED, OED, or even ‘Murray’. 1975 N. & Q. for Som. & Dorset Sept. 127 The single reference cited under lug-fall in the N.E.D...takes the definition a little further.

1962 Daily Tel. 9 Feb. 12/2 The *NEDC will not be a collection of amateurs or mere theorists. Ibid. 7 Mar. 12/2 The collective wisdom of ‘NED’. 1964 M. Argyle Psychol. & Social Probl. xvi. 199 A new government advisory department, like N.E.D.C. or N.I.C.

1970 Facts (National Front) i. 3/3 (caption) *N.F. supports the Springboks. 1976 Economist 13 Mar. 18/1 The National Front vote, and the derisory failure of..the former NF leader, showed there is a small but steady support of 2–3% for the Front. 1984 S. Townsend Growing Pains A. Mole 22 Ms. Fossington-Gore shouted back, ‘You're wearing a symbol of fascism, you nasty NF lout.’

1960 British Exports & Exchange Restrictions (Swiss Bank Corporation) May 55 Only spare parts from O.E.E.C. countries may be obtained through import certificates when the value is less than NF. 5,000. 1971 A. Diment Think Inc. ii. 28, I..added three $100 bills and two NF 1000 notes to the wad.

1942 Daily Mirror 25 Feb. 4/5 It will be necessary to enrol men under 41 for whole-time duties in the National Fire Service... Men over 25 when they registered will still be given an opportunity to express preference for the *NFS. 1947 Science News IV. 47 Four days after she disappeared a fire broke out in the cellar of the Baptist Church and a passing police officer called the N.F.S.

1965 New Statesman 19 Mar. 462/3 Ozu..made some 54 films, of which only nine have ever been seen in London and those only by assiduous patrons of the *NFT. 1969 Listener 24 July 125/1 Members of the NFT poured into their cinema to hear a discussion between Satyajit Ray and Lindsay Anderson.

1838 Morning Post (Boston) 25 June 2/3 They then went together to the plaintiff's to try to settle, but it was *n.g. 1840 Daily Pennant (St. Louis) 20 June (Th.), The bells, boys, and engines tried to get up a fire last night, but it was N.G. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 427 Fish and taters. N.g. 1972 ‘L. Egan’ Paper Chase (1973) x. 160 So that little ride on the merry-go-round was n.g.

1934 Foster & Taylor National Health Insurance xiv. 191 Enter on debit side of Cash Book and credit side of *N.H.I. Fund Current Account. 1958 Spectator 20 June 806/1 A doctor..wrote on what he called unjustified claims by his patients upon the N.H.I.

1948 Lancet 20 Nov. 823/3 Other doctors do not discriminate between private and *N.H.S. patients. Ibid. 4 Dec. 904/1 The pharmacist's principal trouble just now is over delay in payment of his accounts under the N.H.S. 1968 Listener 11 July 58/3 One of the hospital committee shown arguing in the NHS film whether or not it should refund the cost of a 7s 11d vest. 1975 Guardian 5 Nov. 14/5 There will be the equivalent of 2,500 to 3,000 more beds available for NHS use.

1978 Economist 10 June 84/1 The newly industrialising countries—those with a growing industrial base geared to exports—have an acronym, *Nics. 1980 Sci. Amer. Sept. 58/3 The N.I.C. and OPEC countries have about a fifth of the population of the developing countries other than China. 1986 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 26 Aug. 32/1 South Korea, Taiwan and the two city-states of Singapore and Hong Kong are often known as NICs because they have been very successful at developing their economies and growing rapidly.

1980 Christian Science Monitor 6 Nov. b5/3 A secure landfill anywhere near them is anathema to most Americans today. It's an attitude referred to in the trade as *NIMBY—‘not in my backyard’. 1986 Times 30 Apr. 12/6 Wakeham has become a convert to the Nimby..principle. A chief whip who thinks that nuclear waste is too dangerous for his constituency will find it hard to persuade other Tory MPs that it is safe for theirs.

1966 Economist 12 Feb. 628 This Russian-designed system offers the best prospect of a single acceptable colour television system for the whole of Europe... The Russians call the Soviet system *NIR. 1969 Carnt & Townsend Colour Television II. vii. 237 In April, 1963, the Non-linear NIR system had already been anticipated by B. W. B. Pethers of the BBC. This was some two years before the NIR system came to light, but at that time it was felt that NIR did not have any significant advantages over the other systems.

1933 Sun (Baltimore) 23 Aug. 1/3 ‘Threats, intimidation, compulsion, boycotts, blacklists and suppression of opinion,’ he declared, ‘were never contemplated by the *N.I.R.A. and, therefore, have no rightful place in the picture.’ Ibid. 9 Sept. 1/2 The power of propaganda and the press has had few better illustrations than the way in which the so called ‘Nira’ is obscuring the other great Administration activities in Washington and in the country.

1942 V. Conolly Soviet Asia (Oxf. Pamphs. on World Affairs) 13 The *N.K.V.D. (Commissariat of Internal Affairs, former O.G.P.U.). 1945 Koestler Yogi & Commissar iii. iii. 208 The deportees were called for..by the so-called ‘Executive Troikas’ of the N.K.V.D. 1973 T. Allbeury Choice of Enemies vi. 21 He was wearing an NKVD uniform.

1965 New Society 22 Apr. 259 Nguyen Huu Tho was made president of the *NLF. 1971 Ink 12 June 8/3 The delegates..would have been Thieu/Ky (S. Vietnam), Tho (NLF), Ho Chi Minh (N. Vietnam). 1972 H. Evans Editing & Design: Newsman's English vii. 147 When the report says the NLF, the deskman should write in ‘the National Liberation Front, political arm of the Vietcong...’ This does not offend the reader who knows and it helps the rest, which is most of us. There was at one time, anyway, another NLF—in Aden—and at another an FLN, in Algeria and France.

1963 *NNI [see noise n. 3 d]. 1969 Guardian 5 Mar. 9/2 Within such an area noise levels would be 40 NNI. 1970 R. D. Ford Introd. to Acoustics vii. 144 An external NNI of 55 has been taken as the recommended limit in the vicinity of London Airport and householders exposed to more noise have been offered a special grant for soundproofing their homes.

1914 ‘Bartimeus’ Naval Occasions xvii. 144 That girl to-night—Molly—I suppose she has refused half a dozen *N.O.'s. 1916 G. Franklin Naval Digression i. xv. 136 Which brings to light another peculiarity of the average N.O.—how he can adopt a friendly ‘hail-fellow-well-met’ attitude to all and sundry and lose nothing in respect by it, even should they be ex-service men. 1958 M. Dickens Man Overboard i. 14 There'll be a lot of sharks about waiting for the innocent N.O. with his touching faith in human nature.

1959 Roundel June 3/1 Creation of the North American Air Defence Command by the governments of Canada and the United States was recognition..that air defence of the continent..is a single, common problem. *NORAD is a truly integrated, international Command—responsible to both the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Canadian Chiefs of Staff Committee. 1970 Toronto Daily Star 24 Sept. 31/3 In NORAD we permitted American nuclear bombers to make provocative flights over Canadian territory.

1966 N.Y. Times 22 Nov. 44/1 *NOW..was formed three weeks ago in Washington to press for ‘true equality for all women in America’. 1970 G. Greer Female Eunuch 296 When NOW was formed it was read into the Congressional record. 1973 Times 2 June 8/3 Betty Friedan..‘founding mother’ of NOW in 1966.

1882 Halkett & Laing Dict. Anon. & Pseudon. Eng. Lit. I. 122/1 Answer to the Declaration published by the Archbishop of Canterbury{ddd}*n.p., n.d. Octavo. Pp. 12. a 1912 W. T. Rogers Dict. Abbrev. (1913) 137/1 n.p., no place (no printer's name). 1952 J. Carter ABC for Book-Collectors 124 No place, no printer, no publisher (indiscriminately or collectively shortened to n.p.). 1966 Dawson's of Pall Mall Catal. No. 162. 12 Cicero..Laelius de amicitia. (n.p., n.d.) (Cologne..about 1467). 1969 N. B. Eales Cole Library of Early Med. & Zool. 330 The Complete Dictionary of Arts and Sciences... 2 vols. Fr., [4], vi, n.p. Pls. 1–11, 14–35, 40–42.

1966 Guardian 14 Mar. 21/8 The *NPD..won up to 10 per cent in some Bavarian towns. 1969 S. Hyland Top Bloody Secret ii. 125 The two people who..organised the first conference of the Neo-Nazi party, NPD.

a 1912 W. T. Rogers Dict. Abbrev. (1913) 137/1 *N.P.L., National Physical Laboratory (Bushey, by Teddington). 1920 Flight XII. 1131/2 With regard to the staffs at the N.P.L. and at the R.A.E., he said he hoped that provision would be made to maintain these on an adequate scale. 1959 Ann. Reg. 1958 388 There was a scientific symposium at the National Physical Laboratory (N.P.L.), Teddington.

1964 Economist 26 Sept. 1195/1 Then DCF is no more use than *NPV. 1969 D. C. Hague Managerial Econ. ii. vi. 128 If we..add together the sums of money in Column C, including the minus {pstlg}1,000 for Year 0, we are left with a net amount of {pstlg}10. This is known as the net present value (NPV) of the project.

1933 N.Y. Times 3 Aug. 16/4 The most vital issue in the whole National Recovery Program is, of course, the question whether we shall end up speaking of it as the NRA or the *N.R.A. People are saying NIRA and NRA but there is no denying the fact that there is a self-conscious air about it. 1933 G. Ade Let. 25 Aug. (1973) 170 The country editor..need not ignore the N.R.A. or the Farm Relief Board or any of the agencies intended to bring us back to happier times. 1962 Amer. Speech XXXVII. 48 Many such letter groups have entered the American language as items of common exchange: O.K...N.R.A.

1954 F. A. Buttress World List Abbrev. 186 *NRDC, National Research Development Corporation, 1 Tilney Street, London, W.1. 1959 Engineering 6 Feb. 182/3 If proof were required that NRDC's activities are useful and beneficial, it is provided by their profitability. 1967 Jane's Surface Skimmer Systems 1967–68 30/1 The Company has been granted an NRDC licence.

1698 Prior Let. Earl Halifax, Paris, the 9{supt}{suph} Aug: *NS. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 4 ¶5 They write from Saxony of the 13{supt}{suph} Instant, N.S.

1900 Westm. Gaz. 30 June 9/3 It is generally sufficient..that the bank has not returned cheques unpaid with the mystical letters ‘N.S.’ (not sufficient) in the corner.

a 1912 W. T. Rogers Dict. Abbrev. (1913) 137/2 *N.S.P.C.A., National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

1895 Civil Rights for Children (N.S.P.C.C.) (inside back cover), Mary P. Bolton Asst.-Sec., *N.S.P.C.C. 1963 Social Work Oct. 20/2 Some will emphasise the word ‘neglect’ and think in terms of an extended N.S.P.C.C. inspectorate.

[1852 T. Cass Let. 1 May in J. Deans Pioneers of Canterbury (1937) x. 221, I take the opportunity of sending you a few lines by way of *N.S. Wales, a cattle vessel leaving in a day or two.] 1889 H. C. Russell (title) The source of the underground water in the western districts... (Read before the Royal Society of N.S.W., August 7, 1889.) 1909 B. Stevens Golden Treasury of Austral. Verse 336 Gidya, a Queensland and N.S.W. aboriginal word for a tree of the acacia species. 1971 Sunday Australian 8 Aug. 3/1 Justice ministers in Victoria and NSW, said yesterday they were considering..changes.

1866 tr. Viner's Gramm. N.T. Dict. (ed. 6) 14 The idiom of the *N.T. is..a variety of the Greek language.

a 1912 W. T. Rogers Dict. Abbrev. (1913) 138/1 *N.T.,..Northern Territory, -ies (Australia). 1930 A. G. Price Hist. & Problems of Northern Territory 64 For labour in the N.T., see reports of Gilruth..and Urquhart. 1969 Northern Territory News (Darwin) 11 July 3/3 The NT Police Commissioner..wants breath-analyser tests introduced in the Territory.

1957 B.B.C. Handbook 136 The *N.T.S.C. system now in use for a public service in the United States of America. 1966 Economist 12 Feb. 628/2 The Americans manage to transmit colour from coast to coast by NTSC.

1948 Ann. Reg. 1947 i. v. 90 The negotiations with the *N.U.M. on the method of working overtime..languished.

1914 Railway Mag. Nov. 401/1 It was..agreed that all existing contracts and conditions of service shall remain in operation,..(signed) for General Managers' Committee:—..for *N.U.R.:—..for A.S.L.E.&F.:—. 1955 Times 2 May 12/7 The union have won the right to put their case without having representatives of the N.U.R. present. 1975 Guardian 17 June 26/8 The NUR executive threw the negotiating ball firmly back into Mr Wilson's court.

1924 University I. 21 F. G. Connor..who attended as the representative of the English *N.U.S., described the constitution and development of the National Union of Students of England and Wales. 1973 J. H. M. Scott Dons & Students xii 145 The vice-chancellors turned it down, effectively siding with the nus against it.

1889 Schoolmaster 4 May 634/1 In place of the familiar initials, N.U.E.T. we have the shorter, and let us hope the improved, form of *N.U.T... The objects of the N.U.E.T. remain the objects of the N.U.T. 1973 L. Holcombe Victorian Ladies at Work iii. 39 The National Union of Teachers..was organized in 1870... In 1911 the N.U.T. elected its first woman president.

1941 Exchange Feb. 3/1 ‘Secondary distribution!’ That's a phrase to make the heart of any floor member of the New York Stock Exchange skip a beat. It means—in most cases, where *NYSE stocks are being distributed—that just so much business is not passing through the Exchange. 1964 Financial Times 25 Feb. 3/7 A special committee set up by the N.Y.S.E. 1973 N.Y. Law Jrnl. 4 Sept. 4/2 It might be possible to include all NYSE-listed securities.

  b. N. = North; also N.B., North Britain (Scotland); N.E., NE., North-east, etc.; N.W., North-west, esp. (usu. followed by a numeral) a London postal district.

1615 Capt. Adams Jrnl. Voy. Siam 21 May, From 4 to 8, 1 l[eague] n. 1615 T. Roe Jrnl. 26 Mar. in Embassy to Court of Gt. Mogul (1899) I. 3 Wee..saw land N.W. for the Canarye 8 leauges off. 1708 Lond. Gaz. No. 4418/3 The Wind was this Morning..at six, at N., at eight at N.E. 1720 De Foe Capt. Singleton vii. (1840) 131 As the course of the other rivers were N. by E. or N.N.E. the course of this lay N.N.W. 1769 Falconer Dict. Mar. s.v. Sailing, The former [ship] steering E. b N. 1855 Maury Phys. Geog. (ed. 2) 258 The wind is reported as prevailing..from N. 3 times. 1857 J. A. Symonds Let. 1 Feb. (1967) I. 88 Sunday. Harrow N.W... You will wonder what N.W. means on the top of this page. It is in consequence of some Postal arrangements that those letters should be affixed to districts of London. 1899 W. J. Locke White Dove (1900) x. 151 Dr. Frodsham..had..[moved] from the house in Weymouth Street into the purer air of the N.W. district. 1965 Listener 27 May 792/1 Living with him was his beautiful companion, a Madame de Bargeton of N.W.3, something of a Madame Verdurin also. 1967 Ibid. 30 Nov. 733/2 Who could have littered the Times with byelines and signed columns and a woman's page so close to NW1's heart? 1971 A. Bennett in D. Nathan Laughtermakers iv. 93, I did a series on television with sketches about this area, N.W.1, of which I am a part, and so in a sense it was making fun of myself. But it pinpointed something and since then N.W.1 has been used as a catchphrase to indicate Sunday supplement trendiness which people now find rather suspect.

  2. N.B. = Lat. nota bene, ‘note well’.

1673 Ray Journ. Low C. 163 NB. One of these Electors may nominate himself to any office. 1710 Addison Tatler No. 224 ¶5 Of late Years, the N.B. has been much in Fashion. 1755 Hervey Theron & Aspasio I. xi. 415 ‘Behold.’ He sets his N.B. on the passage. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XI. 722/1 N.B. At the end of the tube G there is a lens for increasing the density of the rays. 1800 Asiat. Ann. Reg. ii. 95/1 He..ingeniously added a N.B. at the foot of the whole. 1861 G. H. Lewes Jrnl. 3–6 June in Geo. Eliot's Lett. (1954) III. 424 Reposed awhile and chatted (N.B. all the journey we have had fine talk with Trollope). 1965 I. Fleming Man with Golden Gun iii. 40 Distinguishing marks: a third nipple about two inches below his left breast. (N.B. in Voodoo and allied local cults this is considered a sign of invulnerability and great sexual prowess.)

  3. a. N (also rarely N, n) (Chem.) = normal a. and n. A. 2 b (i).

1863 F. Sutton Syst. Handbk. Volumetric Anal. 165 Free iodine is..very readily estimated by solution in iodide of potassium, and titration with N/10 hyposulphite. 1906 Amer. Chem. Jrnl. XXXV. 511 A saturated solution of silver chloride..is only about 0·00001N. 1931 J. C. Ware Analyt. Chem. iv. 137 Test the solubility of a portion of the precipitate..with 2 cc. 6n HNO3. 1970 M. D. Hawkins Calculations in Volumetric & Gravimetric Anal. 11. 35 The solution was titrated against 0·0908n potassium thiocyanate.

  b. n (also rarely n) (Chem.) = normal a. and n. A. 2 b (ii).

1889 G. M'Gowan tr. A. Bernthsen's Text-bk. Org. Chem. i. 44 From petroleum have been separated..normal heptane, n-octane, n-nonane, and n-decane. 1938 L. F. Fieser in H. Gilman Org. Chem. I. ii. 53 The conversion of n-butylcyclopentane into o-ethyltoluene on dehydrogenation with palladium charcoal. 1971 N. L. Allinger et al. Org. Chem. iii. 28 One isomer, isobutane, has one carbon atom which is bound to three other carbons, and there is no such carbon atom in the other isomer, n-butane.

  c. In Physics N is used to designate the series of X-ray emission lines of longer wavelength than the M-series obtained by exciting the atoms of any particular element (cf. M 5 a); these arise from electron transitions to the atomic orbit of fourth-lowest energy, of principal quantum number 4, which is thus termed the N-shell, and electrons in this shell N-electrons.

1911 [see M 5 a]. 1923 H. L. Brose tr. Sommerfeld's Atomic Structure & Spectral Lines viii. 505 Our relativistic formula of the fine-structure..furnishes us with a principle of sub-division for the multiplicity of M- and N-lines. Ibid. 507 Just as the M-shell belongs to the quantum-number 3, so does the N-shell to the quantum-number 4. 1948 Lapp & Andrews Nuclear Radiation Physics v. 74 In the heavier elements such as tungsten (Z = 74) the N shell is saturated with 32 electrons. 1967 G. L. Clark Handbk. X-Rays i. 7 At still longer wavelengths M- and N-series lines have been measured only for heavier elements. 1968 Physical Rev. CLXVI. 944/1 Radiationless transitions are favored in low-Z elements and always dominate in the M, N, and higher shells for the ordinary Auger effect. 1970 E. P. Bertin Princ. & Pract. X-Ray Spectr. Anal. i. 27 An electron having just enough energy to expel, say, an LII electron can also expel LIII, M, and N electrons, but not LI or K electrons.

  d. N (Physics) = newton.

1951 Symbols, Signs & Abbrev. (R. Soc. Symbols Comm.) 14/2 Newton... N. 1973 Kleppner & Kolenkow Introd. Mechanics ii. 84 Since g = 9·8 m/s2, the weight of 1 kg mass is 9·8 N.

  
  
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   Add: [II.] [1.] NFL, National Football League (U.S.).

1946 Encycl. Brit. IX. 486c/1 Under Carr, the *N.F.L. was developed from obscurity into a national enterprise. 1972 J. Mosedale Football i. 6 Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns..was the greatest ground-gainer in NFL history. 1984 J. Lawton All Amer. War Game p. viii, Gamblers..wager more than $1 billion on college and NFL football each weekend.

  NIREX (ˈnaɪrɛks), Nuclear Industry Radioactive Waste Executive.

1982 Wastes Managem. LXXII. 458/1 *NIREX, which has been set up by British Nuclear Fuels Limited, the Central Electricity Generating Board, the South of Scotland Electricity Board and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, was welcomed by the Government. 1989 New Scientist 14 Jan. 30/1 Environmentalists are angry that NIREX has not considered as an option the long-term storage of nuclear waste above ground.

  
  
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   Add: [B.] [II.] [1.] [a.] NGO, non-governmental organization (see also quango n.).

1946 Rev. Rep. Comm. Arrangements Consultation Non-Govt. Org. in U.N. Econ. & Social Council Official Rec. (1947) 1st Year: 2nd Sess. 320/1 It shall be known as the ‘Committee on Arrangements for Consultation with Non-Governmental Organizations’ (short title: ‘Council NGO Committee’). 1949 Goodrich & Hambro Charter of United Nations (ed. 2) ii. x. 403 Applications for consultative status, after being screened by the Secretariat on the basis of criteria adopted by the Council and considered by the [Economic & Social] Council NGO Committee, are finally acted upon by the Council. 1969 Plano & Olton Internat. Relations Dict. 291 Under the United Nations Charter (Article 71), the Economic and Social Council is empowered to make suitable arrangements for consultation with NGOs on matters within its competence. 1992 Cultural Survival Q. Fall 39/3 The association will continue with its present policies and projects, hoping to demonstrate to people inside the reserve and to the government and NGOs that we are responsible and dependable and worthy of support.

  N.H.S. trust = hospital trust s.v. *hospital n. 7.

1989 Independent 4 Nov. 3/1 Hospitals that go self-governing would move out of direct management by health authorities, becoming instead semi-independent NHS trusts, free to set their own terms and conditions for staff and surviving by selling their services to district health authorities and private patients. 1993 Private Eye 4 June 10/1 Crawley and Horsham NHS Trust (motto—‘Where people matter’) is also two months old, {pstlg}750,000 in debt and slashing its support services.

  
  
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   ▸ NORML n.humorously after normal adj. U.S. National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

1971 Playboy June 57/2 The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (*NORML),..launched by a Playboy Foundation grant, will sponsor and promote reform legislation..to remove penalties for possession and use of grass. 1973 N.Y. Times Mag. 21 Jan. 8/2 The capital's most improbable lobbyist..was sitting at his cluttered desk beneath his ‘Reefer Madness’ wall poster..recounting..how he came to start NORML. 1999 Esquire July 30/1 You already know that Internet valuations are higher than a NORML caucus in Amsterdam.

  
  
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   ▸ nvCJD n. Med. = new variant CJD n. at new adj. and n. Special uses 2a. Cf. variant CJD n. at variant adj. and n. Additions.

1996 Med. Post (Nexis) 18 June 1 New variant CJD (*NV-CJD) has been identified in 11 Britons so far. 1996 Guardian 25 Oct. i. 3/7 With clinical knowledge of the symptoms of nvCJD restricted to relatively few specialists, there is controversy over the diagnosis of new cases. 1998 Jrnl. Neurol. Sci. 155 138 Since the report of new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (nvCJD) in humans last year, the search was on for direct evidence to link the condition to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).

  
  
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   ▸ NVQ n. Educ. = National Vocational Qualification n. at national adj. and n. Special uses; cf. GNVQ.

1987 Times Higher Educ. Suppl. 5 June 4/3 The National Council for Vocational Qualifications..believes that there are considerable benefits to be gained for both the country and individuals in extending the *NVQ framework. 1993 Brit.: Official Handbk. (H.M.S.O.) 415/1 The following five levels of NVQs have been established: Level 1—Foundation..Level 2—Basic craft..Level 3—Technician, advanced craft, supervisor..Level 4—Higher technician, junior management..Level 5—Professional, middle management. 2001 Evening Post (Bristol) (Electronic ed.) 24 Jan. If they then successfully complete a level three NVQ—equivalent to five GCSEs—they are guaranteed a place on a three-year, pre-registration nursing diploma course.

Oxford English Dictionary