▪ I. record, n.
(ˈrɛkɔːd)
Also 4–6 recorde, 5 Sc. racord.
[a. OF. record (recort, recor-s, etc.), f. recorder to record. Cf. Sp. recuerdo, It. ricordo. The original stressing (rɪˈkɔːd) is found in verse as late as the 19th c.]
I. 1. Law. a. The fact or attribute of being, or of having been, committed to writing as authentic evidence of a matter having legal importance, spec. as evidence of the proceedings or verdict of a court of justice; evidence which is thus preserved, and may be appealed to in case of dispute. Chiefly in phrases of record (common in 15–16th c.), † in record, by record, on record, or upon record.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 9711 Ne dom agh haf right na record, Ar we ben all at an a-cord. 1423 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 201/2 Þair namys also, to be entred of record, what and how thei determyne. 1455 Paston Lett. I. 364 As it apperith pleynlye by accompt made of the sayd office of Constabulrye, remaynyng in the Kyngs Cheker at Westminster of record. 1523 Fitzherb. Surv. 20 Whan a mater..is past by verdyt..and entred in the kynges recordes there it resteth of recorde, and also yf a dede or a patent be inrolled there it remeyneth of recorde in lyke maner. 1596 Bacon Max. & Uses Com. Law (1630) 50 These Estates are created by word, by writing, or by record. Ibid. 81 So that he for-see that he pay Debts vpon Record, first debts to the King, then vpon Iudgements. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. ii. ii. 40 To fine the faults, whose fine stands in record, And let goe by the Actor. a 1677 Hale Prim. Orig. Man. ii. x. 235 Which was accordingly done, and remains of Record in the Exchequer. 1700 Tyrrell Hist. Eng. II. 837 These Letters..remain upon Record in the Tower on the Clause Roll of this Year. 1766 Blackstone Comm. II. 119 All estates-tail are rendered liable to be charged for payment of debts due to the king by record of special contract. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) V. 55 The manor..was let at a greater rent, or appeared upon record to be of a greater value. 1870 ‘Mark Twain’ in Galaxy Oct. 575/1 That verdict is of record, and holds good to this day. |
| fig. 1709 Hearne Collect. 12 Jan. (O.H.S.) II. 163 An Ass upon Record cried up for a man of..learning. |
b. In
phr. matter (thing, debt, etc.) of record. Also
debt by record.
| 1433 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 424/1 Thay to abide enacted as þinges of recorde. 1472–3 Ibid. VI. 52/2 Any relesse, arbetrament, or any other plee, not matier of Recorde. 1596 Bacon Max. & Uses Com. Law (1630) 62 This Fine is called a Feofment of Record, because that it includeth all that the Feofment doth. 1642 tr. Perkins' Prof. Bk. x. §655. 283 If it were by Matter of Record it should be good without attornment. 1766 Blackstone Comm. II. xxx. 464 A debt of record is a sum of money, which appears to be due by the evidence of a court of record. 1827 Hallam Const. Hist. (1876) I. i. 15 It then became a matter of record, and could not be impeached. 1842 Stephen Comm. Laws Eng. II. ii. ii. v. 187 Another species of debt by record is that upon adjudgment; which is, where any sum is adjudged to be due from one party to the other, in an action in a court of record. |
c. court of record: a court whose proceedings are formally enrolled and valid as evidence of fact, being also a court of the sovereign, and having authority to fine or imprison. So
† judge of record.
| [1419 Liber Albus in Riley Munim. Gildh. (Rolls) I. iii. i. 217 Si issint soit qe mesme le defendaunt veigne en court de recorde, etc.] 1451 Rolls of Parlt. V. 219/1 Your Officers in youre Courtes of Record. 1581 Lambarde Eiren. i. xiii. (1602) 59 It maketh not a little..for the credit of the Iustices [of the Peace].., that they are numbred amongst the Iudges of Record. 1607 Cowell Interpr. s.v., Queene Elizabeth..made the Consistory Court of the University of Cambridge a Court of Record. 1641, 1765 [see court n.1 11]. 1768 Blackstone Comm. III. iii. 25 That the very erection of a new jurisdiction with power of fine and imprisonment makes it instantly a court of record. 1844 Stephen Comm. Laws Eng. III. v. vi. 442 The Commissioners [of Sewers] are a court of record and may fine and imprison for contempts. 1865 F. M. Nichols Britton I. 136 note, It was decided in later times, that the county court, though sitting by virtue of the King's writ.., had not the powers of a court of record. 1888 [see court n.1 11]. |
† d. to have record: to be entitled to have one's judicial acts and decisions enrolled.
Obs.| 1581 Lambarde Eiren. i. xiii. (1602) 60 Bracton..writing of a speciall case, where the Sherife in his Countie hath Record. [1865 F. M. Nichols Britton I. 136 note, The sheriff..is treated by our Author as the King's Justiciary, and as having the power of record incident to that office.] |
2. The fact or condition of being preserved as knowledge,
esp. by being put into writing; knowledge or information preserved or handed down in this way. Freq. in phrases (
† of record,)
on record or
upon record. Also (
orig. U.S.),
to go on record: to give oneself a place on a formal record, to be recorded (
as favouring a given course of action, etc.); to express one's opinion; similarly (
orig. U.S.)
to be on record,
to put (oneself, etc.) on record.
| c 1386 Chaucer Sompn. T. 409 Syn Ennok was or Elise Han freres been, that fynde I of record. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 166 For this I finde ek of record, Which the Cronique hath auctorized. 1470–85 Malory Arthur i. ii, By all record he was dede or euer kynge Vther came. 1570–6 Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 177, I finde on Recorde that the Priory at Bylsington was first advaunced by John Maunsell. 1588 J. Mellis Briefe Instr. F vij b, Yee must haue a seuerall booke of record, wherein you shall record the copy of letters of charge. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. i. iii. 14 Euery action that hath gone before, Whereof we haue Record. 1628 Wither Brit. Rememb. 7 The glorioust things, That stand upon record of mortall Kings. a 1720 Sewel Hist. Quakers (1722) I. Let. to King, Remarkable Cases, which I thought worthy to be kept upon Record, and not buried in Oblivion. 1815 Shelley Alastor 25 In charnels and on coffins, where black death Keeps record of the trophies won from thee. 1884 Times 2 Dec. 10 Having beaten the highest break on record. 1900 Congress. Rec. 11 Jan. 785/1, I would be perfectly contented if Senators would put their vote on record. 1920 H. G. Wells Outl. Hist. 169/1 Greece had suddenly begun to produce literature, and put itself upon record as no other nation had ever done hitherto. 1930 E. M. Brent-Dyer Chalet School & Jo v. 64 It is on record that seventeen people had to go and remake theirs [sc. beds]. 1930 Daily Express 8 Sept. 10/4 President Parsons of Woolworths has also gone on record with the statement that [etc.]. 1940 Publishers' Weekly 1 May 3007/1 The Association has previously been on record against legislation of this kind. 1967 N.Y. Times (Internat. Ed.) 11–12 Feb. 1/1 West German Vice Chancellor Willy Brandt put the Bonn Government on record today as being willing to bar any nuclear explosions. 1975 J. Grady Shadow of Condor vii. 116 I've hardly heard anything of what's being done..and I would like to go on record right now to that effect. 1978 Lancashire Life July 43/2 It is on record that soldiers from the 6th Manchester Regiment in Egypt provided enough eager players to hold a Lancs. v Cheshire match shortly before going on to Gallipoli. |
† 3. a. Attestation or testimony of a fact; witness, evidence, proof. In early use chiefly in phrases
by record of,
to take record (at).
Obs.| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 830 Lombe was taken þere, By trw recorde of ayþer prophete. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 85 Ȝe..louten to þis lordes..Aȝeine ȝowre reule and Religion, I take record at Ihesus. 1417 in E.E. Wills (1882) 39 Ȝyf þer be eny man or woman þat wil say þat I howght hem eny goud, and swere vppon a boke by record of goud men, y wyl þat dey be payd. 1465 Paston Lett. II. 223 The qwych peticion I made diverse tyme to fore moche recorde. 1533 More Debell. Salem Wks. 1011/1 Where one is openly and notably suspected of heresye, and sufficient recorde and witnesse agaynste hym. 1547 Hancock in Strype Eccl. Mem. (1721) II. i. ix. 115, I awnswered that he spake those words betwyxt him and me, but yf I had record of them he would not speak them. 1646 H. Lawrence Comm. Angells 90 Of which I could give you account enough upon as good record as story can give us of any thing. |
† b. to bear record: to bear witness.
Obs. Tr.
AF. porter record (Britton):
cf. bear v. 2 c.
| 13.. Coer de L. 4591 With Kyng Richardes armes pourtrayed In sygne to bere record That Kyng Richard was her ovyr-lord. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 70 Forto bere hierof record He sende ous hider bothe tuo. 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton) i. xii. (1859) 9 Of this wyl I bere hym good record, that he has clerely kepte hys byleue in to this last ende. 1526 Tindale John i. 34 And I sawe yt, and have borne recorde, that thys ys the sonne off God. 1542–5 Brinklow Lament. (1874) 107 All that reade their workes maye beare recorde with them agaynst your lyes. 1611 Bible [in a number of passages, after earlier versions]. |
† c. to take or call to record: to call to witness.
Obs. (
Cf. call v. 20 c.)
| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 7 That I take to record..The comun vois, which mai noght lie. 1494 Fabyan Chron. i. xiv. 14 Gonorilla..callynge her goddes to recorde, sayd, she loued hym more than her owne soule. 1526 Tindale Acts xx. 26, I take you to recorde this same daye that I am pure from the bloud of all men. 1535 Coverdale Deut. xxx. 19, I take [1611 call] heauen and earth this daye to recorde ouer you. 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. vi. 344, I call to record that same Roman Thrall Who..Fled through the desart. |
† d. A witness.
Obs. (In later use only in Biblical language.)
| 1526 Tindale Acts v. 32 We are his recordes as concernynge these thynges. 1568 Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees 1835) 291 Recordes hereof thomas Barker..and Thomas Slogen w{supt}{suph} others. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, i. i. 30 Heauen be the record to my speech. 1768 Sterne Sent. Journ. I. 33 (In the Desobligeant) God is my record,..that I do not speak it vauntingly. |
II. 4. a. Law. An authentic or official report of the proceedings in any cause coming before a court of record, together with the judgement given thereon, entered upon the rolls of court and affording indisputable evidence of the matter in question.
The reference in Cowell (
quot. 1607) is to Sir R. Brooke
La Graunde Abridgement (1573) ii. 192.
| 1455 Rolls of Parlt. V. 341/1 Fynes, obligacions, reconysaunces, and othir recordes upon the same. 1472 Ibid. VI. 63/1 And therupon Juggement ayenst him yeven: as in the Record therof, wherof the Copie hereto is annexed, more playnly it is conteyned. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 856 All attaynders..were adnichilated, and the recorde of the same adiudged to be defaced. 1597 Skene De Verb. Sign. s.v. Recordum, Ilk lauchfull court..hes thair awin recordes in all sik actiones as are..decided before them. 1607 Cowell Interpr. s.v., That caveat of Brooke..that an act committed to writing in any of the King's Courts during the terme wherein it is written is alterable & no record; but that terme once ended and the said Act duly enrolled, it is a record. 1628 Coke On Litt. 260 The Rolles being the Records or memorialls of the Judges of the Courts of Record..admit no auerment, plea, or proofe to the contrarie. And if such a Record be alleaged, and it be pleaded, That there is no such Record, it shall be tried only by it selfe. 1765 Blackstone Comm. I. Introd. 69 The judgment itself, and all the proceedings previous thereto, are carefully registered and preserved, under the name of records, in public repositories set apart for that particular purpose. 1825 Act 6 Geo. IV, c. 86 §11 All the said Judgments and Verdicts shall be deemed to be and shall become Records of the said Sheriff to all Intents and Purposes whatsoever. 1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. 1025 It is then transferred to the record and read aloud to the jury, who are asked, ‘Is this your verdict?’ |
b. Law. A copy of the material points, pleadings, and issue between defendant and plaintiff on a matter of law, constituting the case to be decided by the court; hence, a case so constituted or presented.
| 1627 Powell Attornies Almanacke Title-p., Such as shall have occasion to remoue any Person, Cause, or Record from any inferiour Court to any the higher Courts at Westminster. 1768 Blackstone Comm. III. 317 The record is a history of the most material proceedings in the cause, entered on a parchment roll,..in which must be stated the original writ and summons, all the pleadings [etc.]. 1817 W. Selwyn Law Nisi Prius (ed. 4) II. 1087 A person having a bare authority, and not being a party to the record, is not prevented from being a witness. 1824 J. Marshall Const. Opin. (1839) 329 In cases where a state is a party on the record the question of jurisdiction is decided by inspection. 1827 Hallam Const. Hist. (1876) III. xiii. 19 No record was ever removed thither [to the Star chamber] upon assignment of errors in an inferior court. 1885 Encycl. Brit. XIX. 219/1 Since the Judicature Acts (1873) there has been no record properly so called, in civil cases, though it has not been expressly abolished. |
c. Phr.
to travel out of the record (see
quot. 1770). Also
transf., to go off the subject. So
to keep to the record.
| 1770 Chatham Sp. 11 Dec. in Junius Lett. (1772) I. Pref. 18 note, The court..are so far confined to the record, that they cannot take notice of any thing that does not appear on the face of it; in the legal phrase, they cannot travel out of the record. 1772 Junius Lett. I. Pref. 18 If I stated the merits of my letter to the King, I should imitate Lord Mansfield, and travel out of the record. 1840 W. L. Garrison in Life II. 430 [He] will speak to a point that is pertinent, and not travel out of the record. 1861 Dickens Gt. Expect. xviii, Never mind what you longed for. Keep to the record. |
d. Sc. Law. A minute, subscribed by the counsel on both sides and by the judge (in the Court of Session by the Lord Ordinary), by which the parties to a suit mutually agree to hold certain pleadings as a full and final statement of the facts and pleas on which their case rests.
The record when finally adjusted and authenticated by the Lord Ordinary or the inferior judge is said to be
closed. For details of the practice, which dates from the Act of 1825, see Bell's
Dict. Law Scot. s.v.| 1825–6 Act 6 Geo. IV, c. 120 §10 The Record so made up and authenticated shall be held as foreclosing the parties from the statement of any new averments in point of fact. 1850 Act 13 & 14 Vict. c. 36 §2 Where Defences are lodged, and unless the Record shall be closed upon the Summons and Defences, the Record shall be made by Revisal. |
5. a. An account of some fact or event preserved in writing or other permanent form; a document, monument, etc., on which such an account is inscribed; also,
transf. any thing or person serving to indicate or give evidence of, or preserve the memory of, a fact or event; a memorial. Freq. in
pl., a collection of such accounts, documents, etc. Also, in modern use, a tracing or series of marks, made by a recording instrument.
| 1611 Bible Ezra vi. 2 There was found..a rolle, and therein was a record thus written. 1655 H. Vaughan Silex Scint., Agreement, I wrote it down. But one that saw And envyed that Record [etc.]. 1790 Cowper In Mem. Thornton 48 Thy bounties all were Christian, and I make This record of thee for the Gospel's sake. 1822 Shelley tr. Calderon ii. 163 In my wisdom are the orbs of Heaven Written as in a record. 1841 Penny Cycl. XIX. 332/2 The journal stamp on a letter is a record that it has passed through the post⁓office. 1876 Nature XV. 101/2 Thus a permanent record is made of every signal that is sent. 1881 I. Taylor Alphabet I. 16 The very earliest record which we possess of any actual event is the scene depicted on a fragment of an antler [etc.]. |
| transf. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, iv. iv. 28 [Thou] breefe abstract and record of tedious dayes. c 1600 ― Sonn. lv, The living record of your memory. 1790 Cowper Receipt Mother's Pict. 54 The record fair That memory keeps, of all thy kindness there. 1797 Wordsw. Old Cumbld. Beggar 89 The villagers in him Behold a record. 1842 Tennyson Gardener's Dau. 173 Shaping faithful record of the glance That graced the giving. |
| pl. 1581 Savile Tacitus, Hist. iv. xl. (1591) 199 To communicate a copie to the Senate of the Princes recordes and papers. 1615 Bedwell Arab. Trudg. Talby, This I translated for the office of the Records in the Towre well neare thirtie yeares since. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. ix. 63 Why, Daphnis, dost thou search in old Records, To know the Seasons when the Stars arise? 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 143 ¶8 That no records were so durable as poems. 1781 Cowper Conversat. 615 Who..Could fetch from records of an earlier age,..His rich materials. 1819 Shelley Cenci iv. i. 58 My parchments and all records of my wealth. 1841 Penny Cycl. XIX. 336/2 The Victoria Tower..has been named as a likely repository for the public records. 1875 Helps Soc. Press. iii. 50 No historical records remain of this great transaction. |
| transf. a 1610 Parsons Leicester's Ghost (1641) 28 Can this injurious World so quickly blot A name so great out of records of fame. 1662 Bp. Hopkins Funeral Serm. (1685) 13 The records of the grave. 1759 Mason Caractacus Wks. 1811 II. 97 That black hour, (May Memory ever raze it from her records). 1843 Mill Logic i. i. §5 Either in the records of our own experience or in the discourse of others. |
b. An account or reckoning of past time.
rare.
| 1611 Bible Transl. Pref. ¶3 For conseruing the record of time in true supputation. 1711 Pope Temp. Fame 112 Who measured earth..And traced the long records of lunar years. |
c. The leading facts in the life or career of a person,
esp. of a public man; the sum of what one has done or achieved.
App. of American origin, but now in common
Eng. use.
| 1856 H. Greeley Sp., on Lincoln 20 Mar. 133 A candidate must have a slim record in these times. 1879 Tourgee Fool's Err. xi. 49 Contending so hotly over each other's records during and before the war. 1888 Century Mag. May 3 My literary record—so far as I had made a record. |
d. A performance or occurrence remarkable among, or going beyond, others of the same kind;
spec. the best recorded achievement in any competitive sport. Freq. in
phr. to beat or break the record: to surpass all previous performances.
| 1883 W. Wilson Swim. Instructor 137 The following records are given. 1884 Longm. Mag. Feb. 483 This performance, which beat all previous records was considered a very fine one. 1887 M. Shearman Athletics & Football v. 143 T. G. Little and J. H. T. Roupell..tied at 5ft. 9in., a height which remained the ‘record’ for the next five years. 1924 C. Mackenzie Heavenly Ladder xxiii. 286 The various ‘records’ we've broken..were not of our own seeking. 1955 N. & R. McWhirter (title) Guinness book of records. 1975 Oxf. Compan. Sports & Games 734/1 Thin air, a handicap in the endurance events, contributed to the shattering of world records in 11 track and field events with a premium on explosive effort. |
e. (
i) A disc or, formerly, a cylinder from which recorded sound or television pictures can be reproduced.
Occas. also, a recording made on magnetic tape.
| 1878 Design & Work 19 Jan. 72/2 The vibrations resulting when a voice..utters certain words or other sounds, instead of being caused to transmit corresponding vibrations to a distance, are caused to produce a material record... The record can also be multiplied precisely as a photographic portrait can be multiplied. 1878 Cassell's Family Mag. June 443/1 Mr. Edison is now engaged in devising a finished instrument capable of storing up speeches and music of all kinds, and of allowing the records to be sent by post. 1892 W. Gillet Phonograph ii. 11 Previous to taking a record the cylinder has a sheet of tinfoil carefully wrapped round it. Ibid., The record being finished, to reproduce it we have but to bring the cylinder back to the point of starting, and again rotate it. 1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. 485/2 One graphophone talking machine... 12 Musical and Talking Records, your own selection. 1919 H. L. Wilson Ma Pettengill i. 20 With a..hired help to bring him his breakfast in bed and put on another record and minister to his lightest whim. 1919 Wodehouse Damsel in Distress xxiii. 278 I've been dancing to your music for years! I've got about fifty of your records on the Victrola at home. 1949 Frayne & Wolfe Elem. Sound Recording xxix. 601 The making of very high-quality magnetic records has become possible commercially. 1966 Listener 3 Nov. 646/1 Musicians' Union..objects to any new broadcast popular music programmes relying mainly on records. 1975 G. J. King Audio Handbk. vii. 154 Although there are still a few mono releases, the basic record is cut for two-channel stereo. 1976 National Observer 13 Nov. 8/2 Video-disc players, which attach to your television and broadcast shows from records, are being developed by several major manufacturers. 1978 Gramophone June 136/3 The programme is recorded digitally using the well proved PCM (pulse code modulation) encoding system... Philips are forecasting that players and disc records will be available in the early 1980s. |
(
ii)
fig. (See
quots.)
| 1926 Maines & Grant Wise-Crack Dict. 12/2 Put on a new record, change the subject. 1976 W. Goldman Magic iii. xii. 207 ‘There's something crazy here..and I care.’ ‘Oh Jesus, I'm sick of that record.’ 1977 Partridge Dict. Catch Phr. 177/2 Put another record on! and change the record!.. Addressed to..anyone..‘going on about something’. |
f. An account of a person's conduct in a particular sphere, preserved for reference;
spec. a record (or history) of criminal convictions or prison sentences.
orig. U.S.| 1901 Land of Sunshine Apr. 234 In that crowded hall were many men with ‘records’. a 1911 [see pedigree n. 2 d]. 1918 A. Woods Crime Prevention vii. 87 The convict has a hard enough row to hoe when he gets out to overcome his record, even if he is mechanically capable. 1938 [see arm n.1 2 b]. 1952 M. Allingham Tiger in Smoke x. 168 Not one of you has got a real record..and you don't want to spoil it, eh? 1954 Manch. Guardian Weekly 18 Mar. 3 McCarthy had described her as a ‘code clerk’ whose ‘Communist record’ was known to the country. 1969 [see moderate n. a]. 1973 ‘E. Ferrars’ Foot in Grave viii. 144 ‘You didn't know..that he'd got a record.’ ‘A police record?’ ‘Yes.’ |
g. In various phrases:
off the record (
orig. U.S.): unofficially, confidentially; also as
adj. phr.; also,
for, on the record, for the sake of having the facts recorded or known; also,
to put (set, etc.) the record straight: to achieve a proper record of the facts; to correct a misapprehension.
| 1933 H. L. Ickes Secret Diary 24 Mar. (1953) I. 9 He met and answered every question, although in some instances his answers were off the record. 1935 Time 2 Sept. 16/2 Only a very few Canadian tycoons took a calmer off-the-record view. 1939 Time 16 Oct. 101/1 By such slightly off-the-record stunts as burglarizing the plane factory..the Major sleuths out a sabotage gang. 1943 M. Asquith Off Record 10 If it is an Americanism, all the better. They are our allies, and if no one else understands the meaning of ‘Off the Record’, they will. 1949 Manch. Guardian Weekly 31 Mar. 2/3 Professor Schuman, who is a tidy-minded man, wanted to keep the record straight. 1949 R. Chandler Little Sister xxxi. 226 Off the record—we were always sure. We just didn't have a thing on him. 1951 N.Y. Times Book Rev. 22 Apr. 35/4 (heading) For the record. 1953 A. C. Clarke Prelude to Space viii. 43, I thought you might like to come along. For the record, you can be one of our legal advisers. 1965 A. Nicol Truly Married Woman 34 Look here, Olu, do you chaps hate us?.. Of course, this is all off the record. We are speaking as man to man. 1967 N. Freeling Strike out where not Applicable 30, I said we'd get the gendarmerie to look at things, just to get the record straight, what? 1971 Daily Tel. 24 Apr. 9/6 Our Saxon forebears..[regarded] all smithy conversations as off-the-record and therefore not slanderous at law. 1972 N.Y. Times 3 Nov. 35/1 Sir Rudolf is a spirited and independent man who feels he is obligated to put the record straight. 1973 D. Westheimer Going Public i. 15, I wouldn't..advise you to lower your standards. I'll say for the record I'm not advising that. 1973 Times 17 Dec. 14/4 An unattributable criticism of the oil companies by one minister was followed next day by an on-the-record reversal. 1976 J. Snow Cricket Rebel 76, I was impressed by the fact that he had bothered to get in touch with me to put the record straight. 1977 Oxford Consumer Mar. 5/1 Mr. Shergold made further investigations and sent us the following letter which should help to set the record straight. 1978 Church Times 1 Sept. 10 I'd be surprised if they didn't get down to some pretty forthright talking about women priests—not necessarily on the record, but among themselves. 1978 R. V. Jones Most Secret War iv. 41 Our discussion, which he had assured me was ‘off the record’, was reported back to the Air Ministry. |
h. pl. Used
absol. and attrib. (with capital initial) to designate a place where official records are kept;
spec. a criminal records office or department (
cf. sense 5 f).
| 1934 Discovery Nov. 319/2 The buildings under observation were the Great Temple, the Records Office and the Police Barracks. 1937 M. Allingham Dancers in Mourning xxvi. 314 Yeo had become a new man since the message from the [Police] Records Department. 1958 ‘J. Byrom’ Or be he Dead iii. 52 ‘I'll send you a copy..so that you can bring your files up to date.’.. ‘I'm sure Records will be much indebted to you.’ 1973 ‘C. Aird’ His Burial Too iv. 38, I did a person check with Records before I left the Station... Criminal Records Office have no knowledge of him. |
i. Computers. A number of related items of information which are handled as a unit.
| 1957 Proc. Western Joint Computer Conf. 215/1 A record might be defined as all of the individual items of information (or words) about a given file unit. 1963 Communications (Assoc. Computing Machinery) VI. 267/1 Suppose each record of an input tape contains up to 50 fields.., some of which may be missing in any given input record. 1964 T. W. McRae Impact of Computers on Accounting vi. 189 A tape reel holds a certain number of records just as a ledger holds a certain number of accounts. 1966 C. J. Sippl Computer Dict. & Handbk. 265/1 The most basic subdivision of a record is called a field. 1970 O. Dopping Computers & Data Processing i. 14 We know that the first word in this record is always the last name of the subscriber, the second one is his first name, etc. 1973 C. W. Gear Introd. Computer Sci. i. 13 To avoid confusion we will refer to the set of information on each card (name and phone number) as a record. |
III. † 6. Reputation, repute, account.
Obs.| c 1386 Chaucer Sompn. T. 341 Dronkenesse is eek a foul record Of any man and namely in a lord. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 230 Protheus of his record Which was an Astronomien. Ibid. III. 326 Sche was a womman of record And al is lieved that sche seith. c 1470 Henry Wallace ix. 1133 Off him he maid bot lycht record. |
† 7. Memory, remembrance, recollection.
Obs.| 13.. Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. xlix. 61 Long record of þat malice. c 1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 106 It fallys þat þou chese of wyse men & of Skreueyns..of sotyll record. 1577–82 Breton Flourish upon Fancy (1879) 55/1 When that in minde I feede upon the freshe recorde of thee. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. v. i. 253 O that record is liuely in my soule. |
† 8. Sc. Reply; tale, statement.
Obs.| c 1470 Henry Wallace vii. 1260 Schir Jhon Menteth..Till Wallace come, and maid a playne record. Ibid. x. 1145 To that langage Cumyn maid na record. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 729 The king fell in carping, and tauld his Intent To mony gracious Grome he maid his record. |
† 9. Accord, reconcilement.
Obs. rare—1.
| c 1400 Rule St. Benet 65/654 For our enmes sal we pray, Til a recorde be redy ay. |
† 10. A musical note.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1582 T. Watson Centurie of Love xi, O Goulden bird..Whose sweete records and more then earthly voice..did then my griefe asswage. |
† 11. = recorder2.
Obs. rare.
| ? c 1475 Sqr. lowe Degre 1075 With sytolphe and with sautry songe With fydle, recorde, and dowcemere. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie ii. i. (Arb.) 79 Melodious instruments, as Lutes, Harpes, Regals, Records, and such like. |
† 12. = recorder1.
Obs. rare.
| a 1550 Vox populi 702 in Hazl. E.P.P. III. 292 The laweare and the landelorde, The greate reave and the recorde, The recorde I mean is he That hath office or els ffee. |
IV. 13. attrib. and
Comb. a. Objective and objective genitive, as (sense 5 a)
record bearer,
record bearing,
record keeper,
record-keeping,
record-maker,
record-making; (sense 5 d)
record-breaker,
record-breaking,
record-holder,
record-setting,
record-smasher,
record-smashing; (sense 5 e)
record-buying,
record-collecting,
record collector.
| 1549 Coverdale, etc. Erasm. Par. 2 Thess. i. 9 b, You, which trusted in Christ at our *recorde bearing. |
| ― Erasm. Par. 2 John 54 Thys is the true doctrine, whiche you haue receaued of true *recorde bearours from the begynnyng. 1581 Marbeck Bk. of Notes 216 Those faithfull christen men, that heard and sawe Christ, and were his record bearers. |
| 1894 Rep. Vermont Board Agric. XIV. 93 Raising trotters for sporting men..has been done with the one idea of producing a *record breaker, regardless of every other qualification. 1929 A. Huxley Do what you Will 145 Modern record-breakers have been ready to undergo..hardships for the sake of money. 1976 Liverpool Echo 7 Dec. 7/3 A Birkenhead company is making a name for itself as record breakers in the shipping world. |
| 1886 Pall Mall G. 10 July 6/1 This Henley Regatta has been a *record-breaking one. 1929 A. Huxley Do what you Will 147 The record-breaking was to have a numerous audience. 1937 C. Isherwood Sally Bowles 66 Huge contracts for Sally, record-breaking sales for the novels I should one day write. 1950 Sport 22–28 Sept. 20/4 Not satisfied with his record-breaking average of 23 m.p.h., Joy rode again last weekend in vain hope of lowering his hundred mile time. |
| 1949 L. Feather Inside Be-Bop i. 5 Lester's introduction to the *record-buying jazz public. 1970 Guardian 7 Aug. 8/2 The two orchestras..are..little known..by the record-buying public. |
| 1956 M. Stearns Story of Jazz (1957) xvii. 216 To the *record-collecting converts known as ‘moldy figs’, however, this was not ‘authentic’ jazz. |
| 1932 New Yorker 14 May 57/1 Mme. Ljungberg, hitherto accessible to *record-collectors principally in opera albums, introduces herself as a singer of Strauss. 1946 Penguin Music Mag. Dec. 91 The record collector, who has built up his library.., really gets to know the music to which he listens. |
| 1934 Discovery Dec. 352/1 The *record holders of the fastest time between England and Australia. 1963 Times 30 Jan. 4/3 That graceful and intelligent runner, Johnson, is still the United Kingdom recordholder over 800 metres. 1977 Whitaker's Almanack 1978 584/2 Terry Paine,..the Football League's appearance record-holder, played his..final League match against Southampton. |
| 1715 Willis Notitia Parl. I. Pref. 3 Deputy *Record Keeper of the Tower. |
| 1965 D. E. C. Eversley in Eversley & Glass Population in Hist. i. 34 Where central legislation..enforces *record-keeping, the change tends to be abrupt. 1977 J. M. Johnson in Douglas & Johnson Existential Sociol. viii. 246 Those typifications of the daily work of intake workers that did not result in an official ‘case’ for record-keeping purposes. |
| 1884 Longm. Mag. Feb. 480 Some severe strictures on the ‘*record-makers’ [in cycling]. |
| Ibid., Whilst I am writing in familiar style of ‘records’ and ‘*record-making’. |
| 1969 Jane's Freight Containers 1968–69 112/2 Time required to unload a trailer has been reduced from 10 minutes to a *record-setting 90 seconds. 1972 J. Mosedale Football ii. 21 The Eagles won 14–0, a record-setting two playoff shutouts in a row. |
| 1928 Daily Sketch 7 Aug. 22/3 Arne Borg, the *record-smasher at all distances in the swimming world, was at work again yesterday. |
| 1889 Puck (N.Y.) 7 Aug. 399/2 We will soon have as many *record-smashing ocean-steamers as we now have champion pugilists. |
b. attrib. in senses 4 and 5, as
record book,
record-bottle,
record card,
record commission,
record committee,
record-cross,
record-office,
record-room,
record-stone; (sense 5 e)
record cabinet,
record case,
record company,
record deck (
deck n.1 3 f),
record groove,
record label (
label n.1 7 c),
record library,
record needle,
record rack,
record shop,
record storage,
record store.
| 1961 Evening Standard 6 Feb. 22/3 A further step toward deathless *record-book fame in its dreariest form. 1976 0–10 Cricket Scene (Austral.) 5/1 That was the start of the climb..which was to re-write the record books and lift Australia to the peak of performance. |
| 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. xxv. (1856) 203 Planting a flagstaff, with..a *record-bottle below it. |
| 1967 H. Pinter Basement 70 Law goes to the *record cabinet. He examines record after record. |
| 1934 Burlington Mag. Sept. 142/1 Prolonged study of the data which *record-cards may provide. 1960 M. Spark Bachelors i. 6 The specialist himself would possibly remember only the gist, and then only with the aid of his record cards. 1977 News of World 17 Apr. 7/2 Details..noted down by teachers on their pupils' record cards. |
| 1908 Sears, Roebuck Catal. 201/1 Disc *Record Cases..made from wood covered with black seal grain imitation leather... No. 1 holds 50 7-inch disc records. 1949 D. Smith I capture Castle xiii. 245 A wireless and a gramophone combined..[and] a record case to match. |
| 1811 First Ann. Rep. Rec. Ireland App., The Statutes..which have been published under the English *Record Commission. 1841 Penny Cycl. XIX. 336/1 The Record Commission was renewed six several times between the years 1800 and 1831. |
| 1801 Ann. Rep. Comm. Public Rec. §2 The *Record Committee of the House of Commons. |
| 1938 D. Baker Young Man with Horn iv. vii. 278 The *record company went broke before any of their records were issued. 1978 Lancashire Life Apr. 29/3 Life after death is a tall order, but this month a record company comes near to meeting it by supplying the next best thing. |
| 1838 J. Pardoe River & Desert II. 17 The hand..which had planted the *record-cross, and the tributary wreath. |
| 1976 A. Hope Hi-Fi Handbk. 116 If you intend giving your *record deck a fairly hard working life [etc.]. |
| 1946 E. Hodgins Mr. Blandings i. 9 He lowered the rusty tone arm, complete with needle, on to the *record groove. |
| 1976 M. Maguire Scratchproof xi. 172 ‘The *record labels too, I suppose.’ ‘Steaming off and switching?’ 1977 Listener 25 Aug. 247/2 Elvis had been doing it..already, on a little Tennessee record label. |
| 1961 Times-Picayune (New Orleans) 19 June iii. 11/3 A stereo series called ‘Adventures in Music’, which is an instructional *record library for elementary schools. 1974 E. Ambler Dr. Frigo i. 50 On shelving built along the inner wall was..hi-fi equipment and a record library. |
| 1918–19 T. Eaton & Co. Catal. Fall & Winter 369/2 *Record Needles, 100 for 15c. |
| 1800 First Rep. Public Rec. 18 Upon Inquiry into the *Record Offices of the Sheriffs [etc.]. 1855 Singleton Virgil I. 141 Nor people's record-offices beheld. 1904 G. B. Shaw Let. 23 Nov. (1972) II. 467, I was startled to hear that Edith Livia was getting..twenty-five shillings a week for work at the Record Office. |
| 1973 A. Roy Sable Night ii. 22 The bookcase and *record-rack yielded nothing. 1975 R. Butler Where All Girls are Sweeter ii. 17, I looked through his record racks... There was a nice mixture from Bach to Vivaldi. |
| 1800 First Rep. Public Rec. App. Pl. i, *Record Room for Principal Clerks of Session. 1812 Sporting Mag. XXXIX. 152 Convicted by the magistrates at the record-room, Northampton. |
| 1960 Twentieth Cent. Apr. 341 *Record-shops..have mushroomed all over Britain in the last five years. 1975 Guardian 22 Jan. 14/5 The top 40 singles are based on local record shop returns. |
| 1836 J. H. Newman in Lyra Apost. (1849) 53 So, let the cliffs and seas of this fair place Be named man's tomb and splendid *record-stone. |
| 1939–40 Army & Navy Stores Catal. 838/2 Radiogramophone..with five record albums and..extra *record storage. 1974 Times 8 Apr. 13/3 A record storage cabinet in a Queen Anne style. |
| 1949 Billboard 2 Apr. 34 Albums listed are those classical and semi-classical albums selling best in the nation's retail *record stores. 1977 D. Westlake Nobody's Perfect (1978) 107 A branch of a major department store..the record stores, the shoe stores, the ladies' clothing stores. |
c. attrib. in sense 5 d, passing into
adj.| 1893 Lydekker Horns & Hoofs 135 The ‘record’ dimensions are..a length of 13½ in., with a girth..of 6½ in. 1895 Times 2 Jan. 13/1 Record prices have been made. 1912 Chesterton Manalive ii. i. 194 Smith was one of the University's record men for shooting. 1922 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 2 Sept. 412/1 During 1919,..3,420 new students were registered, being 1,105 greater than the ‘record’ entry of 1891. 1937 Discovery Sept. 264 His ‘dash’..was accomplished in record time. 1948 ‘J. Tey’ Franchise Affair viii. 86 If you could have seen your face when I introduced you to her... It cured me of her in record time. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 16 Feb. 83/1, 27,000 gn record-priced bull. 1978 Lancashire Life Apr. 69/2 Visitors numbered a record 114,000 in 1977, and it is hoped that this trend will continue. |
14. Special combinations.
record album,
† (
a) a holder for gramophone records (
obs.); (
b)
= album1 6;
record changer, a device for automatically placing another record on the turntable of a gramophone when the preceding record has ended; also
record-changing a.;
record club, a society which enables members to purchase selected gramophone records at reduced prices;
record hop slang, a dance at which the music is provided by gramophone records; a place where such entertainment is held;
record jockey U.S. slang (immediately supplanted by
disc jockey: see
disc 8 f);
record linkage, the process of combining items of information or sets of data relating to the same subject;
record player,
orig. a turntable and pick-up unit designed to be plugged into and played through a radio; now
usu. a gramophone;
record sleeve, a stiff envelope in which a gramophone record may be stored (
cf. sleeve n. 7);
record token, a voucher exchangeable in a shop for a gramophone record or records;
record type, a type-face including special sorts reproducing the contractions or particular letter forms found in mediæval manuscripts.
| 1925–6 T. Eaton & Co. Catal. Fall & Winter 391/1 These *Record Albums are made with strong cardboard covers... Each album will hold 12 records. 1945 Billboard 24 Mar. 18/2 (heading) Best-selling record albums by classical artists. 1955 Keepnews & Grauer Pictorial Hist. Jazz viii. 87/2 When people got around to..dissecting it [sc. a variety of jazz] in books and record-album notes,.. it became known as ‘Chicago style’. |
| 1931 N.Y. Times 12 July 4/8 The Capehart 400 series..has several novel features... The *record changer is equipped with a special constant-speed electric motor which operates both the turn-table and the record-shifting mechanism. 1947 Gramophone Nov. 88/1 The amplifier and record changer are contained in a small chair-side consol. 1977 Times 18 Apr. (Gramophone Suppl.) p. i/2 A radio-gramophone, with automatic record changer, was installed in our living room. |
| 1931 Wireless World 23 Sept. 349/3 H.M.V.'s ace set is the model 531, being a nine-valve superheterodyne with automatic *record-changing radio-gramophone. 1943 Gramophone Dec. 107/1 The spindle and turntable move left and down, which leaves the area free for the first record to drop upon the ‘floor’ of the record-changing unit. |
| 1958 Manch. Guardian 21 Jan. 6/6 If anything the *record club is likely to spread an interest in records of serious music rather than reduce the profits of the big companies. 1961 G. Smith Business of Loving xi. 229 We started as a record club... The first discs..were fifteen shillings. |
| 1960 Punch 9 Mar. 345/1 Akin to the juke-box joints are the *record-hops. 1966 Wall St. Jrnl. 25 July 1 ‘Record hops’..are dances often organized by a disc jockey and plugged by him over the air, as a means of supplementing his income. |
| 1940 Variety 3 Apr. 39/3 [Quoting J. Kapp] The name bands are come on for the *record jockeys who ride herd over not only Decca records but all the others. |
| 1946 H. L. Dunn in Amer. Jrnl. Public Health XXXVI. 1412/2 In the process of *record linkage the uniting of the fact-of-death with the fact-of-birth has been given a special name, ‘death clearance’. 1959 Science 16 Oct. 954/1 The term record linkage has been used to indicate the bringing together of two or more separately recorded pieces of information concerning a particular individual or family. 1968 Brit. Med. Bull. XXIV. 208/2 If birth and marriage records are included in the system, it is possible to use record linkage to assemble sibships, parent-offspring groups and eventually pedigrees. |
| 1934 Wireless World 5 Jan. 10/3 (caption) The Collaro *record player incorporated in a radio-gramophone cabinet. 1939 New Regal-Zono Records Feb. 4 (Advt.), The thousands already sold of the Columbia electric record-player prove conclusively how many fully appreciate the facility of playing their records through their radio sets. 1958 Sunday Times 3 Aug. 3/6 Now that the station has bought a new record-player and gets all its music in prerecorded tapes, the personal touch is all but gone. 1960 Practical Wireless XXXVI. 377 (Advt.), Turns any gramophone into a first-class tape-recorder and back into a record-player in a moment. 1973 M. Amis Rachel Papers 68 You mean to tell me that it's only made in stereo?.. What about the people who don't own stereo record-players? 1977 Gramophone July 241/1 The humble record player of earlier years could still be found in a few places. |
| 1954 Gramophone Record Rev. July 415 On the *record sleeve, the user is extolled to play the record at full room volume. 1963 L. Deighton Horse under Water xviii. 74 The brightly coloured record sleeves that are the folk art of the new world. 1978 P. Porter Cost of Seriousness 47 An old woman, So the record sleeve denotes, Is singing of death In a young world. |
| 1958 M. Kelly Christmas Egg ii. 76 The envelope that had held his brother's *record token. 1977 Radio Times 26 Nov.–2 Dec. 56/1 EMI Record Tokens..can be exchanged at over 5,000 leading record shops. |
| 1886 F. W. Maitland Let. 24 Apr. (1965) 19 As regards mode of printing:—The use of ‘*record type’ seems undesirable. 1934 V. H. Galbraith Introd. Use of Public Records v. 77 A century ago the Record Commission in its publications tried by means of ‘record type’ virtually to reproduce the document, with all its abbreviations. 1972 C. R. Cheney in A. Campbell Charters of Rochester p. vi, Originals and early copies are reproduced as faithfully as is possible, without going to the extreme of using ‘record type’. |
▸
record bag n. (a) a protective sleeve for a record;
(b) a large flat bag, originally designed to contain records, but now also used more generally.
| 1987 Toronto Star 13 Jan. (North section) 5/1 Now they give you those *record bags, made out of that tough, jet-aged plastic wrap that always gets jammed up at the bottom of the record jacket. 1991 Los Angeles Times (Nexis) 27 Mar. f1/2 (caption) This is a 10-inch, 78 r.p.m. record bag from the mid-1930s. 1992 Face (BNC) Sept. 28 Loveable scally Mike has graduated from his Farm T-shirts to wearing one of our limited-edition Save Face tops and slinging our record bag over his shoulder. 2001 Contact May 57/1 Its footprint of 26x341x241 mm and 2.4Kg means the G4 fits very easily into almost any rucksack, record bag or briefcase, leaving considerable room to spare. |
▪ II. record, v.1 (
rɪˈkɔːd)
Also 5
Sc. racord, 6
record.
[ad. OF. recorder (in most senses of the Eng. word) = Sp. recordar, It. ricordare:—L. recordāre (classical recordārī), f. re- re- + cord-, cor heart: cf. accord, discord, etc.] I. † 1. trans. a. To get by heart, to commit to memory, to go over in one's mind.
b. To repeat or say over as a lesson, to recite.
Obs.| a 1225 Ancr. R. 256, & makie so þeo þet bereð þet word recorden hit ofte biuoren hire, er heo go ut. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 172 Better him wer..Þe seruise of his song recorded & lered. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iii. 2 (51) Lay al this mene while Troilus Recordyng his lesson in this manere. c 1477 Caxton Jason 37 If ye will recorde the lessons and epistles of loue by the space of ten yere. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 250 b, Anon the crowe recorded also the other woordes whiche she had so often heard. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Kal. Apr. 30 If hys ditties bene so trimly dight, I pray thee, Hobbinoll, recorde some one. a 1656 Hales Gold. Rem. i. (1673) 142 The Gardiner whilst he prunes his Vines and Arbours, may record some one of David's sonnets. |
† c. To take to heart, give heed to.
Obs.—1| 1390 Gower Conf. II. 250 He tolde him many a dredful sawe Bot Jason wolde it noght recorde. |
2. a. To practise (a song, tune, etc.). In later use only of birds (
cf. 3);
† freq. (
c 1580–1620)
= to sing or warble (a tune, etc.).
| 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) v. viii. 99 When they hadde these instrumentes they recorded songes besyly tylle that they were..parfyte ynowe in al maner musike. 1580 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 278 Where vnder a sweete Arbour of Eglentine, be byrdes recording theyr sweete notes [etc.]. 1601 Dolman La Primaud. Fr. Acad. (1618) III. 760 The young little nightingales harken to the old, and do record by themselues apart, the songs which they heard. a 1654 Selden Table-t. (Arb.) 95 You see a Bird by often whistling to learn a tune, and a Month after record it to her self. 1834 E. Jesse Glean. Nat. Hist. Ser. ii. 84 This tune..I could distinctly hear it inwardly whistle, or, in the language of bird-fanciers, record it. |
† b. To sing of or about (something); to render in song.
Obs.| 1576 Gascoigne Philomene (Arb.) 110 Then Phylomene records the rewth Which craueth iust remorse. 1597 Lyly Wom. in Moon iii. i. 79 Let vs go walke the woods, Where warbling birds recorde our happines. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. v. iv. 6 Here can I..to the Nightingales complaining Notes Tune my distresses, and record my woes. |
3. a. intr. Of birds (rarely of persons): To practise or sing a tune in an undertone; to go over it quietly or silently. Now only
techn.| c 1510 Barclay Mirr. Gd. Manners (1570) E vj, Therfore first recorde thou, as birde within a cage,..thy tunes tempring longe, And then..forth with thy pleasaunt songe. 1530 Palsgr. 681/2 This byrde recordeth all redy, she wyll synge within a whyle. a 1592 H. Smith Serm. (1637) 429 Like a bird that is taught to record, when he had sung it he sang it again. 1619 Fletcher M. Thomas iii. iii, Ye may record a little, or ye may whistle, As time shall minister; but, for main singing, Pray ye satisfy yourselves. 1727–41 Chambers Cycl. s.v., The cock thrush is distinguished from the hen in recording, the first being more loud and frequent in it than the second. 1773 Barrington in Phil. Trans. LXIII. 250, I have known instances of birds beginning to record when they were not a month old. 1871 Darwin Desc. Man I. i. ii. 55 The young males [birds] continue practising, or, as the bird-catchers say, recording, for ten or eleven months. |
† b. To sing or warble.
Obs.| 1590 Lodge Rosalind (Hunter. Cl.) 27 Partlie to heare the melodie of the sweete birdes which recorded. 1592 Kyd Sp. Trag. ii. iv. 28 Harke, Madame, how the birds record by night. 1613–6 W. Browne Brit. Past. ii. iv, While the nymph did earnestly contest Whether the birds or she recorded best. |
II. † 4. trans. To call to mind, to recall, recollect, remember.
Obs.| 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 4191 Treytur! recorde what þou hast herde Seyde and sunge yn al þe werlde. 1340 Ayenb. 142 Huanne he recordeþ þet lif of iesu crist and his holy passioun. c 1400 Rule St. Benet 11 Þat ye be noght for-getil,..And tat ye recorde wel þe cumantemens of god. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. lxxxv, Do we so..that men mowe recorde the worthynesse of knyght hode. 1530 Palsgr. 681/2 When I recorde the gentyll wordes he hath had unto me, it maketh my herte full sorye for hym. 1599 T. M[oufet] Silkwormes 65 For they recording what they were of late Dare not yet mount aboue their former state. a 1656 Hales Gold. Rem. iii. (1673) 4 Do you already know your duty? it serves to commemorate, and to make you record it. 1789 Cowper Annus Mem. 34 An era..Which joyful I will oft record, And thankful, at my frugal board. |
| absol. c 1440 Jacob's Well 181, I haue seyd my synne in herte recordynge. c 1460 Launfal 831 The Kyng recordede tho, And bad hym bryng hys lef yn syght. |
† 5. To meditate, ponder (something)
with oneself.
Obs.| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. i. pr. i. 2 (Camb. MS.) While þat I stille recordede thise thinges with myself. 1583 T. Stocker Civ. Warres Lowe C. ii. 46 Certaine dayes of deliberation are giuen to the prisoner to record with himselfe, who or what his enemies be. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary i. (1625) 86 We shall record with our selues, in what league, amity or duty, we haue before-time stood charged. |
† 6. intr. a. To have mind or recollection
of a person or thing.
Obs.| 1382 Wyclif Gen. viii. 1 The Lord forsothe recordide of Noe. ― Isa. lxiii. 11 He recordide of the daȝes of the world. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. i. (Percy Soc.) 9 Recorde of Saturne, the first kyng of Crete. 1567 Triall Treas. (1850) 28 Recorde of Dionisius, a king of much fame. |
† b. To think or meditate
on a thing or person. Also with
in.
Obs.| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iii. 1130 (1179) Evermore on this night ye recorde, And beth wel ware ye do no more amys. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 125 Recorde on Fraunce and Parys the fayre citee. 1430–40 ― Bochas viii. i. (1558) 3 Recorde on Cyrus, and many other mo. 1532 Tindale Expos. Matt. vi. 34 (c 1550) 82 b, To kepe the couenaunt of the Lorde thy God, and to recorde therin daye and night. 1560 Becon New Catech. Wks. I. 488 Let not the boke of this lawe departe out of thy mouth, but recorde therein daye and nyght. a 1604 R. Hall Life Bp. Fisher xxii. (ed. Baily, 1655) 206 Himselfe praying all the way, and recording upon the words which he before had read. |
† 7. a. To remind (one) of (a thing).
Obs. rare—1.
| c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 829 Ye woot youre foreward and I it yow recorde. |
† b. refl. To remember. Also
const. of.
Obs.| 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) i. xv. 9 Ful wel I me record, of this mater ne touchyd I no word. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 150 A man sholde hym recorde of thynges that afore hath bene. |
III. † 8. a. trans. To relate in words; to tell or narrate orally. Also
intr. in
to hear record, to hear tell (
of a person).
Obs. (in later use only as
transf. from 9).
| 13.. Cursor M. 19112 (Gött.) Bi his fadir sitt he sall, Till he record haf vs all, þat he spac feirst wid prophecis. 1340 Ayenb. 59 Þet is þe zenne of þan þet zuo bliþeliche recordeþ hare dedes and hare prowesses. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 36 In this wise, as I recorde, The man is cause of alle wo. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 52 Beting hem self [and] recordyng her synne tofore the pepille. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lix. 13 Quhois crewall sclander seruis deid, And in my name all leis recordis. 1550 Lyndesay Sqr. Meldrum 1520 Thair dwelt in Fyfe ane aged Lord That of this Squyer hard record. 1738 Wesley Hymn, ‘To Thee, O Father of Mankind’ ii, Who in th' Assembly of the Just Will still record thy Praise. |
† b. Const.
to or
unto (a person).
Obs.| 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 72 Thai all concordyt, That all thar spek suld be recordyt Till Schyr Eduuard. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 49 Somwhat of his aventures, To thee, mi Sone, I wol recorde. c 1470 Henry Wallace x. 542 The Bruce than in his mynd remordyt Thai wordis suth that Wallace had him recordyt. c 1500 Melusine 102 The erle..demanded of Raymondin where he had be so long, and he recorded to hym alle his auenture. |
† c. To declare as one's verdict.
Obs.| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xviii. 197, I, Riȝtwisnesse, recorde thus with treuth, That her peyne be perpetuel. 1393 Ibid. C. iv. 474 After the dede that ys ydo, the dome shal recorde, Mercy other no mercy. a 1400 Pistill of Susan 60 Riȝtwys Jugement recordet þei none. |
9. a. To relate in writing; to narrate or mention in a written account; to put or set down in writing; to put on record. Also, in modern use, of telegraphic and other instruments: To set down (a message, etc.) in some permanent form.
In later use the sense of setting down in a written or permanent form becomes the prominent one; early examples are more closely connected with sense 8.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 25 Me mynez on one amonge oþer, as Maþew recordez. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxxi. (Eugenia) 239 It nedis nocht to recorde here þe dole. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 47 Clerkys recorde, by gret auctoryte, Hornes wer yove to bestys for dyffence. 1554–9 in Songs & Ball. (1860) 2 Yet God made hyme promys, as Scrypture dothe reccord. 1579 E. K. Gloss. Spenser's Sheph. Cal. May 54 Which story is first recorded of Plutarch, in his booke of the ceasing of oracles. 1601 Dolman La Primaud. Fr. Acad. (1618) III. 828 Plinie recordeth many other wonders concerning these beasts. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. ii. iii. §1 After he hath recorded those faults, he seeks not to extenuate them. 1696 Whiston Th. Earth iii. (1722) 253 Their Numbers were exactly taken, and are as exactly Recorded. 1771 Junius Lett. I. 259 The services you have done the nation..have been faithfully recorded. 1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk. II. 265 The last words of his that are recorded, are worthy the greatness of his soul. 1860 Tyndall Glac. ii. xxi. 343, I have recorded certain winter measurements made on the Mer de Glace. 1873 F. Jenkin Electr. & Magn. xxii. §5 Sometimes the Morse signals are indicated to the ear or eye without being recorded. 1895 [see recorder1 4]. |
| fig. 1601 Daniel To C'tess Cumbld. xvi, This note (Madam) of your Worthiness Remaines recorded in so many Hearts. 1647 H. More Song of Soul i. i. i, What so under eye Doth fall, or is record in memorie. 1726 Pope Odyss. xvii. 580 Just and unjust recording in their mind. 1781 Cowper Truth 161 In faithful memory she records the crimes, Or real or fictitious, of the times. |
| absol. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. ii. Prol. 30 Wiþe Orosius we wil discorde In til our dat qwhen we racorde Befor or fra þe byrtht of God. |
| refl. 1818 Scott Ivanhoe ix, By this name the stranger had recorded himself in the books of the tourney. |
b. To have (a gift, etc.) properly recorded; to give (a verdict or vote).
| 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iv. i. 388 That he doe record a gift Heere in the Court of all he dies possest Vnto his sonne [etc.]. a 1856 Cushing Law & Pract. Legisl. Assemblies U.S. vi. iii. 708 If they do not apply until afterwards, they can only be permitted to record their votes by leave of the house. 1884 Manch. Exam. 10 May 5/4 There is only one verdict which those who disapprove of it can record. |
c. To convert (sound or visual scenes,
esp. television pictures) into a permanent form from which they can afterwards be reproduced by machine. Also
absol.| 1892 W. Gilbert Phonograph ii. 31 The instrument is now ready to register any sound... While the handle is steadily turned.., speak slowly and distinctly the words you wish to be recorded. 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 680/2 When the phonograph records the sound of an orchestra, it does not record the tones of each instrument. 1935 H. C. Bryson Gramophone Record iv. 70 A good modern recorder is designed to record frequencies between 250 and 5,000 without discrimination. 1960 How TV Works 37/1 A video-tape machine recording the opening of Parliament. 1967 S. Beckett Eh Joe 15 Joe's opening movements followed by camera at constant remove... No need to record room as a whole. 1972 Daily Tel. 29 Jan. 3 The full proceedings of an inquest were recorded for broadcasting for the first time yesterday. 1978 Radio Times 9–15 Dec. 81/4 Most people who record and play back BBC television programmes using videocassette equipment do not realise they infringe copyright. 1980 S. Brett Dead Side of Mike xiii. 145 I'd better go. We're about to record. |
d. intr. Of a performer or instrument: to be suited to sound recording.
| 1923 O. Mitchell Talking Machine Industry viii. 88 It has been complained by some that, in technical phrase, she does not record well. 1925 P. A. Scholes Second Bk. Gramoph. Rec. p. xviii, The Piano, as an instrument, records less well than other instruments. |
e. trans. and intr. Of a performer: to give a performance, or a performance of (a work), that is recorded.
| 1927 Daily Tel. 12 Feb. 7 She has recorded the Ave Maria from ‘Otello’..as if she had recorded all her life! 1928 Melody Maker Feb. 155/3 The band..has recently jumped into prominence, having already recorded for Edison Bell. 1966 Listener 10 Mar. 345/1 Mostly they recorded at the end of their careers, and violinists seem to deteriorate much earlier than pianists. |
† 10. a. To bear witness to (a fact, etc.); to attest, confirm. Also
absol., to testify.
Obs.| 1377 Langland P. Pl. B. iv. 157 Alle riȝtful recorded þat resoun treuthe tolde. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VIII. 348 Þese were i-sent to the popes court for to have þese covenauntes recorded by þe popes billes. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 426/1 Recordyn', or bere wytnesse, testificor. 1476 in Surtees Misc. (1888) 35 Thys wyll we recorde and bere wittenesse be thys lettre of record sealed with our seales. 1514 Barclay Cyt. & Uplondyshm. (Percy Soc.) p. xlvi, That can Amintas record and testify. 1570 Levins Manip. 171/21 To Recorde, contestari. 1607 Shakes. Timon iv. ii. 4 Let me be recorded by the righteous Gods, I am as poore as you. |
| absol. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. v. 29 To take red at Reson, that recorde sholde By-fore the kyng and Conscience. c 1460 Towneley Myst. xii. 327 It was a mery gle, sich hard I never none, I recorde. |
† b. To call to witness.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1586 Marlowe 1st Pt. Tamburl. v. ii, For all blot of foul inchastity, I record Heaven, her heavenly self is clear. |
† IV. 11. To pertain or belong
to (one).
Obs. rare—1.
| c 1500 Lancelot 606 Hyme lakid nocht that to a lord recordith. |
V. 12. The
infin. used in the sense ‘recording’.
a. attrib. (often as a name of a part), as
record button,
record head; also
record–reproduce adj.| 1950 Godfrey & Amos Sound Recording & Reproduction (1952) vi. 162 When the *Record button is depressed, current is fed to the wiping head. 1973 Times 28 Nov. 6/7 Miss Woods..pressed the ‘record’ button (it was next to the ‘stop’ button). 1975 P. G. Winslow Death of Angel ix. 186 He pushed the record button. But the heads of his machine were too old. They didn't erase the music. |
| 1946 Trans. Amer. Inst. Electr. Engineers LXV. 216/2 The playback head is located a few feet along the wire from the *record head so that in listening tests it is possible to get a quick comparison between a few bars of music as recorded and played back. 1950 G. A. Briggs Sound Reproduction (ed. 2) xix. 135 For reproduction, the erase and record heads are switched off and the play-back head is brought into use. 1976 I. R. Sinclair Master Stereo Cassette Recording i. 9 Though some high quality reel-to-reel machines use separate record and replay heads,..it is usual on cassette recorders to have only one head used for both recording and for replay. |
| 1951 Bell Syst. Technical Jrnl. XXX. 1146 The ring-type *record-reproduce head. Ibid., The process was repeated..for several record-reproduce speeds. |
b. Not
attrib.| 1950 G. A. Briggs Sound Reproduction (ed. 2) xix. 136 By suitable switching of output circuits, one amplifier may be arranged to function for both record and replay. 1968 C. N. G. Matthews Tape Recording iv. 36 During record or reproduce it [sc. the tape] is kept in close contact with the heads by pressure pads or by its own tension. Ibid. 38 Equalization is switched automatically as the machine is switched from record to playback. 1971 Hi-Fi Sound Feb. 49/2 (Advt.), 4 track stereo record and replay using popular Compact Cassettes. 1976 K. Bonfiglioli Something Nasty in Woodshed x. 119 Even on virgin tape I still got the gentle muttering if it was played through on ‘record’..at a nil recording level. |