momentn.
/ˈməʊm(ə)nt/, U.S. /ˈmoʊm(ə)nt/ I. A small quantity of something, esp. a very short period of time.
1. An indefinite (usually short) period of time. See also phrases in Phrases 1 – Phrases 6.
a. A very short period or extent of time, esp. one too brief for its duration to be significant; a point in time, an instant. In the same sense: †moment of an hour (also of a minute) (probably originally used with reference to sense 2a) (obsolete).In quot. 1642 personified.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [noun] > moment or instant
hand-whileOE
prinkOE
start-while?c1225
twinkling1303
rese?c1335
prick1340
momenta1382
pointa1382
minutea1393
instant1398
braida1400
siquarea1400
twink14..
whip?c1450
movement1490
punct1513
pissing whilea1556
trice1579
turning of a hand1579
wink1585
twinklec1592
semiquaver1602
punto1616
punctilio of time1620
punctum1620
breathing1625
instance1631
tantillation1651
rapc1700
crack1725
turning of a straw1755
pig's whisper1780
jiffy1785
less than no time1788
jiff1797
blinka1813
gliffy1820
handclap1822
glimpsea1824
eyewink1836
thought1836
eye-blink1838
semibreve1845
pop1847
two shakes of a lamb's taila1855
pig's whistle1859
time point1867
New York minute1870
tick1879
mo?1896
second1897
styme1897
split-second1912
split minute1931
no-time1942
sec.1956
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Lev. xv. 3 By eche momentes [a1425 L.V. bi alle momentis; L. per singula momenta] hit cleueþ to þe flesch of hym.
c1385 G. Chaucer Knight's Tale 2584 In that selue moment Palamon Is vnder Venus.
c1390 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale 254 Ther shal nat perisse an heer of his heed ne a moment [v.r. a mynute] of an houre.
a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 5650 (MED) A moment of tyme es nan othir thyng Bot a short space als of a eghe twynklyng.
?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) I. lf. 117v And than the same moment & tyme þt she had so doo Alcumena..began [etc.].
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccj In a moment of an houre, the Welshemen wer clene discomfited.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 300 Jn the verie selfe mamunt quhen thay war to Joyne battell, Bischope ffothadie..cumis betueine thame.
1628 O. Felltham Resolves: 2nd Cent. xlix. 143 Wee are curdled to the fashion of a life, by time, and set successions; when all again is lost, and in the moment of a minute, gone.
1642 T. Fuller Holy State iv. xiii. 304 She remembreth how suddenly the Scene in the Masque was altered (almost before moment it self could take notice of it).
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding ii. xv. 96 Such a small part in Duration, may be called a Moment, and is the time of one Idea in our Minds, in the train of their ordinary Succession there.
1707 Boston News-let. 23 June 2/2 On a sudden came a Squall of Wind that Overset the French Ship, which in a moment fill'd.
1748 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 16 Feb. (1932) (modernized text) III. 1103 The value of moments, when cast up, is immense, if well employed... Every moment may be put to some use.
1796 J. G. Stedman Narr. Exped. Surinam II. xviii. 50 The aboma-snake..has the power of crushing it [sc. the jaguar] to a jelly in but a few moments.
1813 J. Austen Pride & Prejudice III. v. 83 ‘Do you really think so?’ cried Elizabeth, brightening up for a moment . View more context for this quotation
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola II. ii. 26 It seemed a long while to them—it was but a moment.
1891 E. Peacock Narcissa Brendon II. 10 At this moment a servant entered.
1929 R. Hughes High Wind in Jamaica iv. 90 The children..all woke at the same moment as if by clockwork.
1946 A. Christie Hollow xiii. 116 Henrietta went to the french windows, opened them, and passed through. After a moment's hesitation Edward followed her.
1987 S. Johnson Commissioner ii. 21 After lunch Morton had a few moments alone with the Prime Minister in her study.
b. A period of time (not necessarily brief) marked by a particular quality of experience or by a memorable event. Used frequently in in a moment (also moments) of: during a brief period of, or under the momentary influence of, the condition, emotion, etc., specified. Also (in recent use) with preceding noun, as Kodak (also Zen, etc.) moment: a brief period of time marked by some aspect of the modifying word.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [noun] > moment or instant > characterized by the quality of the experience
moment1872
moment critique1930
defining moment1967
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. liv. 8 In a moment [L. momento] of indignacioun I hidde my face a litil fro thee.
a1542 T. Wyatt Coll. Poems (1969) 103 Suffer my Cryes thie marcye for to move, That wonted is a hundred yeares offence In momente of repentaunce to remove.
1789 T. Jefferson Let. 3 Aug. in Papers (1958) XV. 326 Such has been the firmness and wisdom of their proceedings in moments of adversity as well as prosperity, that I have the highest confidence that they will use their power justly.
1806 T. S. Surr Winter in London II. 159 In a moment of splenetic pride the jewels were dispatched.
1849 C. Brontë Let. 24 Mar. in E. C. Gaskell Life C. Brontë (1850) II. 76 In the time which has elapsed since Emily's death, there have been moments of solitary, deep, inert affliction, far harder to bear than those which immediately followed our loss.
1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch II. xlii. 370 Here was a man who now for the first time found himself looking into the eyes of death—who was passing through one of those rare moments of experience when we feel the truth of a commonplace.
1919 S. Maugham Moon & Sixpence xix. 161 Do we not know that man in moments of emotion expresses himself naturally in the terms of a novelette?
1931 A. Uttley Country Child xii. 146 She awoke later and lay holding her happiness, enjoying the moment.
1948 ‘J. Tey’ Franchise Affair xix. 220 He has his quixotic moments.
1983 R. D. Carson Taming your Gremlin viii. 111 We can all have the ultimately beautiful experience of this existence—..not a Zen moment,..but a pure and constant, readily available experience of our purest essence.
1994 Amer. Spectator Sept. 58/2 An attractive couple..take photographs of each other in a series of Kodak moments.
c. A particular stage or period in a course of events or in the development of something; a turning point; a historical juncture.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [noun] > critical or decisive moment
articlea1398
prick?c1422
crise?1541
push1563
in the nick1565
jump1598
concurrence1605
cardo1609
(the) nick of time (also occasionally opportunity, etc.)1610
edgea1616
climacterical1628
climacteric1633
in the nick-time1650
moment1666
turning-point1836
watershed1854
psychological moment1871
psychical moment1888
moment of truth1932
crunch1939
cruncher1947
high noon1955
break point1959
defining moment1967
midnight1976
1666 W. Sancroft Lex Ignea 6 A threefold Song [sc. Isaiah 24–7]..tun'd, and fitted to the three great Moments of the Event. The first, to the time of the Ruine itself... The second..fitted to a time of their Return... The third..belongs to the whole middle Interval.
1841 R. W. Emerson Ess. 1st Ser. (Boston ed.) x. 265 The great moments of history are the facilities of performance through the strength of ideas, as the works of genius and religion.
1906 C. Bigg Wayside Sketches p. v These Lectures..might have been called Essays on the Development of the Church. They refer to three great moments in that fateful process—the making of the mediæval system, the decay of the mediæval system, and the beginnings of modern Christianity.
1947 M. Turnell (title) The classical moment. Studies of Corneille, Moliere and Racine.
1975 J. G. A. Pocock (title) The Machiavellian moment. Florentine political thought and the Atlantic republican tradition.
d. Usually with the or possessive. A (or the) favourable, appropriate, or convenient point of time for doing something; the right occasion; a brief opportunity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [noun] > the right moment or time
timeeOE
fultha1400
the fullness of timec1425
moment1781
kairos1936
1781 G. Washington in G. Bancroft Hist. Constit. U.S.A. (1882) I. 21 The moment should be improved; if suffered to pass away it may never return.
1816 J. Austen Emma 172 Mr. Knightley soon saw that he had lost his moment, and that not another syllable of communication could rest with him.
1865 M. Arnold Ess. Crit. i. 5 The man is not enough without the moment.
1881 H. James Washington Square xxix. 216 You can go to New Orleans some other time—there will always be plenty of cotton. It isn't the moment to choose.
1935 A. L. James Broadcast Word iii. 125 The system known as Anglic, which..is what English spelling will probably be when the English-speaking world decides that the moment has come for spelling reform.
1978 R. V. Jones Most Secret War xxxvii. 330 My moment came when I asked him one day whether he had ever made quince jam.
1986 J. Nagenda Seasons of T. Tebo ii. iv. 70 Lofty and romantic sentiments such as man and moment meeting.
1991 C. Willock Kingdoms of East iii. 79/2 The head catcher decides that the moment has come to go in and bring the captives out, starting with the calves.
e. moment of truth n. [probably after Spanish hora de la verdad (1941 or earlier); compare also Spanish momento de la verdad (1967 or earlier)] the time of the final sword-thrust in a bullfight; (in extended use, now usually with little or no allusion to bullfighting) a crisis or turning point, a testing situation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [noun] > critical or decisive moment
articlea1398
prick?c1422
crise?1541
push1563
in the nick1565
jump1598
concurrence1605
cardo1609
(the) nick of time (also occasionally opportunity, etc.)1610
edgea1616
climacterical1628
climacteric1633
in the nick-time1650
moment1666
turning-point1836
watershed1854
psychological moment1871
psychical moment1888
moment of truth1932
crunch1939
cruncher1947
high noon1955
break point1959
defining moment1967
midnight1976
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting or baiting animals > bullfighting or bullfight > [noun] > stages of bullfight
suerte1838
lidia1893
faena1927
moment of truth1932
tercio1932
1932 E. Hemingway Death in Afternoon vii. 68 The whole end of the bullfight was the final sword thrust, the actual encounter between the man and the animal, what the Spanish call the moment of truth.
1949 New Statesman 15 Jan. 61/1 A good detective story should be like a good bull-fight... The author plunges the unexpected explanation into him like a sword—the moment of truth, as the Spaniards call it.
1956 I. Bromige Enchanted Garden iii. iii. 140 This, thought Fiona, was the moment of truth.
1965 H. I. Ansoff Corporate Strategy (1968) i. 16 We shall have..very little [to say]..about the utility function applied at the ultimate ‘moment of truth’ in selecting the preferred alternative.
1972 H. MacInnes Message from Malaga i. 9 You've become a self-centred bastard, he told himself... He blamed this moment of truth on the combination of guitar, scent of flowers, night sky.
1989 Your Business Feb. 5/1 They have 40,000 moments of truth a day—when the provider of the service and consumer meet.
f. moment of silence n. a short period of silence observed as an act of contemplation or religious worship, esp. in remembrance of the dead. Cf. silence n. 2c.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > memory > reminder, putting in mind > commemoration, remembrance > [noun] > solemn or religious remembrance
minda1325
obsequyc1385
wreath-laying1888
Remembrance Day1895
Veterans Day1912
silence1919
Poppy Day1921
Remembrance Sunday1925
moment of silence1942
1942 Rep. Comm. Resolutions in Amer. Sociol. Rev. 7 87 Be it resolved that we hereby express our regret and honor their memory by rising and preserving a moment of silence.
1962 Washington Post 28 June a22/2 (heading) A moment of silence... Would it be possible and acceptable..to have each school day commence with a quiet moment that would still the tumult of the playground and start a day of study?
1984 Gainesville (Florida) Sun 3 Apr. 1A/5 Moment of silence statutes..accommodate those who believe that prayer should be an integral part of life's activities.
1998 Courier-Jrnl. (Louisville, Kentucky) 20 Apr. a3 (caption) Calvin and Virginia Moser were among those observing a moment of silence in Oklahoma City yesterday.
g. Motor Racing. A dangerous incident; a narrowly-missed accident.
ΚΠ
1987 Rally Sport Jan. 90/1 Early nerves on their first Cilwendeg caused numerous wrongslots and moments, and they drove straight through a PC.
1988 Motoring News 9 Nov. 6/2 At one stage he led the race, but finished eighth after a ‘moment’.
1990 Times 10 Nov. (Review Suppl.) 5/1 Had a moment today. Over a ton on the clock when the brakes went... Hung half the car out over a cliff.
2. A definite unit of time. † b. In rabbinical reckoning (based on the lunar month): 1/ 1080 of an hour (31/ 3 seconds). Obsolete. rare.† c. A second. In later use only in moment-hand n. at Compounds. Obsolete.
a. In medieval reckoning: the tenth part of a ‘point’ (point n.1 6c), i.e. the fortieth or the fiftieth part of an hour. Cf. momentum n. 1. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > period > hour > [noun] > specific part of an hour
prickOE
momentumOE
prickleOE
punctOE
mileway1370
momenta1398
pointa1398
half-hourc1420
quartera1500
glass1599
semi-hore1623
scruple1728
part1806
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 124 An hour [contains] foure poyntis, & a point ten momentis. & a mohent [read moment] twelve vncis and an vnce xlvii attomos.
?1533 G. Du Wes Introductorie for to lerne Frenche sig. Ffi v Of Atmos ben made the momentes, of momentes ben made the mynutes.
1621 R. Brathwait Natures Embassie 15 Who gouernes thee, point, moment, minute, houre.
1806 J. Lingard Antiq. Anglo-Saxon Church II. x. 182 Each..admits of four different sub-divisions, into four points, ten minutes, fifteen parts or degrees, and forty moments.
1994 Viator 25 238 According to the anonymous author, the overestimation of the Julian Year amounted, in the old notation, to 8 moments.
1998 Isis 89 59 An alternative calculation, using moments and atoms, is to be found in diverse texts.
ΚΠ
1625 T. Godwin Moses & Aaron iii. vii. 155 Not before the ninth houre, and the 204. moment of an houre... Note in the last place, that 1080. moments make an houre.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > period > a second > [noun]
s.1387
second1588
moment1646
second minute1648
moment-hand1766
1646 H. More Democritus Platonissans Particular Interpret. sig. D8v I understand,..by a moment one second of a minute.
1767 Lady M. Coke Jrnl. 23 Aug. The Clock has three hands, one for the hours, one for the minutes, and a third for the moments.
d. Geology. A period of geological time corresponding to a stratigraphical zone (as defined by its fossil content).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > age or period > [noun]
age1813
group1829
period1833
aeon1879
group1886
moment1933
1933 W. J. Arkell Jurassic Syst. Great Brit. i. 21 Strictly speaking,..‘moment’ should take priority over secule, and Diener adopts it, with the variations time-moment and zone-moment.
1958 Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. 69 113/2 At the Congress in Bologna in 1881..the only concrete suggestion came from the Swiss delegation (Renevier, 1882), which formally proposed ‘moment’ for the time equivalent of a zone.
1958 Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. 69 113/2 The term ‘moment’ has priority, as was..recognized at an early date by Diener (1919).
1969 G. M. Bennison & A. E. Wright Geol. Hist. Brit. Isles ii. 23 A zone is defined as strata deposited during an interval of time (known as a secule or moment, though these terms are not widely used) throughout which a particular faunal or floral assemblage existed.
3. † a. A small particle, a minute part. Also figurative: a tiny detail. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a separate part > a piece or bit > a particle
grotc888
crumba1387
motec1390
particlea1398
pointa1400
specka1400
atomy1584
moment1594
dust1597
pickle1604
mite1605
atom1626
iota1636
ramentum1658
bodikin1668
part1669
dustling1674
scintilla1674
minim1686
fleck1753
molecule1799
heartbeat1855
particule1889
1594 T. Blundeville Exercises iii. i. xvii. f. 151v For to euery seuerall place, yea to euery little moment of the earth in an oblique Spheare, belongeth his proper Horizon.
1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 77 Examining therein every little moment of Art with such infatigable..care that it is easie to be perceived they do not acknowledg any greater pleasure.
1642 H. More Ψυχωδια Platonica sig. A5 This opinion, though it have its moments of reason, yet [etc.].
1691 J. Norris Pract. Disc. Divine Subj. 23 One of the Scales may and will receive some moments of Advantage more than the other.
1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison VI. xvi. 58 Be good, and write me every-thing how and about it; and write to the moment: You cannot be too minute.
b. Mathematics. In Newtonian calculus: the increment in the value of a time-varying quantity that occurs in an infinitesimal period of time; = differential n. 1. Cf. momentane n. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > calculus > [noun] > differential calculus > differentiation > differential
differential1702
moment1706
momentane1706
increment1721
element1728
momentum1735
H1872
interval1918
differentio-differential1939
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) (at cited word) In Mathematicks, Moments are such indeterminate and uncertain Parts of Quantity, as are supposed to be in a perpetual Flux, i.e. either continually encreasing or decreasing.
1714 I. Newton Let. 15 May in J. Edleston Corr. Newton & Cotes (1850) 176 Fluxions & moments are quantities of a different kind. Fluxions are finite motions, moments are infinitely little parts.
1743 W. Emerson Doctr. Fluxions 3 The Moments and Fluxions ought not to be confounded together, since the Moments..are as different from the Fluxions, as any Effect is different from its Cause.
1919 F. Cajori Hist. Math. (ed. 2) 194 The ‘moments of fluxions’..are infinitely small quantities. These ‘moments’, as defined and used in the Method of Fluxions, are substantially the differentials of Leibniz.
1947 J. Jeans Growth of Physical Sci. (1948) vi. 225 Newton first divides the time t during which change takes place into an infinite number of moments, each of infinitesimal duration o, and imagines that after a time t another moment of duration o elapses.
1972 M. Kline Math. Thought xix. 428 He [sc. James Jurin] then tried ineffectually to explain Newton's moments and fluxions.
4. moment of a balance n. [after post-classical Latin momentum staterae small weight or counterweight (Vulgate, corresponding to Hellenistic Greek ῥοπή small weight or counterweight (Septuagint); the Hebrew text has šaḥaq dust), misinterpreted in glosses (8th cent. or earlier) as denoting the tongue of a balance] the tongue of a balance. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > equipment for weighing > [noun] > a weighing apparatus > a balance > tongue of a balance
moment of a balancea1382
tongue1429
languet1483
clefa1513
needle1589
cock1611
trial1611
scape1633
pin1639
examen1719
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. xl. 15 Jentiles as a drope of a boket, and as moment of a balaunce ben holden [a1425 L.V. ben arettid as the tunge of a balaunce; L. quasi momentum staterae reputatae sunt].
III. Momentum (literal and figurative), significance.† 6. A cause of or motive for action; a decisive or determining influence; a determining argument or consideration. Obsolete.† 7. A movement about an axis or centre. In quot. 1641 in figurative context. Obsolete. rare.
5. As a mass noun: importance, significance. Chiefly in of (great, little, any, etc.) moment, often in conjunction with matter.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun]
mund?c1250
steemc1330
greatnessc1410
substancec1425
importance1485
weight1521
moment1522
weightiness1530
importancy1531
importunance1546
import1548
reckoning1582
sequel1588
ponderosity1589
valure1594
consequence1597
significance1597
circumstance1599
consequent1599
eminency1622
importmenta1625
concernment1626
consideration1634
telling1636
signification1645
considerableness1647
concerningness1657
nearness1679
significancy1679
respectability1769
interest1809
noteworthiness1852
portee1893
valency1897
1522 Bp. J. Clerk Let. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. I. 310 He said the Kyngs Highnes lettres if they had comme in season shulde haue been of no smale momente.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Richard III f. lv He tooke these newes as a matter of no small momente.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) i. ii. 5 What Townes of any moment, but we haue? View more context for this quotation
1694 P. Falle Acct. Isle of Jersey iv. 112 This Court..is intended for the decision of Matters of less moment, as Arrears of rents.., Arrests, Distrainings, and such like Mobiliary things.
1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. i. 55 The Crown well knowing the moment of keeping Those the objects of reverence, and veneration with the People.
1772 S. Johnson in J. Boswell Life Johnson (1811) II. 203 The great moment of his authority makes it necessary to examine his position.
1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 90 Things which appear at first view of little moment . View more context for this quotation
1823 W. Scott Peveril II. xi. 281 The affairs of moment which have called me hither.
1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People vi. §3. 290 He [sc. Caxton] printed all the English poetry of any moment which was then in existence.
1926 R. H. Tawney Relig. & Rise Capitalism i. 3 I would not..excuse the selection merely by my own incapacity to do justice to a topic of more immediate moment.
1951 R. Harling Paper Palace (1952) 170 I was silent,..,but that seemed a matter of no moment, for the blonde had..the financier all to herself.
1995 Economist 17 June 23/2 The New England custom of bringing together a town's citizens once a year to decide on the budget and other matters of moment.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > motivation > [noun] > motive
achesounc1230
encheason1297
quarrel1340
occasionc1384
springa1398
motive?a1439
motionc1475
springa1500
respect1528
regard1579
moment1611
movent1651
umbrage1664
what makes (someone) tick1931
1611 B. Jonson Catiline iv. sig. L3 Can these, or such, be any aydes, to vs? Looke they, as they were built to shake the world, Or be a moment to our enterprise? View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) i. ii. 134 I haue seene her dye twenty times vppon farre poorer moment . View more context for this quotation
1627 T. May tr. Lucan Pharsalia (new ed.) v. 389 Thinke ye that such as ye Can any moment to my fortunes be?
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. iii. 117 The diuine Maiestie doth swey the moments of things, and sorteth them..to strange and vnlooked for effects.
1663 J. Taylor Serm. Funeral Abp. Armagh 36 He so press'd the former arguments..and added so many moments and weights to his discourse, that [etc.].
1691 J. Norris Pract. Disc. Divine Subj. 60 This is a certain sign that we are not determined by the Moments of Truth,..but by some other By-Consideration and partial Inducement.
1736 J. Thomson Britain: 4th Pt. Liberty 818 Since the Moment of the Whole They form, So, as depress'd or rais'd, the Ballance They Of Public Welfare and of Glory cost.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > [noun]
stirringc888
pacec1300
wawingc1305
bestirring1340
movinga1382
movementa1393
startlinga1398
flittinga1400
motionc1425
shiftingc1440
agitation1573
motiveness1611
go1635
moment1641
remover1653
move1818
1641 J. Milton Reason Church-govt. 3 All the moments and turnings of humane occasions are mov'd to and fro as upon the axle of discipline.
8. Science.† a. = momentum n. 3. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > [noun] > quantity of motion
momentum1699
moment1706
1706 W. Jones Synopsis Palmariorum Matheseos 282 Moment..is compounded of Velocity..and..Weight.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Moment, in Mechanics, is the same with Impetus.
b. Mathematics. Any of various functions describing torsional effects, generally having the form of the product of a force and a distance; spec. the turning effect produced by a force; the magnitude of this, equal to the product of the force and the perpendicular distance from its line of action to the point about which rotation may occur. moment of a couple n. [compare French moment d'un couple (1869)] the product of either of the two equal forces comprising the couple and the perpendicular distance between their lines of action. moment of inertia n. [compare French moment d'inertie (1786)] the product of the mass of a particle and the square of its distance from a given axis; the sum of such products for all the particles of a body. moment of momentum n. the vector product of the momentum of a particle and its radius vector from a given point; the sum of such products for all the particles of a body; also called angular momentum.bending, pitching, rolling moment: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > [noun] > moment
moment1830
1830 H. Kater & D. Lardner Treat. Mechanics x. 135 The moment of a force is therefore found by multiplying the force by its leverage.
1830 H. Kater & D. Lardner Treat. Mechanics x. 137 The product of the numerical expressions for the mass of the body and the square of the radius of gyration..has been called the moment of inertia.
1858 W. J. M. Rankine Man. Appl. Mech. 22 The moment of a couple means the product of the magnitude of its force by the length of its arm.
1858 W. J. M. Rankine Man. Appl. Mech. 308 This is called the bending moment or moment of flexure of the beam at the vertical section in question.
1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 290/1 The moment of this couple must be equal to the moment of the couple tending to bend the beam at this section, or to what is called the bending moment.
1886 R. S. Ball Story of Heavens 534 In a similar manner we find the rotational moment of momentum for each of the other planets.
1915 A. Fage Aeroplane vi. 86 If the moments of inertia of the machine about the longitudinal and normal axes be small, the yawing and rolling oscillations will be rapid.
1923 H. L. Brose tr. A. J. W. Sommerfeld Atomic Struct. & Spectral Lines iv. 199 We see that the rotator is to be quantised not in energy quanta but in quanta of moment of momentum.
1935 A. H. G. Palmer & K. S. Snell Mech. vi. 104 For a sphere, taking moments about the centre, βQ = γR.
1946 L. Toft & A. T. J. Kersey Theory of Machines (ed. 5) ii. 30 Ct is the impulse of the moment or couple, and Iω is the angular momentum, or moment of momentum of the body about the axis of rotation.
1973 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 331 527 Two cases are of fundamental importance:..(ii) v is perpendicular to a, which gives a single couple. In the latter case, m0 is the moment of the couple.
1983 J. S. Foster Struct. & Fabric (rev. ed.) I. iii. 49/2 Equilibrium..is obtained when the..moments of some forces acting on a member are balanced.
1988 New Scientist 18 Feb. 34/1 Dancers fool their audience by decreasing the moment of inertia of their bodies near the highest point of their jump.
c. Physics. The distance between the two poles of a simple bar magnet, or the two charges of an electric dipole, multiplied by the strength of either pole, as a measure of the turning effect produced by an applied magnetic or electric field, respectively (cf. magnetic moment n. at magnetic adj. and n. Compounds); the maximum torque that a given system of poles or charges can experience in a uniform magnetic or electric field (respectively) of unit strength (more fully (magnetic, electric) dipole moment). In extended use: (in the polynomial in 1/ R expressing the potential V at a point, where R is the distance from the point to the origin) a quantity expressed by terms in the coefficient of 1/ Rn+1 (where n=1 represents a dipole, n=2 a quadrupole, etc.; cf. multipole n.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > quantum mechanics > quantum electrodynamics > [noun] > multipole moment
(magnetic, electric) dipole moment)1865
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > magnetism > magnetic devices or materials > [noun] > pole of magnet > distance between poles
magnetic moment1865
moment1865
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrically induced magnetism > [noun] > field > dipole moment
magnetic moment1865
(magnetic, electric) dipole moment)1962
1865 London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 4th Ser. 29 441 The product of the strength of the poles into the length between them is called the magnetic moment of the magnet.
1884 J. T. Sprague Electr. (ed. 2) iii. 110 The magnetic moment of any uniformly magnetized substance is proportional to its volume.
1903 S. J. Barnett Elem. Electromagn. Theory xi. 282 The quantity M = mL = T/H sin θ is called the magnetic moment of the magnet (analogous to the electric moment of an electret).
1916 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. 38 764 One or more electrons are held by sufficiently weak constraints so that they may..in the extreme case pass altogether to another atom, thus producing in the molecule a bipole or multipole of high electrical moment.
1932 J. H. Van Vleck Theory Electr. & Magn. Susceptibilities i. 12 The omitted terms are sometimes characterized as representing ‘multipoles’. The omitted term in ϕ of lowest order, for instance, is..Nq/R3, where q is the ‘quadrupole moment’.
1953 Sci. News 30 7 The magnetization [of a piece of iron] is the magnetic moment per unit volume, or the pole strength per unit cross-sectional area.
1962 D. R. Corson & P. Lorrain Introd. Electromagn. Fields v. 210 It is possible to generalize the concept of magnetic dipole moment to any distribution of current in space... For a current distribution J in a volume τ, m =..½∫r × Jdτ.
1970 G. K. Woodgate Elem. Atomic Struct. ix. 177 In order to be able to discuss departures of the nuclear charge distribution from spherical symmetry we should like to attribute to the nucleus electric multipole moments.
1992 S. P. Maran Astron. & Astrophysics Encycl. 597/2 When..the radiating charge is not a single point charge, physicists often describe the distribution of charges (or currents) in terms of a multipole expansion or moments of the charge (or current) distribution.
d. Statistics. Each of a series of quantities ( first, second, etc., moment) that express the average or expected value of the first (second, etc.) powers of the deviation of a random variable from some given value, usually the mean or zero.The first moment (averaging the deviations from zero) is the expected value or mean of the random variable; the second moment (averaging the squares of the deviations from the mean) is the variance (variance n. 5); the third is a measure of skewness; the fourth a measure of kurtosis.product moment: see product n.1 Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > [noun] > variable > observation(s)
observation1559
time series1887
moment1893
variate1899
outlier1907
1893 K. Pearson in Nature 26 Oct. 615/2 Now the centre of gravity of the observation curve is found at once, also its area and its first four moments by easy calculation.
1925 R. A. Fisher Statist. Methods iii. 70 The standard error of the variance is √[(μ4 − μ22)/N], where N is the number of samples, and μ2 and μ4 are the second and fourth moments of the theoretical distribution.
1938 A. E. Waugh Elem. Statist. Method vi. 114 The formula for the first moment about the mean involves Σx and..it reduces to zero, since Σx = 0. We can thus say some things about the moments of all curves in advance: (1) v0 = 1, (2) v1 = 0, (3) v2 = σ2.
1938 A. E. Waugh Elem. Statist. Method vi. 114 In any symmetrical curve the odd moments, being based on the sums of odd powers of deviations, will equal zero.
1959 G. James & R. C. James Math. Dict. (ed. 2) 257/2 μr = ∞−∞ (x − a)rf(x)dx is the rth moment of x around the point a, where x is a random variable with frequency function f(x).
1961 D. V. Huntsberger Elem. Statist. Inference v. 102 The first moment about the origin is the mean μ of the theoretical distribution... The variance σ2 of a random variable Y is defined as the second moment about the mean, the average value of (Y − μ)2.
1991 Oxf. Econ. Papers 43 218 Assuming G has finite first moment, both integrals are convergent.
9. An essential element or significant aspect of a complex conceptual entity. Cf. momentum n. 7.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > constituent part or component > of an immaterial whole
pointc1230
punct1427
element1600
puncta1651
momentum1829
moment1838
1838 F. Haywood tr. I. Kant Critick Pure Reason i. 72 Brought under four heads, each of which contains three Moments (Gradations) subordinate to itself.
1863 J. G. Murphy Crit. Comm. Bk. Gen. (xxv. 1–11) 410 These are all moments, potent elements in the memory of man, foundation-stones of his history and philosophy.
a1864 J. F. Ferrier Lect. Greek Philos. (1866) I. v. 125 Being and not-Being are the elements or moments of Becoming.
1869 Jrnl. Speculative Philos. 3 351 The moments of the Comprehension are Universality, Particularity, and Individuality.
1879 J. Veitch in tr. R. Descartes Method (ed. 6) Introd. ix. p. lxxix It is a complete mistake historically to assume that the moment of Cartesianism is consciousness.
1906 E. F. Scott 4th Gospel iii. 96 The ethical moment is thus markedly absent.
1969 G. S. Jones in A. Cockburn & R. Blackburn Student Power 35 A sociological analysis must provide a systematic account of the origin, situation and destination of students. These three ‘moments’ are not, however, of interchangeable weight or significance.
Phrases
(relating to sense 1). P1. Phrases with a moment.† b. at a moment: at a moment's notice. Obsolete.
a. in a moment: (a) (with reference to duration) instantaneously, in the space of a moment; (b) (with reference to commencement) very soon, before long.
ΚΠ
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) 1 Cor. xv. 52 In a moment, in the smytinge of an yȝe, in the laste trumpe.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Eneydos x. 39 Alle the nauye descended nyghe to the bottom of the see whiche were anone recuyelled by other wawes & remysed in a momente vp on highe.
1592 ‘C. Cony-Catcher’ Def. Conny-catching sig. D As if he could with hys head cosmographise the worlde in a moment.
1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews II. iv. v. 193 He..arriv'd when the Justice had almost finished his Business. He..was acquainted that his worship would wait on him in a moment . View more context for this quotation
1847 C. Brontë Jane Eyre III. viii. 204 Take the road towards the head of Marsh-Glen: I will join you in a moment.
1913 D. H. Lawrence Sons & Lovers v. 98 In a moment the girl came back with the tart.
1995 Wired Mar. 168/2 To persuade the laser to produce light, you had to zap it with so much current that if you ran it at room temperature, it would melt down in a moment.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > immediacy > [adverb]
soonc825
ratheeOE
rathelyeOE
rekeneOE
rekenlyOE
thereright971
anonOE
forth ona1000
coflyc1000
ferlyc1000
radlyOE
swiftlyc1000
unyoreOE
yareOE
at the forme (also first) wordOE
nowOE
shortlya1050
rightOE
here-rightlOE
right anonlOE
anonc1175
forthrightc1175
forthwithalc1175
skeetc1175
swithc1175
with and withc1175
anon-rightc1225
anon-rights?c1225
belivec1225
lightly?c1225
quickly?c1225
tidelyc1225
fastlyc1275
hastilyc1275
i-radlichec1275
as soon asc1290
aright1297
bedenea1300
in little wevea1300
withoute(n dwella1300
alrightc1300
as fast (as)c1300
at firstc1300
in placec1300
in the placec1300
mididonec1300
outrightc1300
prestc1300
streck13..
titec1300
without delayc1300
that stounds1303
rada1325
readya1325
apacec1325
albedenec1330
as (also also) titec1330
as blivec1330
as line rightc1330
as straight as linec1330
in anec1330
in presentc1330
newlyc1330
suddenlyc1330
titelyc1330
yernec1330
as soon1340
prestly1340
streckly1340
swithly?1370
evenlya1375
redelya1375
redlya1375
rifelya1375
yeplya1375
at one blastc1380
fresha1382
ripelyc1384
presentc1385
presently1385
without arrestc1385
readilyc1390
in the twinkling of a looka1393
derflya1400
forwhya1400
skeetlya1400
straighta1400
swifta1400
maintenantc1400
out of handc1400
wightc1400
at a startc1405
immediately1420
incontinent1425
there and then1428
onenec1429
forwithc1430
downright?a1439
agatec1440
at a tricec1440
right forth1440
withouten wonec1440
whipc1460
forthwith1461
undelayed1470
incessantly1472
at a momentc1475
right nowc1475
synec1475
incontinently1484
promptly1490
in the nonce?a1500
uncontinent1506
on (upon, in) the instant1509
in short1513
at a clap1519
by and by1526
straightway1526
at a twitch1528
at the first chop1528
maintenantly1528
on a tricea1529
with a tricec1530
at once1531
belively1532
straightwaysa1533
short days1533
undelayedly1534
fro hand1535
indelayedly1535
straight forth1536
betimesc1540
livelyc1540
upononc1540
suddenly1544
at one (or a) dash?1550
at (the) first dash?1550
instantly1552
forth of hand1564
upon the nines1568
on the nail1569
at (also in, with) a thoughtc1572
indilately1572
summarily1578
at one (a) chop1581
amain1587
straightwise1588
extempore1593
presto1598
upon the place1600
directly1604
instant1604
just now1606
with a siserary1607
promiscuously1609
at (in) one (an) instant1611
on (also upon) the momenta1616
at (formerly also on or upon) sight1617
hand to fist1634
fastisha1650
nextly1657
to rights1663
straightaway1663
slap1672
at first bolt1676
point-blank1679
in point1680
offhand1686
instanter1688
sonica1688
flush1701
like a thought1720
in a crack1725
momentary1725
bumbye1727
clacka1734
plumba1734
right away1734
momentarily1739
momentaneously1753
in a snap1768
right off1771
straight an end1778
abruptedly1784
in a whistle1784
slap-bang1785
bang?1795
right off the reel1798
in a whiff1800
in a flash1801
like a shot1809
momently1812
in a brace or couple of shakes1816
in a gird1825
(all) in a rush1829
in (also at, on) short (also quick) order1830
straightly1830
toot sweetc1830
in two twos1838
rectly1843
quick-stick1844
short metre1848
right1849
at the drop of a (occasionally the) hat1854
off the hooks1860
quicksticks1860
straight off1873
bang off1886
away1887
in quick sticks (also in a quick stick)1890
ek dum1895
tout de suite1895
bung1899
one time1899
prompt1910
yesterday1911
in two ups1934
presto changeo1946
now-now1966
presto change1987
c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 56 A how bitter luf and vauncing..þat he reys his luf at a moment a boue a veyn þing.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie ii. xviii. 51 b The other..being kept & reserued as at a moment to succour & supply the instant necessities which might happen.
c. for a moment.† (b) In predicative use: destined to last only a moment. Obsolete.
(a) Adverbially: during a moment; for the duration of a moment.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [adverb]
short whilec897
littleOE
awhileOE
littlec1175
a litel wanc1200
a while1297
while?a1505
till soona1529
for a moment1593
for a moment1611
short1611
for a flash1625
momentally1646
momentarily1655
for a sudden1688
shortly1809
momently1827
1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie i. xi. 82 Sith possession of blisse, though it should be but for a moment, were an aboundant retribution.
1739 D. Hume Treat. Human Nature I. i. 14 This circumstance seems to me remarkable, and engages my attention for a moment.
1878 Ld. Tennyson Revenge ii You fly them for a moment to fight with them again.
1985 P. Ackroyd Hawksmoor viii. 152 For a moment he did not know in what house, or what place, or what year, he had woken.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [adverb]
short whilec897
littleOE
awhileOE
littlec1175
a litel wanc1200
a while1297
while?a1505
till soona1529
for a moment1593
for a moment1611
short1611
for a flash1625
momentally1646
momentarily1655
for a sudden1688
shortly1809
momently1827
1611 Bible (King James) Prov. xii. 19 The lippe of trueth shall bee established for euer: but a lying tongue is but for a moment . View more context for this quotation
1763 F. Brooke Hist. Lady Julia Mandeville II. 160 That I bear this dreadful stroke with patience, is owing to the certainty I shall not long survive him, that our separation is but for a moment.
1892 S. Baring-Gould In Roar of Sea II. xxvii. 100 That stress-point is but for a moment, then the weight of the water overbalances the strain, and whirr! round plunges the wheel.
d. not for a moment: not at all; emphatically not.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > negation > [adverb] > no > certainly not
for nothinglOE
not (to do something) for the worlda1375
for foul or fairc1405
not for a moment1785
not on your life1791
not for Joe (Joseph)1844
no siree1845
not much1871
a thousand times, no1896
not on your tintype1900
not for all the tea in China1937
1785 T. Jefferson Notes Virginia xiii. 230 Never providing for any circumstances, nor admitting that such could arise, wherein either should be suspended, no, not for a moment.
1850 Sir G. Scott Anc. Churches 79 I do not for a moment admit that Romanesque is other than a purely and truly Christian style.
1985 L. Griffiths Arthur Daley's Guide to doing it Right 26 Not for a moment would I question Maggie's policies.
e. at a given moment: (a) at any one time (frequently also as at (also on) any given moment); (b) at a specified time.
ΚΠ
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality xxvi, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. IV. v. 95 An event that must happen one day, and may befal us on any given moment.
1879 C. Rossetti Seek & Find 192 Be the stars at a given moment discernible or indiscernible by our vision.
1934 A. Huxley Beyond Mexique Bay 128 Our Yukonesque stampedes into any business that seems, at any given moment, to be doing well.
1988 G. J. Whitrow Time in Hist.: Evol. Gen. Awareness iii. 35 Finite time begins and ends with the rule of Ohrmazd. At a given moment finite time came into existence out of infinite time.
f. never a dull moment: constant variety or interest; (ironic) constant variety of troubles, difficulties, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > acting vigorously or energetically [phrase] > full of brisk activity
never a dull moment1889
it's all happening1963
1889 J. K. Jerome Three Men in Boat ix. 85 There is never a dull moment in the boat while girls are towing it.
1932 Weekend Rev. 14 May 617/1 There is never a dull moment.
1950 L. Kaufman Jubel's Children xx. 223 Jubel says there's never a dull moment.
1972 R. Adams Watership Down xx. 126 ‘No one hurt?’ ‘Oh, several have been hurt, one way and another.’ ‘Never a dull moment, really,’ said Bigwig.
1993 R. D. Edwards Clubbed to Death (BNC) 52 A delicious-looking Filipino, who strayed too close to Fishbane at breakfast, received a pinch which made her hysterical. Never a dull moment in this establishment.
P2. Phrases with the moment.
a. at the moment: (a) (frequently with of, when, etc.) at the very time, at the exact instant; (b) (in constructions employing the past tense) then, at that time; (c) (in constructions employing the present tense) now, at this time, for the time being.
ΚΠ
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Luke xi. f. cxii Euen at the momente whan he departed from this life.
1675 T. Shadwell Psyche v. 57 Oh cruel God, thus to forsake Me at the moment when I need him most!
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 133 Why else should they be directed in such a Manner, just at the Moment when I was mourning over my Condition.
1809 T. Jefferson Let. 3 Sept. in Writings (1984) 1211 The messages to Congress, which might have been interesting at the moment, would scarcely be read a second time.
1843 W. M. Thackeray Irish Sketch-bk. I. viii. 168 There is a dirty coffee-room, with a strong smell of whisky; indeed three young ‘materialists’ are employed at the moment.
1911 Arch. Roentgen Ray Jan. 305 The ordinary means..only measures the quality of the rays at the moment of observation.
1994 Denver Post 18 Sept. f4/1 Pop songsmiths wrote and recorded in whatever style was hot at the moment.
b. on (also upon) the moment: immediately, instantly. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > immediacy > [adverb]
soonc825
ratheeOE
rathelyeOE
rekeneOE
rekenlyOE
thereright971
anonOE
forth ona1000
coflyc1000
ferlyc1000
radlyOE
swiftlyc1000
unyoreOE
yareOE
at the forme (also first) wordOE
nowOE
shortlya1050
rightOE
here-rightlOE
right anonlOE
anonc1175
forthrightc1175
forthwithalc1175
skeetc1175
swithc1175
with and withc1175
anon-rightc1225
anon-rights?c1225
belivec1225
lightly?c1225
quickly?c1225
tidelyc1225
fastlyc1275
hastilyc1275
i-radlichec1275
as soon asc1290
aright1297
bedenea1300
in little wevea1300
withoute(n dwella1300
alrightc1300
as fast (as)c1300
at firstc1300
in placec1300
in the placec1300
mididonec1300
outrightc1300
prestc1300
streck13..
titec1300
without delayc1300
that stounds1303
rada1325
readya1325
apacec1325
albedenec1330
as (also also) titec1330
as blivec1330
as line rightc1330
as straight as linec1330
in anec1330
in presentc1330
newlyc1330
suddenlyc1330
titelyc1330
yernec1330
as soon1340
prestly1340
streckly1340
swithly?1370
evenlya1375
redelya1375
redlya1375
rifelya1375
yeplya1375
at one blastc1380
fresha1382
ripelyc1384
presentc1385
presently1385
without arrestc1385
readilyc1390
in the twinkling of a looka1393
derflya1400
forwhya1400
skeetlya1400
straighta1400
swifta1400
maintenantc1400
out of handc1400
wightc1400
at a startc1405
immediately1420
incontinent1425
there and then1428
onenec1429
forwithc1430
downright?a1439
agatec1440
at a tricec1440
right forth1440
withouten wonec1440
whipc1460
forthwith1461
undelayed1470
incessantly1472
at a momentc1475
right nowc1475
synec1475
incontinently1484
promptly1490
in the nonce?a1500
uncontinent1506
on (upon, in) the instant1509
in short1513
at a clap1519
by and by1526
straightway1526
at a twitch1528
at the first chop1528
maintenantly1528
on a tricea1529
with a tricec1530
at once1531
belively1532
straightwaysa1533
short days1533
undelayedly1534
fro hand1535
indelayedly1535
straight forth1536
betimesc1540
livelyc1540
upononc1540
suddenly1544
at one (or a) dash?1550
at (the) first dash?1550
instantly1552
forth of hand1564
upon the nines1568
on the nail1569
at (also in, with) a thoughtc1572
indilately1572
summarily1578
at one (a) chop1581
amain1587
straightwise1588
extempore1593
presto1598
upon the place1600
directly1604
instant1604
just now1606
with a siserary1607
promiscuously1609
at (in) one (an) instant1611
on (also upon) the momenta1616
at (formerly also on or upon) sight1617
hand to fist1634
fastisha1650
nextly1657
to rights1663
straightaway1663
slap1672
at first bolt1676
point-blank1679
in point1680
offhand1686
instanter1688
sonica1688
flush1701
like a thought1720
in a crack1725
momentary1725
bumbye1727
clacka1734
plumba1734
right away1734
momentarily1739
momentaneously1753
in a snap1768
right off1771
straight an end1778
abruptedly1784
in a whistle1784
slap-bang1785
bang?1795
right off the reel1798
in a whiff1800
in a flash1801
like a shot1809
momently1812
in a brace or couple of shakes1816
in a gird1825
(all) in a rush1829
in (also at, on) short (also quick) order1830
straightly1830
toot sweetc1830
in two twos1838
rectly1843
quick-stick1844
short metre1848
right1849
at the drop of a (occasionally the) hat1854
off the hooks1860
quicksticks1860
straight off1873
bang off1886
away1887
in quick sticks (also in a quick stick)1890
ek dum1895
tout de suite1895
bung1899
one time1899
prompt1910
yesterday1911
in two ups1934
presto changeo1946
now-now1966
presto change1987
a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) i. i. 80 All those which were his Fellowes but of late, Some better then his valew; on the moment Follow his strides. View more context for this quotation
1789 R. Cumberland Impostors ii. 29 A gentleman luckily stept in upon the moment and sav'd her.
1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems x. 3 She a lady, methought upon the moment, Of some quality.
1956 Z. Grey Stranger from Tonto xii. 154 But on the moment a halloa brought their heads up alert.
c. the moment ——: at the moment (when or that); as soon as.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > immediacy > immediately [phrase] > the very instant or as soon as ever
the moment1724
the instant1755
1724 J. Henley et al. tr. Pliny the Younger Epist. & Panegyrick I. i. viii. 17 Most things, which are necessary to acompany the doing of a good Action, lose their Advantage, and Grace, the moment that Action is over.
1839 P. J. Bailey Festus 137 The sphinx-like heart..Loathes life the moment that life's riddle is read.
1978 L. Duncan Killing Mr. Griffin ii. 17 The moment he heard his own voice speaking the words, he felt like an idiot.
1993 J. Green It: Sex since Sixties 397 The moment when you move from mapping it all out to making the leap in the dark is hugely exciting.
d. for the moment: temporarily during the brief space of time referred to; (also) as far as the immediate future is concerned.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the present (time) > [adverb] > for the time being
for the timec1390
for the time being1449
for present1559
for the present1559
presently1593
for the moment1754
1754 S. Fielding & J. Collier Cry II. iv. iv. 331 They for the moment forgot even her betraying one of their favourite secrets.
1792 M. Wollstonecraft Vindic. Rights Woman v. 186 Expedients are only useful for the moment.
1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 95 They were for the moment taken aback by the strange appearance of the vessels coming into battle.
1890 Spectator 18 Oct. 509/1 The political crisis in Portugal ended for the moment on Monday.
1911 A. Bennett Hilda Lessways ii. iv. 173 Tom..had for the moment got Beethoven on the brain.
1988 M. Gee Grace vi. 99 She can't bear to read any more, for the moment.
e. on the spur of the moment: see spur n.1 2d.
f. to live for (also in) the moment: to live without concern or regard for the future.
ΚΠ
1792 T. Holcroft Anna St. Ives II. xix. 10 The voluptuous Italian..lives for the moment, and takes care not to let the moment slip.
1860 R. W. Emerson Wealth in Conduct of Life (London ed.) 109 Hotspur lives for the moment; praises himself for it.
1935 E. Carr Jrnl. in Hundreds & Thousands (1966) 185 The three dogs lie on the bed,..trusting me to attend to their wants, living for the moment.
1963 W. H. Missildine Your Inner Child of Past xii. 127 Because they ‘live in the moment’, they actually tend to be blindly unaware of the feelings of others.
g. of the moment: important or fashionable at the time in question. man of the moment n. a man of importance or influence at a particular time; the right man for a particular occasion.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > specifically of things
of substancea1456
solid1601
ponderous1602
of the moment1814
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > one who is important > others
micklea1300
personagec1485
Triton1589
Jovian1598
gallimaufry1600
lords of creation1649
man of destiny1827
mugwump1828
man of the moment1837
history-maker1848
1814 J. Austen Mansfield Park I. ii. 25 They adjourned to whatever might be the favourite holiday sport of the moment . View more context for this quotation
1837 N. Hawthorne Twice-told Tales 158 [He] announced himself as the bearer of the authentic intelligence which had caused so wonderful a sensation. He immediately became the great man of the moment.
1871 R. Browning Prince Hohenstiel-Schwangau 28 Well, that's my mission, so I serve the world, Figure as man o' the moment.
1935 Discovery Aug. 220/1 Land utilisation is the problem of the moment.
1974 V. Brome Day of Destr. xv. 153 Here's our man of the moment... Hail the conquering hero comes.
1993 ‘A. McNab’ Bravo Two Zero (1994) i. 13 He played against us in a rugby match and was very much the man of the moment.
h. to the moment: with exact punctuality; (also) for the exact time required. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > completely [phrase] > completely or perfectly
to (or unto) perfectiona1425
to the letter?1495
to point1590
to the (also a) nail?1611
to a shaving1804
jam up1835
to the moment1845
to a (fine) point1861
1845 C. Dickens Chimes ii. 52 The coming of its moons, and stars, and tides, was known beforehand to the moment.
1871 M. Collins Marquis & Merchant III. i. 24 A cook who could roast a joint..to the moment.
1920 D. H. Lawrence Women in Love i. 18 ‘But you were to the moment.’ ‘We are usually to time.’
P3. Phrases with one moment.
a. for one moment: for (even) a very short time; at all. Frequently in negative contexts.
ΚΠ
1739 D. Hume Treat. Human Nature I. iv. 439 Our thought is still more variable than our sight;..nor is there any single power of the soul, which remains unalterably the same, perhaps for one moment.
1750 Bible (Challoner) Ruth ii. 7 She hath been in the field from morning till now, and hath not gone home for one moment.
1802 J. J. Chapman Two Philosophers 10 But to be for one moment as they, Not recking, not dreading, the gift of the day.
1844 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby lxi I never, for one moment, deserted my trust.
1888 London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 5th Ser. 25 263 The fly-back chronograph enables time to be measured to 1/ 5th second, without taking the eye for one moment off the object to be watched.
1992 D. Pannick Advocates vi. 201 Lord Upjohn emphasized that he was ‘not, of course, suggesting for one moment that the fact that counsel does or does not call a witness..could possibly by itself be a cause of action for negligence’.
b. one moment: (short for) ‘wait one moment’, ‘listen for one moment’.
ΚΠ
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. i. 43 I rose to go,..‘One moment, sir,’ he said.
1892 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker xvii. 265 ‘One moment,’ said I. ‘Is Mr. Sebright on board?’
1915 A. Conan Doyle Valley of Fear i. vi. 97 ‘One moment, Dr. Watson,’ cried the woman, in a pleading voice.
1999 T. Parker & M. Stone South Park Scripts: Bk. 1 165 One moment please! Nurse! I need twenty Ccs of sodium pentothal, Stat!!
P4. Phrases with this moment.
a. this moment: (a) without a moment's delay, immediately; (b) just now, hardly a moment ago.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > newness or novelty > recency > [adverb]
neweneOE
newlyeOE
unyoreeOE
noweOE
newOE
lateOE
yesterdaya1300
freshlya1387
of newa1393
anewa1425
newlingsa1425
latewardc1434
the other dayc1450
lately?c1475
erst1480
latewards1484
sith late1484
alatea1500
recently1509
even now1511
late-whiles1561
late ygo1579
formerly1590
just now1591
lastly1592
just1605
low1610
this moment1696
latewardly1721
shortsyne1768
sometime1779
latterly1821
1696 T. Dilke Lover's Luck ii. 17 I'll slit your Weazen this moment, you Moon-calf.
1722 D. Defoe Moll Flanders 325 When do you go off, says I? this Moment Madam, says he.
1738 J. Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. 135 Ld. Smart. Tom, my Service to you. Neverout. My Lord, this Moment I did myself the Honour to drink to your Lordship.
1800 C. Lamb Let. 13 Dec. in Lett. C. & M. A. Lamb (1975) I. 251 I have receiv'd your letter this moment, not having been at the office.
1851 N. Hawthorne House of Seven Gables viii. 139 Shall I step in, this moment?
1904 J. Conrad Nostromo i. vi. 39 As though he had come this moment to Costaguana.
1986 T. Murphy Bailegangaire ii. 60 Stop it this moment, I won't have it!
b. at this moment in time: at the time specified; (now chiefly) at the present instant.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the present (time) > [adverb]
noweOE
nowtheOE
nughuOE
todayOE
nowthenc1225
orc1275
in presentc1330
in this presentc1330
now by dawec1330
of present1340
presentc1385
nowadays?1387
adaysa1393
nowadaya1393
now on daysa1393
presently?a1425
now of daysc1425
now-o'-daysc1450
at (the) presenta1500
at this presenta1500
nowdaysa1500
currently1579
on the presenta1616
actually1663
nowanights1672
naow1824
at this (or the) present speaking1835
again1837
contemporarily1837
nowdays1850
any more1859
hic et nunc1935
at this moment in time1936
1936 Bull. Amer. Assoc. Univ. Professors 22 36 The particular phase in which our changing institutions find themselves at this moment in time.
1955 M. Van Doren Walt Whitman 33 Certain rocks will endure as granite does. That, at this moment in time, is criticism's guess.
1974 C. Egleton October Plot i. 11 There were five similar [flak] towers..but at this moment in time, they were only of passing interest.
1986 R. Rendell Live Flesh ii. 23 I'm afraid there's no prospect of anything just at this moment in time.
1996 Paddles Nov. 33/2 When the face [of a wave] is very steep, nearly vertical, it is referred to as a wall, since at this moment in time it is a wall of water.
P5. Phrases with any moment.
a. at any moment: at any point in time; at an unpredictable point in the near future.
ΚΠ
1788 A. Hamilton Federalist Papers lxxxiv They [sc. common and state law] are..at any moment liable to repeal by the ordinary legislative power.
a1830 Encycl. Metrop. (1845) IV. 565 The general problem, then, to investigate the actual state of strain of any molecule at any moment is one of some complexity.
1900 J. Conrad Lord Jim xxxii. 330 I belonged to this Unknown that might claim Jim for its own at any moment.
1992 D. Spoto Laurence Olivier vi. 112 An almost dangerous pride in the achievements of the Empire and a simultaneous feeling that everything could be lost at any moment.
b. any moment now: very soon, imminently.
ΚΠ
1858 A. Trollope Three Clerks III. xv. 288 We had better be going now.., they may let loose and be off any moment now.
1924 P. G. Wodehouse Bill the Conqueror ii. 32 He said this girl was one of those domestic girls, a little home-body, and might be leaving the party any moment now.
1990 Imagination Mag. Oct. 22/1 Any moment now he expected to hear the familiar tick-tock that struck terror in the heart of the fearsome pirate.
P6.
a. to have one's (also its) moments: to have occasional periods of time when one is impressive, surprising, or distinguishes oneself in some way.
ΚΠ
1926 I. Mackay Blencarrow xxiii. 207 With the proper sort of company the situation might have had its moments.
1970 O. Norton Dead on Prediction vii. 137 That's something I didn't know... You have your moments!
1995 Time Out 9 Aug. 74/3 ‘Outbreak’ does have its moments, most of them in the first half.
b. to have its moment: (of a thing) to be popular or fashionable for a (usually short) period of time. In later use also to have a moment in the same sense.
ΚΠ
1966 Ottumwa (Iowa) Courier 28 May (Brand Name section) 7/7 The current shifts [i.e. dresses] are reminiscent of the styles of the Twenties. The soft look of the Thirties is also having its moment.
1989 Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gaz. 17 Sept. (Fall Home Improvem. Suppl.) 11/2 What's out in kitchens?.. There [are] a few items and colors that have had their moment and now seem to be..out.
1995 K. Plummer Telling Sexual Stories 94 Social movements have proliferated around..cultural struggles... Many of them had their ‘moment’ in the counter-cultural 1960s.
2002 Independent 22 Aug. (Review section) 10/6 Pucci is having a ‘moment’ on the catwalks.
2013 N.Y. Times 6 Jan. (Late ed.) (Styles section) 6/4 Goatees had a moment, and that led us to the three-day stubble..and untamed beards of today.
Compounds
moment axis n. Physics a vector representing the moment of a couple.
ΚΠ
1862 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 152 479 So that det (R, P) is what French writers call ‘the moment-axis of a force P with respect to the origin’.
1942 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 180 390 The moment axis is taken in each instance as having the direction of θ for the section considered.
1997 Jrnl. Sound & Vibration 206 627 A general couple on the disk surface can be divided into two components, i.e., pitching (with moment axis in the radial direction) and rolling (with moment axis in the circumferential direction).
moment generating function n. Statistics a function from which each of the moments (sense 8d) of a given random variable can be derived, the kth moment being equal to the kth derivative of the function, evaluated at zero; (formerly also) †a function from which the product moments of a given set of data can be similarly derived (obsolete).
ΚΠ
1932 Ann. Math. Statistics 3 198 We shall define a moment-generating function ϕ(α,k) as [etc.]... It is clear that ∂h/ ∂αhϕ(α,k)|α=0 is the product moment.
1932 Biometrika 24 454 The moment generating function M is therefore defined by ∞0ehxdf, since the coefficient of hr/r! in the expansion is μr′(x), the rth moment coefficient about the origin.
1968 P. A. P. Moran Introd. Probability Theory vi. 256 When x is purely imaginary the characteristic function becomes the moment generating function.
1986 G. Grimmett & D. Welsh Probability (1988) vii. 113 A similar argument enables us to find the moment generating function of the sum of independent random variables.
moment-hand n. the second hand on a clock or watch.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > period > a second > [noun]
s.1387
second1588
moment1646
second minute1648
moment-hand1766
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > part(s) of > hand(s)
pinOE
hand1563
teller1574
index1594
finger1603
palm1629
hour-hand1669
minute hand1720
index-hand1742
second-hand1760
moment-hand1766
little hand1829
big hand1849
set-hands1884
sweep hand1948
sweep second1948
1766 S. Sharp Lett. from Italy 189 One of the gentlemen who was with us, counted, by his moment hand watch, eight explosions in fourteen seconds.
1809 T. Donaldson Poems 67 On Seeing a Clock; the hour and moment-hands of which were going in contrary directions.
1833 C. Lamb Let. 24 July (1935) III. 378 She takes it [sc. her watch] out every instant to look at the moment-hand.
1886 T. Hardy Mayor of Casterbridge I. xv. 85 I shall twitch like a moment-hand all night to-night for fear o' him!
ΚΠ
1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 404 All mans Creations (his Actions) are vanity; (but what he doth for his Creatour) and his Creatures, (the Effects of those Actions) but Abortives, or moment-lived.
ΚΠ
1826 W. Elliott Nun 20 Moment-living flowers that blow, Full of fragrance, soon to perish.
moment space n. (a) a very short space of time (now rare); (b) Statistics an n-dimensional vector space in which the coordinates of points are the first n moments (sense 8d) of a set of probability distributions.
ΚΠ
1508 W. Dunbar Goldyn Targe (Chepman & Myllar) in Poems (1998) I. 190 Than was I woundit to the deth wele nere And yoldyn as a wofull prisonnere To lady Beautee in a moment space.
1641 G. Wither Halelviah ii. viii. 239 He that can in a moment space Build Worlds.
1890 F. W. O. Ward 'Twixt Kiss & Lip 108 Joy and sorrow without measure Gathered in that moment space.
1910 A. Dobson Coll. Poems (1913) 597 Roses and Wine your Omar brings, Yet o'er the Cup, a Moment-Space, Peers into Naught with wistful Face.
1952 Amer. Math. Monthly 59 687 Melvin Dresher has proved by an ingenious method, using moment-space theory, the inequality which I shall call Dresher's inequality.
1993 Ann. Probability 21 1295 Assign to the moment space Mn the uniform probability measure Pn.
moment-to-moment adj. (attributive) immediately and continuously experienced, required, etc.; variable, etc., from one moment to the next.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > continuing > [adjective] > continuously experienced or required
moment-to-moment1934
1934 T. S. Eliot Elizabethan Ess. 8 Contemporary literature, like contemporary politics, is confused by the moment-to-moment struggle for existence.
1957 A. Miller Coll. Plays (1958) Introd. 23 It wanted..a kind of moment-to-moment wildness in addition to its organic wholeness.
1992 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 24 Sept. 41/2 The flow of moment-to-moment continuity over large-scale plots and tidy resolutions, might be traced all the way back to the marketplace story-reciters of ancient China.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2002; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† momentv.
Obsolete. rare.
1. transitive. To make important.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [verb (transitive)] > attach importance to
weigh?c1225
chargec1320
set by1393
to attribute (much)1586
to stand upon ——1587
moment1598
to lay weight upon1600
reflecta1616
to take (large etc.) stock in (rarely of)1870
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Momentare, to moment, to make of consequence.
2. transitive. To determine to the precise moment the time or occurrence of; to time precisely.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > particular time > [verb (transitive)] > time, appoint, or set a time for
seta1056
givec1320
timea1393
attermine1413
day1594
settle1596
to set down1597
momenta1661
order1669
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Suff. 62 All Accidents are minuted and momented by Divine Providence.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2002; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
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