neutraln.adj.
/ˈnjuːtr(ə)l/, U.S. /ˈn(j)utr(ə)l/ A. n.† 2. A neuter word. Obsolete. rare.
1.
a. A person or state remaining neutral in a controversy, dispute, war, etc., or a ship belonging to a neutral state, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > peace > neutrality > [noun] > a neutral
neutralc1449
neutrality1480
neuter1555
by-liera1572
non-intervener1937
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > absence of prejudice > [noun] > absence of definite stance > person characterized by
neutralc1449
indifferent1556
neuter1556
neutralist1623
neutralizer1628
interpendent1647
lie-by1675
fence-man1828
straddler1863
non-partisan1868
fence-sitter1905
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > war vessel > [noun] > neutral vessel
neutralc1449
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 87 Ȝe Bible men..summe of ȝou ben clepid Doctour-mongers, and summe ben clepid Opinioun-holders, and summe ben Neutralis, that of so presumptuose a cisme abhominacioun..it is to heere.
1581 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe Against Jerome Osorius 289 They that tooke part with neither of them, were called Newtralles.
1601 Ld. Mountjoy Let. in F. Moryson Itinerary (1617) ii. 173 The whole Province either is joyned with them, or stand neutrals.
1627 G. Hakewill Apologie iv. ii. 286 Such as are Neutralls, who may labour with the one side, and with the other to compound the quarrell.
1638 Earl of Rothes Affairs Kirk Scotl. (1830) 130 Others that lye as neutralls sould not be attendit till they declair themselves.
1756 Boston Weekly News-let. 22 Jan. 2/2 The French Inhabitants of Nova-Scotia, commonly call'd Neutrals.
1777 J. Adams in J. Adams & A. Adams Familiar Lett. (1876) 323 In politics they are a breed of mongrels or neutrals.
1803 in Naval Documents U.S. Wars Barbary Powers (U.S. Office Naval Rec.) (1940) II. 500 The former [sc. the English] detain all Neutrals they meet bound to or comeing from French Ports.
1808 ‘P. Plymley’ Eighth, Ninth & Last Let. x. 65 There should be a free entry of neutrals into the enemy's ports.
1877 L. P. Brockett Cross & Crescent 26 The powers of Western Europe were either allies of Turkey or neutrals.
1916 M. B. Lowndes Diary 25 May (1971) 72 During the last fortnight..No neutrals have been sunk and very few allied ships.
1985 P. Ziegler Mountbatten ii. xxiv. 308 When war broke out Philip was still a Greek citizen and therefore technically a neutral.
1988 Cricketer Aug. 10/3 Hampshire..won totally on merit and took the good wishes of those neutrals with them.
b. Canadian History. With capital initial. A member of a confederation of Iroquois peoples formerly living north of Lake Erie, in southern Ontario; any of the peoples comprising this confederation, or the confederation itself. Frequently in plural. Cf. Neutral Nation n. at Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > ethnicities > North American peoples > peoples of North-Eastern America > [noun] > Iroquois peoples
Mangoak1589
Iroquois1609
Susquehannock1612
Huron1648
Mingo1648
Meherrin1650
Iroquoian1687
Conestoga1699
Wyandot1748
neutral1854
1854 H. R. Schoolcraft Information Indian Tribes U.S. IV. v. 206 The Neuters were..jealous of the two missionaries.]
1854 J. W. Taylor Hist. State Ohio 28 The seats of the Hurons and Neutrals in Canada, and the Eries, Anastes and Shawanese in Ohio—were swept of their aboriginal occupants by their merciless enemies.
1877 C. R. Tuttle Illustr. Hist. of Dominion 95/1 The Neutrals had not sense or reflection enough to take the easy and direct route of Lake Ontario, which was probably open to them, though closed against the Hurons by Iroquois enmity.
1939 G. M. Wrong tr. G. Sagard Long Journey 157 They expected to derive great assistance from the Fire nation, sworn enemies of the Neutrals [Fr. Ils esperoiet tirer un grand secours de la Nation du Feu, ennemis iurez de Neutres].
1961 Amer. Heritage Bk. Indians 175/2 West of the Five Nations were the Iroquoian state that came to be known as the Tobacco nation and the Iroquoian confederacy that came to be known as the Neutrals.
1986 R. B. Morrison & C. R. Wilson Native Peoples xv. 304 The Neutral..comprised five groups—Attiragenrega, Niagagarega, Antouaronon, Kakouagoga, and Ahondihronon.
1995 Focus on Conservation Summer 4/4 Iroquoian people, such as the Huron and the Neutrals, shared similar cultural, political, economic and social structures.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > gender > [noun] > neuter word or form
neuterc1450
neuter1611
neutral1700
1700 W. Salmon Pharmacopœia Bateana (ed. 2) i. ix. 323/1 Here it signifies neither male nor female, but a Neutral thing without life, and therefore we used it as a Neuteral.
3. Chemistry. A chemically neutral substance or species.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medical preparations of specific origin > general chemical medicines > [noun]
sulphurc1400
crystals of tartar1605
cremor of tartar1656
cream of tartar1662
polychrest1728
neutral1770
sulphuret1789
arsenical1818
gallo-nitrate1841
glonoin1860
hepar1866
tabloid1884
Nujol1916
pentaerythritol tetranitrate1923
polyvinyl pyrrolidone1945
povidone1955
bromocriptine1974
1770 L. Carter Diary 13 Feb. (1965) I. 355 He must be a stranger to the effects of those salts he prescribes as neutrals.
1814 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 104 6 The term binacid correctly expresses the relation of many superacid salts to neutrals consisting of the same ingredients.
1904 L. L. Lamborn Cottonseed Products 166 A good quality of leaf fat will produce by careful handling about 90 per cent. of its weight in neutral... Comparatively little neutral is made from back fat.
1987 A. Nickson & E. F. Goldsmith Org. Chem. xiv. 176 In a broader sense, ambidents need not be nucleophiles or even ions. Appropriate cations, radicals, and neutrals can also manifest ‘either/or’ schizophrenia.
4. A neutral colour or shade, esp. a brown, cream, or grey; (hence) a colour or shade regarded as unobtrusively complementing other colours in a colour scheme. Also: spec. an achromatic shade or tone. See sense B. 7.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > quality of colour > [noun] > shade or tone
shadowing1580
shade1690
key1713
nuance1823
colour tone1853
colour value1857
hue1857
neutral1859
shadow-script1898
value1902
1859 Sci. Amer. 24 Dec. 411/3 The drabs or neutrals are especially subject to weather stains.
1909 R. Fry Let. 16 Feb. (1972) I. 312 Now as to colour. The background is a grey warm neutral..very atmospheric and elusive in quality.
1942 Philos. Rev. 51 560 The colors which enable us to distinguish what we see fall into classes, chromatic and achromatic, with principal colors—red, yellow, green, and blue—for the chromatic, and neutrals—black, gray and white—for the achromatic tones.
1988 Artist's & Illustrator's Mag. Feb. 33/2 Davy's grey is a genuine pigment... It provides a constant neutral (though it is very warm and ochreous for a neutral).
2001 Birmingham Post (Electronic ed.) 20 June It is just as effective to respond to hot temperatures with the cool neutrals that are so much a feature of 2001.
5.
a. An electrically neutral point or conductor.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > transmission of electricity, conduction > [noun] > conductor
conductor1745
collector1777
saddle1839
lead1881
neutral1890
N1937
1890 Science 17 Jan. 36/1 The three-wire system being used, each feeder consists of three cables, a positive, a negative, and a neutral.
1930 H. P. Seelye Electr. Distrib. Engin. vi. 98 On many systems, the neutral of the primary circuit..is grounded at the substation.
1973 G. A. T. Burdett Householder's Electr. Guide vi. 34 Two-core sheathed flex is now made with the new core colours of brown for the ‘live’ core and blue for the neutral.
1992 Pract. Householder Nov. 8/2 If you place a testing probe on the live and neutral of a plug and switch on the appliance, you should have a reading or a light.
b. Physics, Chemistry, and Astronomy. A particle, esp. an atom or molecule, that has no electric charge. Usually in plural.
ΚΠ
1916 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2 376 The neutrals cause light in a region where all free corpuscles have been swept out by the field.
1966 Physics of Fluids 9 2540/2 In a weakly ionized plasma, the motion of the neutrals causes induced electric fields.
1992 Chem. in Brit. (BNC) 28 37 The detector is a channel electron multiplier or channelplate which is sensitive to ions and fast neutrals.
6. = Idiom Neutral n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > [noun] > international universal language > particular languages
pasilaly1805
neutral1907
koine1913
1907 W. J. Clark Internat. Lang. II. v. 99 Members of the academy..carry on their business by means of circulars, drawn up, of course, in Neutral.
1922 A. L. Guérard Short Hist. Internat. Lang. Movement II. vi. 137 International words were selected..and were altered only in order to conform to Neutral spelling.
1928 O. Jespersen Internat. Lang. i. 49 Occidental... It forms in that respect a continuation of Neutral and especially of Rosenberger's Reform–Neutral.
1947 H. Jacob Planned Auxiliary Lang. ii. 45 The most favoured systems [based on ethnic languages] were Esperanto, Neutral, Novlatin, and Universal.
7. A position of the driving and driven parts in a gear mechanism in which no power is transmitted. Frequently to put (move, etc.) in(to) neutral. Also in figurative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > wheel > [noun] > cog or gear > which allows change of speed or direction > position of
neutral1912
1912 G. Harris et al. Audel's Answers on Automobiles 442 With clutch still disengaged, the transmission lever is moved from neutral to first speed position.
1925 Morris Owner Jan. 1154/1 Don't lose your head and start the car in gear. Take things quietly, put the lever in neutral, [etc.].
1926 ‘J. J. Connington’ Death at Swaythling Court xiii. 250 The Colonel slipped his gear into neutral.
1958 Spectator 22 Aug. 251/2 A time-waster filling the hours when the brain is in neutral.
1962 J. Braine Life at Top xix. 222 She turned the ignition key; the car jerked forward convulsively, then stopped. ‘Put it in neutral, first.’
1971 R. Dentry Encounter at Kharmel iii. 42 Pepper threw the gear stick into neutral, applied the handbrake firmly, switched off.
1973 ‘D. Jordan’ Nile Green xxxv. 174 Sue's face went into neutral.
1975 T. Allbeury Special Coll. xix. 132 The Special Collection [Operation] has been put into neutral by the Presidium.
1985 Audio Visual Feb. 36/1 There were, as usual, far too many..pictures of the world from space (always a good thing to throw in when the creative imagination's in neutral).
1990 Which? Guide New & Used Cars 47/1 Clutch a little on the heavy side and selection of first gear from neutral wasn't easy.
B. adj.† II. Senses relating to gender.
I. Senses relating to partiality, determinacy, etc.
1. Originally Scottish. Esp. of persons: not taking sides in a controversy, dispute, disagreement, etc.; not inclining toward any party, view, etc.; impartial, unbiased.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > indifference > [adjective]
carelessOE
negligentc1390
recklessc1425
neutral1494
indifferent?1520
undifferentc1540
uncareful1560
unmindful1560
unaddicted1583
unmindful1585
perfunctory1602
disinteressed1603
come day, go day (God send Sunday)1616
disinteresteda1631
Laodicean1633
vacanta1639
unconcerned1645
easy1649
mawkish1679
indifferinga1694
concernless1706
unminding1714
nonchalanta1734
coolrife1768
uninterested1772
uncaring1786
tooth-picking1814
pococurante1815
pococurantish1821
insouciant1829
non-committal1829
don't-care1830
promiscuous1837
don't-carish1838
unpartial1840
noncurantist1882
noncuranta1913
casual1916
Gallionic1920
disengaged1958
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > absence of prejudice > [adjective] > taking neutral stance
neuter1494
neutral1494
neuter1525
indifferenta1538
neuterlike1556
neutralizing1602
neutralist1648
colourless1793
achromatic1799
uncommitted1814
(to stand or sit) on or upon the fence1828
non-committal1829
non-partisan1843
whitey-brown1892
middle of the road1894
neutralistic1914
value-free1916
value-neutral1929
middle road1951
non-aligned1954
unaligned1961
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > absence of prejudice > [adjective] > occupying middle position
neutral1494
commoderate1590
neutera1591
mediatinga1729
unmarked1791
goldena1817
1494 Loutfut MS f. 17v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Neutral(l Scho haldis hir neutrale betuix thaim.
c1540 J. Bellenden tr. H. Boece Hyst. & Cron. Scotl. (1821) I. 8 This Thanaus..was haldin..of gret prudence, havand but newtrall affection to baith the partyis.
1551 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 116 That the said Provest be chosin be newtrall personis havand regard to the commoun weill of the said burghe.
1605 B. Jonson Sejanus i. i. 81 Is he or Drusian? or Germanican? Or ours? or neutrall ? View more context for this quotation
1650 R. Stapleton tr. F. Strada De Bello Belgico v. 100 The multitude thus storming, the Lords neutrall or wavering.
1674 in M. Wood Extracts Rec. Burgh Edinb. (1950) X. 421 The said lose..to be pryset by four newtrall skillfull sworne men.
1746 T. Smollett Reproof 197 While sagely neutral sits thy silent friend, Alike averse to censure or commend.
1827 J. F. Cooper Prairie I. vii. 108 [He] had evidently persuaded himself that it was his duty to be strictly neutral.
1876 J. B. Mozley Serm. preached Univ. of Oxf. x. 237 They discard a middle and neutral relation as lukewarm.
1962 N. S. Falcone Labor Law xi. 343 Peaceful picketing conducted at the premises of neutral employers was for the purpose of informing the public of a primary dispute and was not intended to bring about any work stoppage among the neutral employees.
1985 R. C. A. White Admin. of Justice II. v. 78 The principle underlying the selection of the jury in the United States is that of securing a ‘neutral’ jury.
1987 D. Rowe Beyond Fear viii. 317 Dorothy has..no axe to grind. She's completely neutral.
2.
a. In relation to war or armed conflict: not assisting, or actively taking the side of, any belligerent party, state, etc.; remaining inactive in relation to belligerent powers.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > peace > neutrality > [adjective]
neutralc1550
non-intervening1831
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) xi. 69 He professit hym self to be neutral bot ȝit he furnest the empriour vitht sex thousand fut men.
1604 C. Edmondes Observ. Cæsars Comm. II. vii. xxv. 101 Such other Commonweales, as before that time had remained newtrall.
1619 E. M. Bolton tr. Florus Rom. Hist. i. iii. 16 Being sent as aydes..they turned neutrall in battell for their owne aduantage.
1709 London Gaz. No. 4548/2 The Ships of Neutral Nations shall only be seized.
a1781 R. Watson Hist. Reign Philip III (1783) i. 17 The Spanish general, who..had seized on the towns of neutral powers.
1842 W. T. Brande Dict. Sci., Lit. & Art 822/2 A neutral nation has the right of furnishing to either of the contending parties all supplies which do not fall within the description of contraband of war.
1881 B. Jowett tr. Thucydides Hist. Peloponnesian War I. 142 If you prefer to be neutral..receive both sides in peace, but neither for the purposes of war.
1937 Ann. Reg. 1936 163 The so-called ‘neutral’ States of Europe wanted sanctions to be linked with disarmament.
1962 E. Roosevelt Autobiogr. II. xix. 149 In the case of the Spanish Civil War..we had to remain neutral, though Franklin wanted the democratic government to be successful.
1983 M. FitzHerbert Man who was Greenmantle III. vi Albania, which declared itself neutral, became a battleground.
b. Not belonging to or controlled by any belligerent party, state, etc.; belonging to a power which remains inactive during hostilities; exempted or excluded from the sphere of warlike operations.
ΚΠ
1711 London Gaz. No. 4989/3 The entire Cargo of a Neutral Ship.
1777 R. Watson Hist. Philip II (1793) I. iii. 296 Some merchants whom he had sent..under neutral colours to procure intelligence.
1817 W. Selwyn Abridgem. Law Nisi Prius (ed. 4) II. 928 An insurance effected by him on goods to be delivered at a neutral or friendly port.
1855 Parl. Deb. 3rd Ser. 138 1611 With regard to making the Black Sea a neutral sea.
1879 J. Lubbock Addresses, Polit. & Educ. vii. 129 Neutral goods..are not liable to capture under enemy's flag.
1916 ‘B. Cable’ Action Front 49 The neutral ground..was a sea of mud, broken by heaped earth and yawning shell craters.
1990 M. Stanton Sándor Ferenczi 28 On 26 February, the Paris peace Conference decides to create a neutral-zone in south-east Hungary to separate Hungarian and Rumanian forces.
3. Not belonging to, associated with, or favouring any party or side.
a. In a controversy, dispute, disagreement, etc.
ΚΠ
1564–5 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 316 Ordaining the officiar to..collect the saidis teindis, to stak the samyn in neutrall places.
1571 in Trans. Dumfries & Galloway Nat. Hist. & Antiquarian Soc. 28 113 I sall meit the in newtrall and unsuspect place.
1857–61 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. (1869) II. v. 233 The neutral ground of physical science.
1873 P. G. Hamerton Intellect. Life viii. i. 277 The largest and best minds..arrive at a sort of neutral region.
1990 On Sat 30 Dec. 123/3 The SBCA (Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association),..has taken a neutral stance on the issue.
1992 Keesing's Contemp. Archives (BNC) Mar. A United Kingdom lawyer representing the two Libyans, was quoted..as saying that Cyprus, Egypt, France or Italy would be acceptable as neutral ground for a trial.
b. In a game, meeting, encounter, etc.
ΚΠ
1775 C. Jones Hoyle's Games Improved 205 Billiards... Carambole, is played with three balls, one being red which is neutral.
1816 W. Scott Antiquary I. vii. 154 The beach under Halket-head..was..a neutral field, where even a justice of peace and a strolling mendicant might meet upon terms of mutual forbearance.
1897 Whitaker's Almanack 644/1 [Association Football] Neutral linesmen shall officiate in all games.
1982 G. Lyall Conduct of Major Maxim (BNC) 128 An undistinguished office block just off the Euston Road, two floors of which were used as secure neutral territory for committees and meetings between Government departments who would lose face by visiting the other fellow's wigwam.
1992 Today (BNC) Dec. The FA..will either confirm the result or..order another match, possibly on a neutral ground and behind closed doors.
c. on neutral ground.
ΚΠ
1880 H. James Washington Square xv, in Cornhill Mag. Aug. 140 This interview could take place only on neutral ground, and she bethought herself greatly before selecting a place of meeting.
1918 W. Cather My Ántonia ii. ix. 231 The Vannis' tent brought the town boys and the country girls together on neutral ground.
1971 I. Murdoch Accidental Man 62 There are times when it may be better to be away from one's own family, on neutral ground as it were, and in a new scene!
1991 M. Dibdin Dirty Tricks (BNC) 52 He didn't mind socializing with his staff as long as it was on his terms and at their expense, but to meet them as equals on neutral ground was another matter.
4. Belonging to, or falling under, neither of two specified, implied, or usual categories; occupying a middle position with regard to two extremes.
ΚΠ
1599 J. Davies Nosce Teipsum 47 Some things good, & som things il do seeme, And neutrall some in her phantasticke eye.
1609 J. Dowland tr. A. Ornithoparchus Micrologus 13 Certain Songs, which do ascend as an Authenticall, and descend as a Plagall, and those are called Neutrall, or mixt Songs.
a1631 J. Donne ‘Canonization’ in Poems (1633) 203 The phoenix ridle hath more wit By us, we two being one, are it. So, to one neutrall thing both sexes fit.
1675 R. Baxter Catholick Theol. i. ii. 114 Some..deny Adam to have been Holy, and suppose him only Innocent, and Neutral.
1760 B. Wilson in Philos. Trans. 1759 (Royal Soc.) 51 334 The second cause, which electrified both sides plus when the stone was in an intermediate (or, as Æpinus calls it, neutral) state, between the two extremes.
1821 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto V xxvi. 148 Just now a black old neutral personage Of the third sex stept up.
a1830 Encycl. Metrop. (1845) IV. 522 Crystals at once attractive, repulsive, and neutral.
1897 Q. Rev. Oct. 355 His philosophastering or martial strains are best neutral.
1910 Westm. Gaz. 19 Mar. 3/2 He argued..that Nature was a-moral, ethically neutral.
1987 F. King Frozen Music (1988) iii. 99 She was neutral, neither friendly nor unfriendly.
5.
a. Having no strongly marked effects, characteristics, etc.; undefined, indefinite, vague. Now rare or merged in sense B. 4.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > uniformity > [adjective] > characterless
unrelieved1673
unfeatured1693
neutral1755
samely1799
unindividuala1834
featureless1839
clueless1862
unbrightened1873
uninterspersed1887
attributeless1894
faceless1936
identikit1963
fast food1977
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [adjective] > not specific > not rendered specific > not characterized or nondescript
unqualified1603
equivocal1658
uncharacterized1701
neutral1755
nondescript1806
anonymous1937
1755 E. Young Centaur iii, in Wks. (1757) IV. 168 Splendid superiorities cannot be neutral, with regard to the characters of those who possess them.
1805 J. Foster Essays II. iv. iii. 150 That uncoloured neutral vehicle of expression..which may be called the language of generality.
1876 ‘G. Eliot’ Daniel Deronda I. i. iii. 38 Miss Merry was elderly and altogether neutral in expression.
1876 ‘G. Eliot’ Daniel Deronda III. vi. xli. 200 Dissatisfied with his neutral life.
b. Of a sound: indistinct, indefinite, obscure. Cf. neutral vowel n. at Compounds. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > [adjective] > qualities of speech sounds
weaka1637
apert1668
narrow-mouthed1668
servile1700
rotund1742
tonous1773
homorganic1864
trainante1865
oral1869
neutral1874
compact1930
lento1939
1874 A. H. Sayce Princ. Compar. Philol. vi. 247 The farther back we push our phonological researches, the greater becomes the number of neutral sounds.
6.
a. Exciting no emotional response; provoking no strong reaction; innocuous, inoffensive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > quality of affecting the emotions > [adjective] > not
unmoving1642
unaffecting1647
untouching1745
neutral1760
unravishing1781
unprovocative1793
1760 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy I. xix. 124 Though my father..had..the strongest likings and dislikings towards certain names,..there were still numbers of names which hung so equally in the balance before him that they were absolutely indiferent to him. Jack, Dick, and Tom were of this class: These my father called neutral names.
1851 H. Melville Moby-Dick xxxiv. 164 I do not suppose that for the world they would have profaned that moment with the slightest observation, even upon so neutral a topic as the weather.
1897 B. Stoker Dracula xvii. 229 They did not quite know what to say or do, as they were ignorant of the amount of my knowledge; so they had to keep on neutral subjects.
1955 G. Gorer Exploring Eng. Char. i. 6 Questions, it was said, should be neutral; but I wanted expressions of emotion.
1991 J. Levesque Rosseter's Memory iv. 53 She'll kiss him on some neutral spot like the shoulder.
2001 Herald (Glasgow) (Electronic ed.) 25 May The orange symbol of a wheelchair-bound figure—albeit that it is being replaced in some quarters by a more neutral, blue European Union disc—has in many ways had a major impact on our society's perceptions of disability.
b. Displaying or containing no overt emotion; dispassionate, detached.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > absence of emotion > [adjective] > not manifesting emotion
stolidc1600
sodden1601
inexpressive1744
neutral1760
expressionless1831
fishy-eyed1836
undemonstrative1846
contained1882
dead-pan1928
stone-faced1932
tight-assed1961
tight-ass1969
1760 S. Johnson Idler (ed. 3) No. 100. 263 My resolution was to keep my passions neutral, and to marry only in compliance with my reason.
1813 T. Moore Parody of Celebrated Let. in Intercepted Lett. 53 Such is my temper, so neutral, so pleasant, So royally free from all troublesome feelings.
1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch III. lviii. 304 Expressing all states of mind from helpless dimness to exhaustive argumentative perception, from the completest self-devoting fellowship to the most neutral aloofness.
1951 ‘C. S. Forester’ Randall & River of Time (U.K. ed.) xix. 287 And it was strange that Randall could look on her without any conscious emotion, that he could be quite neutral in his feelings towards her, and yet feel this disturbing rise in his blood pressure.
1991 T. Barnes Midsummer Killing 167 ‘Yes? Can I help you?’ The enquiry was distant and neutral.
1997 D. Simon & E. Burns Corner 26 ‘What up,’ DeAndre asks, voice neutral.
7. Having no decided colour; of a brownish or greyish appearance. Also figurative and in figurative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > state or mode of having colour > [adjective] > having no specific colour
neutral1821
colour-neutral1952
the world > matter > colour > named colours > grey or greyness > [adjective] > bluish grey
glawke1412
perse-blue1414
waterisha1425
blunket1488
bluish-grey1578
blue-grey1590
water1592
slate-grey1794
slate-coloured1801
griseous1819
neutral1821
slaty1822
schistous1858
slatish1860
powder-blue-grey1952
1821 W. M. Craig Lect. Drawing v. 267 The most remote distance becomes a mass of neutral colour.
1858 N. Hawthorne Jrnl. 5 June in French & Ital. Notebks. (1980) v. 285 The pillars and walls of this Duomo are of a uniform, brownish, neutral tint.
1875 W. W. Story Stephania ii. 43 She was not of that blank and neutral hue You coldly look at, and you calmly praise.
1879 G. C. Harlan Eyesight vii. 97 The best glasses, in daylight at least, are the..neutral gray.
1909 Chambers's Jrnl. Feb. 128/2 Painted with a muddy composition of dull and neutral colours.
1959 A. C. Hardy Open Sea II. iv. 131 The colour red appears as a dull neutral colour in all but very shallow regions.
1983 A. Bullock Ernest Bevin iii. 93 Unlike Attlee, who largely shared his views but could disappear into a neutral background, Bevin's personality had always provoked controversy.
2000 Chicago Tribune 1 Sept. vii. 38/1 Floors are carpeted, walls are sponge-painted in neutral tones.
8. Philosophy. Neither specifically mental nor physical; esp. in neutral monism (see Compounds).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > philosophy of mind-body interrelation > [adjective]
neutral1904
mind-body1907
1904 W. James in Jrnl. Philos., Psychol. & Sci. Methods 1 487 Matter we know, and thought we know, and conscious content we know, but neutral and simple ‘pure experience’ is something we know not at all.
1912 R. B. Perry Pres. Philos. Tendencies ii. iv. 79 It is evident that Mach's view can only mean a reduction of both the physical and the mental order to a manifold of neutral elements.
1920 S. Alexander Space, Time & Deity II. iii. viii. 216 Nor are we free to suppose that there is a neutral non-mental world containing illusions amongst other neutral objects, neither mental nor physical.
1921 B. Russell Anal. Mind i. 25 My own belief..is..that the American realists are partly right..in considering that both mind and matter are composed of a neutral-stuff which, in isolation, is neither mental nor material.
1925 C. D. Broad Mind & its Place xiv. 631 Mr. Russell's neutral stuff is sensa.
9. Scottish. Grammar.
a. = neuter adj. 1b. Obsolete.
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the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > voice > [adjective] > middle
mean1530
neutral1531
middle1751
1531 J. Vaus Rudimenta (new ed.) iv. sig. gg All verbis personalis ar actiuis, passiuis or neutralis be the significatione.
a1700 Of Rudim. Definitiones f. 9, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Neutral(l Quhow manie sorts of verbs ar there?.. Fyve, actiue, passiue, neutrall, deponent and commune.
b. = neuter adj. 1a. Obsolete.
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the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > gender > [adjective] > neuter
neutera1398
neutrala1700
a1700 Of Rudim. Definitiones f. 4v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Neutral(l In the plurall it is declined in the nom. & accus. in the gener neutrall onlie.
III. Technical uses.† 11.
10. † a. Composed of contrasting elements which neutralize each other. Obsolete.
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a1550 ( G. Ripley Compend of Alchemy (Bodl. e Mus.) f. 65 Man is moste noble creature In compositione erthy that ever god made, In whome is of the four elementes proporcione by nature A neuterall [v.r. newtriall] mercurialytie which costeth right nought.
b. Chemistry. Neither acidic nor basic or alkaline; (of an aqueous solution) having equal concentrations of hydroxyl and hydrogen ions, having a pH of 7.
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the world > matter > chemistry > chemical properties > [adjective] > neutral
adiaphorous1674
neutral1680
1680 R. Boyle Exper. & Notes Prodvcibleness Chymicall Princ. ii. iv. 88 in Sceptical Chymist (new ed.) I was wont to give them a negative appellation, and call each of them the Neutrall or Adiaphorous spirit of the body that affords it.
1752 Philos. Trans. 1749–50 (Royal Soc.) 46 187 The Particles of Air therein contained,..together with the neutral Liquors, which are a Vehicle to the Salts, form the Scum or Froth.
1797 Encycl. Brit. IV. 398/2 The liquor will neither have the properties of an acid nor an alkali, but will be what is called neutral.
1838 T. Thomson Chem. Org. Bodies 106 The solution is neutral.
1875 R. Hunt & F. W. Rudler Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 7) III. 844 Natural or neutral fats and oils, chemically considered, are really salts.
1946 A. Nelson Princ. Agric. Bot. xiv. 329 In neutral or alkaline soils the availability [of molybdenum] is high; in acid conditions low.
1976 P. Parish Medicines ii. xxxviii. 228 Soluble insulin is acidic and it was suggested that a neutral solution would be more easily absorbed into the blood-stream.
1989 A. C. Davies Sci. & Pract. Welding (ed. 9) I. i. 63 With acid or neutral fluxes the slag has a lower melting point than the weld deposit.
c. Not electrically charged; neither positive nor negative.
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electric charge, electricity > [adjective] > not charged
non-electrized1746
non-electrified1747
unelectrified1747
neutral1760
unelectrized1764
uncharged1815
indifferent1855
isoelectric1900
electroneutral1924
1760 Philos. Trans. 1759 (Royal Soc.) 51 86 Does it not seem then a thing to be expected..that the opposite powers of these ingredients should counterballance and destroy the effects of each other, and the body in which the positive and negative ones equally prevail, become neutral, or non-electric?
1837 D. Brewster Treat. Magnetism 363 The decomposition of the neutral fluid will begin immediately.
1860 G. B. Prescott Electr. Telegr. 15 The quantity of neutral fluid which a body contains cannot be determined.
1924 London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 6th Ser. 47 282 The number of particles due to doubly-charged, singly-charged, and neutral helium atoms..varied in number over..a wide range.
1963 K. W. Ford World of Elem. Particles 115 One necessary condition for masslessness seems to be the absence of charge. Every charged particle has mass, although not every neutral particle is massless.
1992 RS Components: Electronic & Electr. Products July 145/1 Live and neutral contacts on plugs and sockets are shrouded, limiting access to live parts when connectors are not mated.
d. Optics. Having or indicating none of the phenomena of polarization; not polarized. Chiefly in neutral axis n. (a) at Compounds.
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > polarization > [adjective] > not polarized
neutral1813
unpolarized1814
1813 [see neutral axis n. at Compounds].
a1830 Encycl. Metrop. (1845) IV. 565 Every point in a certain line..will therefore be in a neutral state as to polarization, and, of course, appear black.
1999 U.S. Patent 5,911,015 1 At the first and third splices, the neutral propagation axes of the polarization-maintaining fiber are turned through 90°.
e. Mechanics and Physics. Designating a point, line, etc., where opposing forces are in equilibrium; occupying such a position. Cf. neutral axis n. (b) at Compounds.
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the world > matter > physics > mechanics > dynamics > statics > [adjective] > relating to forces in equilibrium > lying at point of equilibrium
neutral1814
1814 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 104 305 It is also natural to suppose the excesses of weight and pressure distributed..so as to neutralise each other at the common termination of the adjoining portions, and to become more unequal in parts remote from these neutral points.
1850 W. H. C. Bartlett Elem. Nat. Philos. i. i. xiii. 262 Now these shocks in opposite directions, with a neutral point A, can only arise from an effort of the particles..to move in contrary directions when the body is struck at the centre of oscillation.
1895 Physical Rev. 2 326 The balls were placed horizontally in their neutral position, and the reading of the zero-point of the scale taken.
1916 Proc. Royal Soc. 1915–16 A. 92 4 This force..will also tend to bend the beam about its neutral surface.
1932 Jrnl. Bone & Joint Surg. 14 2 The increasing elastic tension of the antagonist and the decreasing elastic tension of the contracting agonist determine the neutral point of equilibrium.
1994 Asimov's Sci. Fiction July 59 With an anchor in Jupiter's gravity on the other side of the L1 neutral gravity point, the tethertube would have been less than a hundred kilometers long, but I supposed there hadn't been time to build one.
f. Mechanics. Of a state of equilibrium of a system: such that slightly disturbing the system does not alter its potential energy, so that the system will remain in equilibrium in its new state.
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the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > [adjective] > of or relating to equilibrium > physical material
neutral1854
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > dynamics > statics > [adjective] > relating to forces in equilibrium > of equilibrium: balanced
neutral1854
1854 D. Lardner Hand-bk. Mech. ii. vi. 142 The case represented in fig. 57. is an intermediate condition between these two extremes, and is called the state of neutral equilibrium.
1879 W. Thomson & P. G. Tait Treat. Nat. Philos. (new ed.) I: Pt. i. §291 If a material system, under the influence of internal and applied forces, varying according to some definite law, is balanced by them in any position in which it may be placed, its equilibrium is said to be neutral.
1914 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) A. 213 191 We confine our attention to the special case in which the stability of the equilibrium position is neutral.
1980 J. W. Hill Intermediate Physics iv. 26 A ball or a cone laid on its side are both in neutral equilibrium. They roll when moved but their state of equilibrium remains the same.
a. Entomology. Designating or relating to a social insect of a nonreproductive caste (cf. neuter adj. 3b). Obsolete. rare.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > [adjective] > neuter
neutral1747
sexless1757
neuter1772
1747 W. Gould Acct. Eng. Ants 35 The Queen Ant lays three different Sorts of Eggs, the Male, Female, and Neutral.
1802 W. Paley Nat. Theol. xviii. 338 The grub is nurtured neither by the father nor the mother, but by the neutral bee.
b. Botany. = neuter adj. 3c. Obsolete.
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the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > flower or part containing reproductive organs > [adjective] > having or relating to parts > of or having stamens or pistils > having neither stamens or nor pistils
imperfect1704
neutral1755
neuter1785
heterogamous1839
1755 New & Compl. Dict. Arts & Sci. IV. 3077/2 Some are composed of tubulous hermaphrodite flowers in the disk, and ligulated neutral flowers in the radius.
1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) I. 323 Floret. Tubular,..Neutral, containing neither stamens nor pistil.
1845 A. Wood Class-bk. Bot. ii. 181 Where the flowers..of the ray or margin are pistillate or neutral.
12.
a. [After German neutral (1889 in the passage translated in quot. 1892).] Of a textile dye: able to be applied directly at approximately neutral pH.
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the world > matter > colour > colouring > colouring matter > [adjective] > yielding dye > types of dye
substantive1794
alizarin1857
Congo red1885
neutral1892
Janus1898
metachrome1901
direct1902
indigoid1908
reactive1941
thioindigoid1943
1892 A. Collin & W. Richardson tr. R. Nietzki Chem. Org. Dyestuffs 14 The salts of certain azosulphonic acids may be termed neutral dyestuffs. They may be directly fixed on vegetable fibres.
1920 J. M. Matthews Applic. of Dyestuffs v. 156 A separate group of dyestuffs is frequently made of the eosin or phthalein dyes. This group includes certain of both the acid and basic dyes, which..might be termed ‘neutral’ dyes... They are applied in neutral or slightly acid bath, and are largely used for the dyeing of silk.
1962 E. Gurr Staining Animal Tissues 31 Neutral ‘dyes’ should not be confused with ‘neutral’ or compound stains. The latter are formed by chemical union between a basic and an acid dye.
b. Histology. [After German neutral (adopted in this sense by P. Ehrlich 1880, in Zeitschr. f. Klin. Med. 1 557).] Designating a biological stain consisting of an acid and a basic dye.
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the world > life > biology > laboratory analysis > material > [adjective] > staining material
Ziehl1892
neutral1893
Romanowsky1893
polychrome1895
supravital1903
vital1907
trichrome1918
1893 N.Y. Med. Jrnl. 57 2/2 Other granules react only to basic, or still others only to neutral colors.
1925 H. J. Conn et al. Biol. Stains viii. 86 Compound dyes of this sort are sometimes referred to as neutral dyes or neutral stains. This terminology, of course, does not indicate that they are neutral in reaction any more than do the corresponding terms acid and basic dyes. A dye chemist, in fact, uses the term neutral dye in an entirely different sense.
1958 J. R. Baker Princ. Biol. Microtechnique xiv. 263 The granules of polymorphonuclear leucocytes are coloured by both the components of the neutral dye, and that is why Ehrlich called them ‘neutrophil’. He regarded the specific dyeing of these granules as an important property of the neutral dyes, not to be obtained without their use.
1962 E. Gurr Staining Animal Tissues 31 Neutral ‘dyes’ should not be confused with ‘neutral’ or compound stains. The latter are formed by chemical union between a basic and an acid dye.
1986 Science 21 Mar. 1432/3 (caption) Phosphorylation of peptide substrates by immunoprecipitates... O, sample origin; N, neutral dye (N-[2,4-dinitrophenyl]-ethanolamine).
13. Genetics and Biology. Of a mutation or (mutated) gene: having no effect on an organism's fitness to survive; having or conveying no selective advantage or disadvantage; (also) having no phenotypic effect. Hence: designating a theory of (molecular) evolution according to which most genetic mutations are of this kind (cf. neutralism n. 2).
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1929 Amer. Naturalist 63 558 The question at issue reduces then to whether there are genes so neutral in relation to all other evolutionary forces that selections which change their frequencies at rates of the order of mutation pressure are the most important forces acting on them.
1930 R. A. Fisher Genetical Theory Nat. Selection iv. 82 With a declining population, even mutations possessing a slight selective advantage..will be in a worse position than neutral mutations in a species of stationary size.
1968 Brit. Jrnl. Psychiatry 114 1391/1 The total finger ridge-count (the sum of an individual's ten ridge counts) is almost wholly determined by a small number of neutral genes of additive effect.
1979 Sci. Amer. Nov. 96/3 The neutral theory..does not assume that neutral genes are functionless but only that various alleles may be equally effective in promoting the survival and reproduction of the individual.
1992 New Science 11 July 27/2 As late as 1990 Stephen Jay Gould cited the colours and forms of partula shells as examples of ‘neutral evolution’: characteristics that had turned up in the past through chance mutation, did no harm, and had not been selected against.
Compounds
neutral axis n. (a) Optics either of two mutually perpendicular directions within a plate of a birefringent substance, such that light polarized parallel to either of these directions is transmitted without change of polarization; (b) Mechanics the line or plane containing those points at which no extension or compression occurs when a beam, plate, etc., is subjected to stress.
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1813 D. Brewster New Philos. Instr. iv. iv. 336 The horizontal and vertical lines..drawn upon the plate of mica, may be called the neutral axes of the mica.
a1830 Encycl. Metrop. (1845) III. 60/2 An isosceles triangle, having its vertex in the neutral axis.
1869 E. J. Reed Shipbuilding v. 80 The score in the centre plate is cut very near the neutral axis of the girder.
1881 Proc. Royal Soc. 1880–1 31 493 The principal section of the polarising nicol was placed successively in the plane of incidence, and at right angles to it, and the neutral axes of the quarter undulation plate..at an angle of 45° with this plane.
1905 G. J. Fiebeger Civil Engin. xxi. 405 A beam may have its reinforcement on the tension side only, or on both the tension and compression sides of the neutral axis.
1978 J. E. Gordon Structures xi. 242 Since it is important to know the position of the neutral axis in a beam it is fortunate that this is easy to determine.
1999 Astron. & Astrophysics Suppl. Series 139 175/2 This is confirmed by the preliminary results obtained with high-birefringent fibers and the incident light polarized along the neutral axes: the contrast reaches 78%.
neutral beam n. Physics a beam of particles having no electric charge.
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1968 Technol Rep. Osaka Univ. 18 34 A new method for measuring the absolute value of neutral beam current has been developed.
1981 G. Benford in O. Davies Omni Bk. Space 269 The bolt emerges as a ‘neutral beam’ of hydrogen atoms.
1998 Scout Rep. Archives (Internet Scout Project) (Electronic text) 11 Nov. Examples of topics presented at these special focus sessions are neutral beam etching, atom manipulation for nanofabrication, and large area microprinting.
neutral blue n. a brown crystalline synthetic azine dye, C24H19N3·HCl, which dyes fabric a dull blue but has poor fastness.
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the world > matter > chemistry > organic chemistry > organic dyes > [adjective] > colouring blue
neutral blue1889
the world > matter > colour > named colours > blue or blueness > blue colouring matter > [noun] > dyes and dyestuffs > other dyes
stone-blue1675
starch blue1742
Saxon blue1753
fig-blue1786
chemic1792
Turkey blue1815
Paris blue1835
Saxony blue1857
soluble blue1879
methylene blue1882
indoin1884
phenylene blue1884
indamine1888
Nile blue1888
gallamine blue1889
neutral blue1889
chrome-blue1892
toluidine blue1898
indanthrene1901
Saxe blue1905
trypan blue1911
mandarin blue1912
1889 Cent. Dict. at Blue Neutral blue, a coal-tar color used in dyeing, the hydrochlorid of the color-base safranine.
1952 K. Venkataraman Chem. Synthetic Dyes II. xxv. 768 A further distinction has been made between Rosindulines..and isoRosindulines, such as Neutral Blue,..in which the auxochrome is in the benzene part of the naphthophenazine nucleus.
neutral buoyancy n. the property of being neutrally buoyant (cf. neutrally adv. Compounds).
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1955 J. C. Swallow in Deep-sea Res. 3 74 (heading) A neutral-buoyancy float for measuring deep current.
1978 A. P. Balder Sport Diving ii. 15 He becomes..heavier, passing from positive to neutral buoyancy.
1997 G. S. Helfman et al. Diversity of Fishes xv. 261/1 Some secondary pelagic species..achieve neutral buoyancy by depositing lipids in their muscles.
neutral corner n. Boxing either of the two corners of a boxing ring which is not allocated to a particular boxer and that boxer's team.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > boxing > [noun] > ring > corner
corner1853
neutral corner1952
1952 Amateur Boxing (‘Know the Game’ Ser.) 29 When a boxer is ‘down’, his opponent must immediately retire to the farther neutral corner where he shall remain until ordered to resume boxing by the Referee.
1990 Boxing Illustr. Oct. 54/1 A right, followed by a left hook to the body, dropped a weary Keller in a neutral corner.
2001 Truth (Auckland) (Nexis) 28 Sept. Nakatamatoa was lucky not to have been disqualified by ref Gary McCrystal when he..fell on top of his prone opponent, sat on him, and loaded up with a third shot before he was sent to a neutral corner and had a point deducted.
neutral current n. Particle Physics the exchange of an uncharged subatomic particle in an interaction between particles; (frequently attributive) designating an interaction mediated by such an exchange, in which there is no transfer of charge between the interacting particles.
ΚΠ
1968 R. J. Oakes in Physical Rev. Lett. 20 1539/1 In this note we discuss how the neutral vector and axial-vector currents..can be used to construct a neutral current × current weak interaction.
1974 Sci. Amer. Dec. 108/2 The process is described as an interaction between two neutral currents, meaning that the interaction does not change the electric charge of the participating particles.
1987 D. H. Perkins Introd. High-Energy Physics (ed. 3) ix. 333 (caption) Weak and electromagnetic neutral-current couplings of electrons to quarks.
2000 Econ. & Philos. 16 58 For selecting the 290,000 bubble-chamber photographs taken at CERN during the experiments on weak neutral currents in 1973, non-experts were employed after a brief training.
neutral-density adj. Photography designating a filter that absorbs light of all wavelengths to the same extent and so causes no change in its colour.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > camera > parts and accessories of camera > [adjective] > filters
neutral-density1938
narrow-cut1964
1938 K. Henney Color Photogr. iii. 58 By the use of a neutral-density filter of the proper transmission, in addition to the colored separation filters, it is possible to lengthen the exposure of the green and the red filters.
1962 M. L. Haselgrove Photographers' Dict. 151 Mainly used in sensitometry and color work, a neutral density filter is sometimes resorted to in black and white photography when the camera is loaded with a film of very high speed.
1990 Do it Yourself Apr. 17/1 Its range of features include..brightness control with built-in neutral density filter for light correction.
neutral-dyeing adj. (of a dye) able to be applied directly at approximately neutral pH.
ΚΠ
1955 A. J. Hall Handbk. Textile Dyeing & Printing iii. 49 Acid wool dyes are sometimes divided into two groups, viz. acid dyeing and neutral dyeing.
1963 A. J. Hall Textile Sci. ii. 92 Thus Verel fibres..can be readily dyed by the use of ordinary procedures, and more particularly, with cationic, disperse, and the neutral-dyeing pre-metallised dyes.
1994 Chem. Abstr. 123 201832 Neutral dyeing reactives employ a modification of dye chem. compn. that allows complete processing to be performed at pH ˜7.0.
neutral monism n. Philosophy the theory, first associated with Bertrand Russell and William James, that the world consists of one kind of primal entity or stuff which is fundamentally neither mental nor physical in character.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > metaphysics > ontology > [noun] > monism
Unitarianism1830
monism1832
unitism1839
henism1881
singularism1897
neutral monism1914
1914 B. Russell in Monist 24 161 ‘Neutral monism’—as opposed to idealistic monism and materialistic monism.
1925 C. D. Broad Mind & its Place iii. 133 It might be so on a Double-Aspect theory, or on a theory of Neutral Monism.
1972 A. J. Ayer Russell iv. 113 Russell gives up this position, which has come to be known as that of neutral monism, in favour of one in which physical objects are represented as inferred entities.
neutral monist n. Philosophy (a) n. an adherent of neutral monism; (b) adj. of or relating to neutral monism.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > metaphysics > ontology > [noun] > monism > adherent of
Unitarian1830
monista1856
neutral monist1914
1914 B. Russell in Monist 24 171 Neutral monists..infer that the mental and the physical are composed of the same ‘stuff’.
1973 A. Quinton Nature of Things III. 237 There is the kind of phenomenalistic or neutral monist theory intimated by Hume and Mill.
1973 A. Quinton Nature of Things xi. 318 Minds, for the neutral monist, are literally composed of impressions.
Neutral Nation n. North American History the peoples comprising the Neutral (see sense A. 1b); (also) any of these peoples.
ΚΠ
1838 A. Jameson Winter Stud. & Summer Rambles Canada II. 303 To the east of the Detroit territory, there was settled from ancient times a band of Wyandots or Hurons, who were called the neutral nation; they never took part in the wars and conflicts of the other tribes.
1881 L. H. Morgan Houses & House-Life Amer. Aborigines 26 About 1651–'55 they [sc. the Iroquois] expelled their kindred tribes, the Eries, from the region between the Genesee River and Lake Erie, and shortly afterwards the Neutral Nations from the Niagara River.
1974 W. S. Sturtevant in J. Billard World Amer. Indian 130 With the Huron broken, the Attiwandaronk—better known as the Neutral Nation—came next in liquidation.
1985 Canad. Encycl. II. 789/2 The earliest references to habitation in the Hamilton area come from 17th-century French accounts referring to the Neutral nation.
neutral orange n. an orange-coloured mixed pigment used by artists (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > orange > colouring matter > [noun] > pigments
orange lake1758
orange lead1813
orange chrome1849
neutral orange1869
sun gold1881
cadmium orange1895
1869 T. W. Salter Field's Chromatogr. (new ed.) xi. 253 Neutral orange or Penley's Neutral Orange, is a permanent compound pigment composed of yellow ochre and the russet-marrone known as brown madder.
1911 M. Toch Materials for Permanent Painting xiv. 145 Neutral orange..has many of the characteristics of mars orange, but sometimes is made by mixing a brilliant yellow, free from lead, with a bright oxide of iron.
1934 H. Hiler Notes Technique Painting ii. 113 Neutral orange, Penley's orange, a mixture of cadmium yellow with Venetian red. It is only used in water colour.
1969 R. Mayer Dict. Art Terms & Techniques 262/1 Neutral orange, a prepared artists' color made of mixed pigments. The best grades would contain cadmium orange or deep cadmium yellow and light red.
neutral point n. (a) = neutral temperature n.; (b) Electrical Engineering the point in an electrical distribution system which has the same potential that a junction of equal resistances would have if these resistances were connected at their free ends to the lines making up the system; (see also sense B. 10e).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > [noun] > at which some specific condition occurs
freezing-point1748
boiling-point1773
absolute zero1798
firing point1807
melting temperature1827
ice point1832
dew-point1833
melting point1838
neutral temperature1854
fusing point or temperature1860
welding point1868
flashing-point1878
flashpoint1878
mp1880
ignition temperature1881
silver-point1882
fire point1884
ignition point1887
neutral point1892
smoking point1915
smoking temperature1915
pour point1922
smoke point1933
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical engineering > [noun] > neutral point
neutral point1892
1892 G. F. Barker Physics 731 The point of temperature at which a given pair of metals have the same thermo-electric power..is called the neutral point.
1903 Science 27 Mar. 516/1 In low-tension secondary distribution, the direct current from the converter being introduced at the neutral points of the two distributing-circuit coils, the passage or interruption of the current has no effect upon the action of the alternating system.
1962 J. Thewlis Encycl. Dict. Physics VII. 305/1 Some metal pairs exhibit..a gradual diminution of the rate of increase of thermal e.m.f. with a continued rise in temperature until a maximum is reached (the neutral point, i.e. p = 0) beyond which the thermal e.m.f. decreases.
1987 E. H. J. Pallett Aircraft Electr. Syst. (ed. 3) ii. 36/1 The stator winding is star connected, the star or neutral point being made by linking three ends of the winding and connecting it to the ground.
neutral red n. a dark green crystalline azine dye, C15H16N4·HCl, which forms a red solution in water or alcohol and is used as an acid-base indicator and as a biological stain (esp. for granules and vacuoles in cells).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical tests > indicators > [noun] > pH indicators > acid or base indicators
methyl orange1881
neutral red1890
methyl red1910
1890 T. E. Thorpe Dict. Appl. Chem. I. 229/2 The commercial product [sc. toluene red], which contains a certain amount of impurities, is sold under the name of ‘neutral red’... A similar product is..sold under the name of ‘neutral violet’.
1940 G. S. Carter Gen. Zool. Invertebr. iii. 40 The vacuome can be very readily stained with an intra-vitam stain, Neutral Red.
1984 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 27 May 1413/1 Neutral red..is a specific and non-toxic stain for islet of Langerhans cells in many species..and has also the useful property of fluorescence, most noticeably in alkaline solution.
neutral salt n. Chemistry a salt resulting from the neutralization of an acid by a base and having no acidic or basic character, esp. when dissolved in water.
ΚΠ
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Neutral Neutral Salts, among Chymists, are a sort of intermediate Salts between Acids and Alcalies; partaking of the nature of both.
1866 H. E. Roscoe Lessons Elem. Chem. xii. 112 Thus two classes of salts are derived [from dibasic acids]; the so-called acid salts, where only one atom of hydrogen has been replaced, and the neutral salts, where both atoms have been replaced by a metal.
1923 W. M. Clark Determination of Hydrogen Ions (ed. 2) ii. 44 Unless a solution is buffered..it is almost impossible to make an accurate electrometric determination of the pH... The failure to buffer against the effect of so-called neutral salts..may lead to gross error.
2000 Isis 91 739 Joseph Black..was exceptional in that he deployed masterfully the chemistry of acids, bases, and neutral salts that defined the main current of continental analytical chemistry.
neutral temperature n. Physics the temperature at which no current is produced by two metals arranged to exhibit thermoelectricity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > [noun] > at which some specific condition occurs
freezing-point1748
boiling-point1773
absolute zero1798
firing point1807
melting temperature1827
ice point1832
dew-point1833
melting point1838
neutral temperature1854
fusing point or temperature1860
welding point1868
flashing-point1878
flashpoint1878
mp1880
ignition temperature1881
silver-point1882
fire point1884
ignition point1887
neutral point1892
smoking point1915
smoking temperature1915
pour point1922
smoke point1933
1854 Proc. Royal Soc. 7 51 Hence, if in a circuit of copper and iron, one junction be kept about 280°, that is, at the neutral temperature, and the other at any lower temperature, a thermo-electric current will set from copper to iron through the hot, and from iron to copper through the cold junction.
1885 H. W. Watson & S. H. Burbury Math. Theory Electr. & Magn. I. 241 In an iron and copper couple this neutral temperature is, according to Sir W. Thomson, about 280°C.
1991 H. J. Gray & A. Isaacs Dict. Physics (ed. 3) 383/2 It is usual to restrict the use of a thermocouple to the range between 0 °C and its neutral temperature.
neutral tint n. a grey-coloured mixed pigment used by artists (see quots.).
ΚΠ
1804 J. W. Alston (title) Hints to young practitioners in the study of landscape painting : illustrated by ten engravings intended to show the different stages of the neutral tint.
1835 G. Field Chromatogr. xx. 178 Several mixed pigments of the class of gray colours are sold under the name of Payne's gray, neutral tint, &c.
1911 M. Toch Materials for Permanent Painting xiv. 145 Neutral tint..is a complex mixture of ultramarine, sienna, lamp black or ochre and lamp black, and..is an excellent color which is perfectly permanent.
1924 F. W. Weber Artists' Pigments 98 Payne's Gray, like Neutral Tint, is prepared by various color manufacturers.
1998 Artist Mar. 26/1 Working with premixed greys such as Payne's grey, sepia or neutral tint can be convenient—but these greys contain lamp black, which sullies other pigments.
neutral violet n. a dark green crystalline azine dye, C22H24N6·HCl, which forms a violet solution in water or alcohol and is used as a biological stain and acid-base indicator.
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the world > matter > chemistry > chemical tests > indicators > [noun] > other indicators or biological stains
osmium tetroxide1869
thionine1886
neutral violet1890
carbol-fuchsin1891
triacid1896
1890 T. E. Thorpe Dict. Appl. Chem. I. 229/2 A similar product [to ‘neutral red’] is sold under the name of ‘neutral violet’.
1905 J. C. Cain & J. F. Thorpe Synthetic Dyestuffs xviii. 133 The only other Eurhodine of importance is Neutral violet.., prepared by the oxidation of a mixture of p-amidodimethylaniline and m-phenylenediamine.
1971 E. Gurr Synthetic Dyes 110 Neutral violet is only occasionally used as a biological stain.
neutral vowel n. Phonetics a central, usually unstressed, vowel sound produced with the tongue slack and the lips relaxed and having indefinite quality, esp. schwa.
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the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > vowel > [noun] > types of
naso-vocal1669
sheva1818
union vowel1821
shut sound1841
cardinal vowel1851
u-sound1852
neutral vowel1868
O1869
wide1870
vincular1871
indeterminate vowel1873
u-vowel1886
orinasal1887
pharyngal1887
glide-vowel1888
schwa1895
murmur vowel1910
murmured vowel1933
1868 N. Amer. Rev. July 353 We are not satisfied with the defined relations, internal or external, of the group of vowels of ‘mixed’ position (made by action both of front and back of tongue), variations, sometimes trivial or imaginary, of the ‘neutral’ vowel, as it has been commonly styled.
1878 Mind 3 393 I may explain that in this notation, while ú, í, are the long Continental a and i, unaccented a is not the short Continental a, but the obscure or neutral vowel (Urvocal) heard in English ‘at,’ ‘that,’ ‘but,’ when not emphatic; when strongly given, it becomes the full sound of u in emphasised ‘but’.
1891 L. Soames Introd. Phonetics i. iii. 50 The obscure vowel ‘a’ in attend.., sometimes called the natural or the neutral vowel.
1948 J. R. Firth Papers in Ling. 1934–51 (1957) ix. 131 The weak, neutral, or ‘minimal’ vowel... The term neutral suits it in English, since it is in fact neutral to the phonematic system of vowels in southern English.
1972 R. A. Palmatier Gloss. Eng. Transformational Gram. 103 Neutral vowel,..the mid central vowel ‘schwa’ [ə]—or the high central vowel ‘barred i’ [ɨ]—to which insufficiently stressed vowels are reduced.
neutral wire n. Electrical Engineering a wire connected to a neutral point of an electrical system (and usually also to earth).
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > transmission of electricity, conduction > conduction to earth > [noun] > wire
earth wire1847
earth1857
neutral wire1893
1893 W. P. Maycock Electr. Lighting & Power Distrib. II. xi. 297 This middle conductor, or as it is called, the neutral wire, or balancing wire.
1972 I. M. Smith & K. T. Hosie Basic Electr. Engin. Sci. ix. 238 The current in the neutral wire of a balanced 3-ph[ase], 4-wire star-connected system is zero and the conductor may be omitted.
1988 Which? Mar. 112/2 Circuits..must have an earth conductor as well as the live and neutral wires.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.adj.c1449