nocerine 
nocerine (no-se'rin), n. [< Nocern (seedef.) + 
-ina' 2 .] A fluoride of calcium and magnesium 
occurring in white acicular crystals in volcanic 
bombs from the tufa of Nocera in Italy. 
nochet, See tiouch. 
nochel, notchel (uoch'el), v. t. [Appar. a var. 
of nicliel, simulating not.] To repudiate. See 
the quotations. [Prov. Eng.] 
It is the custom in Lancashire for a man to advertise 
that he will not be responsible for debts contracted by 
her [his wife] after that date. He is thus said to notchel 
her, and the advertisement is termed a notchel notice. 
N. and Q., 7th ser., VIII. 268. 
Will. The first I think on is the king's majesty (God bless 
him !), him they cried nochell. 
Sam. What, as Gaffer Block of our town cried his wife? 
Will. I do not know what he did ; but they voted that 
nobody should either borrow or lend, nor sell or buy with 
him, under pain of their displeasure. 
Dialogue on Oxford Parliament, 1681 (Harl. Misc., II. 
(114). (Dames.) 
nocht (nocht), n. A dialectal (Scotch) form of 
naught. 
nociyet (no'siv), a. [= Sp. Pg. It. nocivo, < L. 
nocivus, hurtful, injurious, < nocere, hurt, harm : 
see nocent.] Hurtful; injurious. 
Be it that some native or hurtful thing be towards us, 
must fear of necessity follow thereupon V 
Hooker, Eccles. Polity. 
nocivoust, [< L. nocivus, hurtful: see na- 
tive.] Hurtful; harmful; evil. 
Phisitions which prescribe a remedy, . . . 
That know what is nocivous, & what good, . . . 
Yet all their skill as follie I deride, 
Vnless they rightly know Christ crucified. 
Times' Whistle (E. E. T. 8.), p. 147. 
nock (uok), . [< ME. nocke = MD. nocke = 
Dan. nok = Sw. nock, OSvv. nocka, dial, nokke, 
nokk, a nock, notch ; cf. It. nocco, nocca, a nock, 
of Teut. origin. Now assibilated notch, q.v. Cf. 
nick 1 .] 1. A notch; specifically, in archery, the 
notch on the end of an arrow (or the notched 
end itself), which rests on the string when shoot- 
ing, or either of the notches on the horns of the 
bow where the string is fastened. 
He took his arrow by the nocke. 
Chapman, Iliad, iv. 138. 
Be sure alwayes that your stringe slip not out of the 
nocke, for then all is in jeopardy of breakinge. 
Axcham, Toxophilus, p. 201. (Sarex.) 
2. In sail-making, the foremost upper corner 
of boom-sails, and of staysails cut with a square 
tack. 3f. The fundament; the breech. 
So learned Taliacotius from 
The brawny part of porter's bum 
Cut supplemental noses, which 
Wou'd last as long as parent breech ; 
But when the date of nock was out, 
Off dropt the sympathetic snout. 
S. Butler, Hudibras, I. i. 285. 
Nock-earing, the rope which fastens the nock of a sail. 
nock (nok), v. t. [< nock., n. Cf. notch.] 1. 
To notch; make a notch in. 
They [arrows'] were shaven wel and dight, 
Nokked and fethered aright. 
Rom. of the Rose, L 942. 
2. To place the notch of (the shaft or arrow) 
upon the string ready for shooting. 
Captaine Smith was led after him by three great Sal- 
vages, holding him fast by each arme : and on each side 
six went in fyle with their Arrowes nocked, 
Quoted in Capt. John Smith's True Travels, I. 159. 
A proper attention was to be paid to the nocking that 
is, the application of the notch at the bottom of the arrow 
to the bow-string. Strutt, Sports and Pastimes, p. 124. 
nockandrot (no-kan'dro), n. [Perhaps humor- 
ously formed from nock + Gi. avi/p (avdp-), a 
man. (Nares).] Same as nock, 3. 
Blest be Dulcinea, whose favour I beseeching, 
Rescued poor Andrew, and his nock-andro from breeching. 
Oayton, Fest. Notes, p. 14. (Nares) 
nocking-point (nok'ing-point), n. In archery, 
that part of the string of a bow on which the 
arrow is placed preparatory to shooting. 
noctambulation (nok-tam-bu-la'shon), n. [< 
L. nox (noct-), night, + ambnlatio(i-), a walk- 
ing about: see night and ambnlation.] Som- 
nambulism; sleep-walking. [Bare.] 
noctambulism (nok-tam'bu-lizm), n. [= F. 
noctambulisme = Sp. Pg. noctambulismo = It. 
nottamb-ulismo ; as nocbnribiila + -ism.] Som- 
nambulism. [Rare.] 
noctambulist (nok-tam'bu-list), . [< L. nox 
(noct-), night, + ambular'e, walk, + -ist.] A 
sleep-walker; a somnambulist. [Rare.] 
noctambulo (nok-tam'bu-16), n. [< Sp. noc- 
tdmbulo = Pg. noctambulo = It. nottambulo = 
F. noctambule, a sleep-walker, < L. nox (noct-), 
night, + ambulare, walk.] A sleep-walker; a 
somnambulist. 
4004 
Respiration being carried on in sleep is no argument 
against its being voluntary. What shall we say of noc- 
tambulos? Arbuthnot, Effects of Air. (Latham.) 
noctambulont (nok-tam'bu-lon), . Same as 
noctambulo. Dr. H. More. 
noctidial (nok-tid'i-al), . [< L. nox (noct-), 
night, + (lien, a day: see night and dial.] 
Comprising a night and a day ; consisting of 
twenty-four hours. [Rare.] 
The noctidial day, the lunar periodick month, and the 
solar year, are natural and universal ; but incommensu- 
rate each to another, and difficult to be reconciled. Holder. 
noctiferoust (nok-tif'e-rus), a. [< L. noctifer, 
the evening star, lit. mght-bringer, < nox (noct-), 
nightj +ferre = E. bear 1 . Cf. Lucifer.] Bring- 
ing night. Bailey. 
noctiflorous (nok-ti-flo'rus), a. [< L. nox (noct-), 
night, + flos (flor-), blossom, flower.] In bot., 
flowering at night. 
Noctilio (nok-til'i-o), n. [NL., < L. nox (noct-), 
night, 4- -ilio, as in L. vesperlilio, a bat (< vesper, 
evening): see Vespertilio.] 1. A genus of Cen- 
tral American and South American emballonu- 
rine bats, the type of a family Noctilionidte. N. 
leporinus, a bat of singular aspect, is the leading 
species. 2. [1. c.] A member of this genus. 
Noctilionidae (nok-til-i-on'i-de), n. pi. [NL., 
< Noctilio(n-) + -idol.] A neotropical family of 
bats, related to the Embattonuridaj and some- 
times included in that family, represented by the 
single genus Noctilio. The ears are large, separate, 
and with well-developed tragus ; there is no nose-leaf ; the 
nostrils are oval and close together, and the snout pro- 
jects over the lower lip ; the short tail perforates the basal 
third of the large interfemoral membrane ; and some pe- 
culiarities of the incisor teeth give the dentition an ap- 
pearance like that of a rodent. These bats share with 
some others, as the molossoids, the name of bulldog tats. 
Noctiluca (nok-ti-lu'ka), . [NL., < L. nocti- 
luca, that which shines by night (the moon, a 
lantern), < nox 
(noct-), night, + 
lucere,sh\ne: see 
lucent.'] 1 . A 
genus of free- 
swimming phos- 
phorescent pela- 
gic i n fusorial an- 
imalcules, typi- 
cal of the family 
Noctilucidai. it is 
sometimes regard- 
ed as representative 
of an order Cysto- 
flayeUata (or Ithyn- 
chojlagellata). They 
are ordinarily re- 
garded as mono- 
mastigate or unifla- 
gellate eustomatous 
infusorians, of sub- 
spheroidal form, strikingly like a peach in shape, and 
from ,' to ' of an inch in diameter (thus of giant size 
among infusorians). There is only one species, N. mili- 
aris, of almost cosmopolitan distribution, but most abun- 
dant in warm seas, where they are foremost among various 
phosphorescent pelagic organisms which make the water 
luminous. 
Noctiluca is extremely abundant in the superficial wa- 
ters of the ocean, and is one of the most usual causes of 
the phosphorescence of the sea. The light is given out by 
the peripheral layer of protoplasm which lines the cuti- 
cle. Huxley, Anat. Invert., p. 93. 
2. [I.e.'] A member of this genus. 
noctilucent (nok-ti-lu'sent), a. [< L. nox (noct-), 
night, 4- liieere, shine: see lucent.] Shining by 
night or in the dark; noctilucid: as, the noen- 
luccnt eyes of a cat. 
noctilucid 1 (nok-ti-lu'sid), a. [< L. nox (noct-), 
night, + luddus, shining: see lucid.'] Shining 
by night; noctilucent. 
noctilucid 2 (nok-ti-lu'sid), n. [< NL. Noctiluci- 
flce.] A member of the family Noctilucidai. 
Noctilucidae (nok-ti-lu'si-de), n. pi. [NL., < 
Noctiluca + -id(e.] A family of free-swimming 
animalcules, typified by the' genus Noctiluca. 
noctilucin (nok-ti-lu'sin), n. [As Noctiluca + 
-ZH 2 .] In phosphorescent animals, the semi- 
fluid substance which causes light. Rossiter. 
noctilucous (nok-ti-lu'kus), a. [As Noctiluca 
+ -ous.] Same as noctilucent. [Rare.] 
Myriads of noctilucous nereids that inhabit the ocean. 
Pennant. 
noctivagant (nok-tiv'a-gant), a. [< L. nox 
(noct-), night, 4- ragan(i-)s','pjaf. of vagari, wan- 
der: see vagrant.] Wandering in the night: 
as, a noctivagant animal. 
The lustful spaiTows, nocticagant adulterers, sit chirping 
about our houses. Ilcv. T. Adams, Works, I. 347. 
nOCtivagation (nok"ti-va-ga'shon), . [< L. 
nox (noct-), night, + vagatio(n-)',' a wandering, 
< vagari, wander : see vagrant.] Rambling or 
wandering in the night. 
nocturn 
The Townsmen acknowledge 68. 8d. to be paid for noc- 
A. Wood, Life of Himself, p. 274. 
Noctiluca miliaris. 
stric vacuole; g. radiating filaments; 
f, anal aperture. '. Magnified.) 
noctivagOUS (nok-tiv'a-gus), a. [= F. noctiva- 
giic = Sp. noetirago = Pg. noctirngo = It. not- 
tivago, < L. nnctirai/im, that wanders by night, 
< nox (noct-), night, + vagari, wander: see va- 
grant.] Noctivagant. Buckland. 
noctograph (nok'to-graf), n. [<L. nox(noct-), 
night, + Gr. yp&jetv, write.] 1. A writing- 
frame for the blind. 2. An instrument or re- 
gister which records the presence of watchmen 
on their beats. . H. Knight. 
Noctua (nok'tu-a), n. [NL., < L. noctua, a 
night-owl, < nox (noct-), night: see night.] In 
2o67., a generic name variously used, (at) An 
old genus of mollusks. Klein, 1751. (ft) In entmn., & ge- 
nus of moths established by Fabricius in 1776. It gives 
name to the family Xoctuidce and to many corresponding 
groups of lepidopterous insects, with which it has been 
considered conterminous, though the old Noctute or ^oc- 
tuteliteg have been divided into no fewer than twenty two 
families by some writers. The name is now restricted 
to moths having the following technical characters: an- 
tennic with very short cilia, rarely demipectinate in the 
male, simple and filiform in the female ; palpi little as- 
cending, with long second and very short third joint; 
thorax hairy, subquadrate, with rounded, not very dis- 
tinct collar ; abdomen smooth, a little depressed, ending 
in a tuft cut squarely in the male, obtusely cylindroconic 
in the female ; upper wings entire, obtuse at tip, slightly 
glistening with spots always distinct ; and legs strong, 
moderately clothed, with the feet almost always spinu- 
lose. The larva? are thick and cylindric, a little swollen 
behind, with a globular head of moderate size. They live 
upon low plants, and hide during the day under brush and 
dry leaves. They hibernate, and pupate in the spring un- 
derground without spinning any silk. Ninesubgenera of 
Noctua as thus defined are recogn ized by Guenee, all erect- 
ed into genera by many other authors. The genus A'oc- 
'"" in this sense is represented in Europe and America, 
(c) In ornith.f a genus of owls named by Savigny in 1809. 
It has been used for various generic types of Strigidce, 
but is especially a synonym of Athene. The common 
small sparrow-owl is Noctua passerina, or Athene noctua. 
noctuary (nok'tu-a-ri), n.; pi. noctuaries (-riz). 
[< L. nox (noct-) (collat. form of abl., noctu), 
night, + -ary. Cf. diary.] An account of what 
passes in the night: the converse of diary. 
[Rare.] 
I have got a parcel of visions and other miscellanies in 
my noctuary, which I shall send to enrich your paper with. 
Addison, Spectator, No. 586. 
noctuid (nok'tu-id), . and . I. n. A noetuid 
moth ; one of the Noctuidtr. 
II. a. Pertaining to the Noctulda;. Also noc- 
tttidous. 
Noctuidae (nok-tu'i-de), >i. pi. [NL., < Noctua 
+ -idte.] 1. An extensive family of noctur- 
nal lepidopterous insects, typified by the ge- 
nus Noctua, and corresponding to the Linnean 
section Phalaina noctua. It is a very large and uni- 
versally distributed group, comprising over 1,500 species 
in the United States and 1,000 species in Europe. They 
are in general stout-bodied moths, with crested thorax, 
stout palpi, and simple antennte. The larvae are usually 
naked, and many species are noted pests to agriculture. 
By some authors this group has been made a superfamily, 
as ffoctuce or Noctuites, and divided into more than 50 fam- 
ilies. 
2. One of the many families into which the 
superfamily Noetuce (see Noctuida) has been 
divided by some authors, notably by Guenee, 
containing the important genera Agrotis, Try- 
ph(ena, and Noctua. The characters of this 
group are not very marked, but most of the 
species bear spines upon the fore tibise. 
noctuidous (nok-tu'iAjus), a. Noctuid. Also 
noctuideous. 
noctuiform (nok'tu-i-form), a. [< NL. Noctua 
+ L. forma, form.] 1. Having the form or 
characters of a noctuid moth ; of or pertaining 
to the Noctuida! in a broad sense. 2. Resem- 
bling a noctuid moth, as an owl-gnat (a dip- 
terous insect). 
Noctuiformes (nok-tu-i-for'mez), n. pi. [NL. : 
see noctuiform.] A tribe of nemocerous dipter- 
ous insects; the owl-gnats. See Psychodida?. 
Noctuina (nok-tu-i'nii), . pi. [NL., < Noctua 
+ -ma.] 1. In entom., same as Noctuida;. 2. 
In ornith., a subfamily of Strigidce, named from 
the genus Noctua. Vigors, 1825. 
noctule (nok'tul), n. [< F. uoctule, dim.,< L. nox 
(noct-), night: see night.] 1. A bat of the ge- 
nus Noctilio or family Noctilioiiida: Cutter. 
2. respertilio or Vesperugo noctula, the largest 
British species of bat. being iiearly 3 inches 
long without the tail, which is fully 1^ inches. 
It is found chiefly in the south of England, and is seen on 
the wing during only a short part of the year, retiring 
early in autumn to hollow trees, caves, or under the eaves 
of buildings, where many are sometimes found together. 
nocturn (nok'tern), a. andw. [< ME. nocturne, 
a., < OF. nocturne, F. nocturne = Sp. Pg. noc- 
fio'iin = It. iiottunio, < L. nocturnus, pertaining 
to night, of the night, nightly, < nor (noct-), 
