Nobel Prizes

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

Prizes established by the will of Alfred Bernard Nobel (1833-96), the Swedish chemist and inventor of dynamite, etc., . to encourage work in the cause of humanity. There are five prizes given annually, each of about £7,000, as follows: (1) for the most noteworthy work in physics, (2) m chemistry, (3) in medicine or physiology, (4) m idealistic literature, and (5) in the furtherance of uni- versal peace. W. C. Rontgen, Mine. Curie, A.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “Nobel Prizes” mean?

Prizes established by the will of Alfred Bernard Nobel (1833-96), the Swedish chemist and inventor of dynamite, etc., . to encourage work in the cause of humanity. There are five prizes given annually, each of about £7,000, as follows: (1) for the most noteworthy work in physics, (2) m chemistry, (3) in medicine or physiology, (4) m idealistic literature, and (5) in the furtherance of uni- versal peace. W. C. Rontgen, Mine. Curie, A.

Is “Nobel Prizes” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.