meaningword-usage
I am reading a text where several sentences start with "Of note". For example:
Of note, these associations were generally quite strong.
I know of the idiom "of note" (M-W: "important and deserving to be noticed or remembered") but is it OK to start a sentence like this?
My first instinct would be to replace "of note" in these sentences with something like "importantly" or "it is notable that" or even "it is of note that" — but what would a native speaker say?
The definition
obnoxious (adj.) very rude, offensive, or unpleasant : an obnoxious child; an obnoxious habit
is almost correct, but as commonly used, obnoxious also implies that the offensiveness is difficult to ignore. An obnoxious child is not just rude, but loudly or aggressively so. An obnoxious color or combination of colors is unpleasant but also intense or bright like the way the building in the linked article was painted:
I would rewrite the definition as
obnoxious (adj.) very rude, offensive, or unpleasant in a way that is difficult to ignore: an obnoxious child; an obnoxious habit
I don't know if I feel hatefulness toward an obnoxious person - I think it's too strong a word. I would describe it as strong dislike mixed with annoyance.
In your first example, you would just use above, as an adverb is all that is needed. But it really only describes what is directly above.
In your second example, from above is not helpful because it is not specific as to what you are referring to. You should point to the specific location.
When using from above, from is a preposition, so I expect an object in that phrase. For example:
From above the trees, I could see the distant horizon.
The locations are specific. Also motion is often involved:
The birds flew from above the trees to the roof of our house.
There are some idiomatic usages though, for example:
Their new baby was a gift from above. (meaning from heaven)
Best Answer
I believe the phrase "of note" in this case is an appositive adverbial phrase modifying the main clause ("these associations were generally quite strong"). It attempts to give you a better description or context for the main conclusions.
Your instinct to replace it with "importantly" is also correct, and "it is of note that" is even more literal, however it is not uncommon or incorrect for speakers/writers to shorten these phrases to the barest minimum of words that retain meaning. It's just a matter of style.
Consider the following:
In all three, the first phrase (about dinner) is a modifier of the second (it describes the time/circumstances of when we left the house). The first conveys this idea in the fewest possible words, followed by the second, and then the third. All are grammatically correct and mean the same thing, it's just a stylistic choice by the author of which to use.
In the example you give, "of note..." is the same idea. The full literal sense of the phrase is, "it is of note that..." but it has been shortened down to a more compact form.
There is nothing grammatically incorrect about starting a sentence in this way.