denote

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French dénoter,^[2][3][4][5] which the OED finds in Oresme in the 14th century, and directly borrowed from Latin dēnotō (“to mark out, point out”),^[5][6][7][8] formed from dē- (“completely, thoroughly”) and notō (“to mark, note”),^[2][9][7] from nota (“a mark”).^[2][10][7] The Anglo-Norman denoter, to signify, show or interpret, is recorded from the 12th century.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

To be the outward or visible sign of something: 1597, in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in the OED,^[5] which Barnhart dates to 1592;^[2] Merriam-Webster gives a first use of 1562 for the sense "to serve as an indication of".^[3]

Semantic evolution

In the 17th century denote could also mean to write something down or describe it (1612–1697), and to mark out or distinguish by a sign (from 1646).^[5] Johnson (1755) defined it as to mark or be a sign of, with the example of a quick pulse showing a fever.^[12] From 1668 it was used of a word or symbol that stands for something.^[5] In 1843 John Stuart Mill used it in logic for the relation of a name to the things it applies to, in contrast with connote.^[5][13] Collins and Merriam-Webster also record the sense of a word's literal meaning, as against what it suggests.^[14][3]

Timeline

• 1562 – to serve as an indication of.^[3] The OED's first quotation, from Shakespeare, is of 1597.^[5]
• 1612 – to note down, describe (obsolete by 1697).^[5]
• 1646 – to mark out, distinguish by a mark.^[5]
• 1668 – to stand for, as a symbol or name.^[5]
• 1843 – in logic, to designate or be the name of, in contrast to connote.^[5][13]

Meanings

Verb

1. To be a sign or symptom of; to indicate: Dark clouds often denote rain.^[14][3][5]
2. To stand for as a symbol or name: In the formula, x denotes the speed.^[3][5]
3. Of a word or expression, to have as its literal or direct meaning, as against what it connotes.^[14][3]

Word family

• denotable
• denotive
• denotement
• denotation
• denotative
• undenoted

Related words

• connote
• note
• notation

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
12. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
13. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
14. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins