nota

Forms

nota f (plural notas)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin nota (“mark, sign”), first recorded in the mid-13th century.^[2][3][1] The Latin word meant first “stain” or “mark”, then “sign”.^[2] The Latin verb notō (“to mark, write down”), derived from it, is the source of notar, which is attested earlier in Spanish, about 1140.^[2][4]

The origin of the Latin word is unclear.^[4] De Vaan reports Schrijver's demonstration that it cannot come from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”);^[4] Schrijver tentatively derives it from a root meaning “to notice”, the one in sentiō, but de Vaan finds this less attractive because of the ablaut it would need.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records, from about 1250, belong to the language of notaries: in the Vidal Mayor a scribe takes a contract down en nota before drawing up the public deed, and the Fuero Real (1255) orders public scribes to keep the first notas of the deeds they make.^[5][2] The Poridat de las poridades of the same years uses nota of a written reply.^[5] An earlier CDH hit, of 1240, is the Latin marginal Nota hic.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Medieval texts use nota above all for a notary's register and the drafts of deeds, and the Alfonsine Espéculo explains the title notario from it.^[5] Covarrubias (1611) defines it as the sign of anything, also as good style in writing, as a mark of infamy, and among authors as a marginal note.^[6] The Diccionario de Autoridades adds the censure of someone's conduct, a jotting made to remember something, and a serious defect.^[7]

The 1884 Academy dictionary describes the footnote and endnote in print.^[8] Modern Spanish uses the word also for a musical note, a school mark, a bill in a restaurant and a diplomatic note.^[3][9][1] In Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay nota is a newspaper article, and in Puerto Rico and Venezuela the high of a drug.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 1250 – the Vidal Mayor and the Poridat de las poridades have nota.^[5][2]
• 1255 – the Fuero Real speaks of the scribes' first notas.^[5]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija's Vocabulario has nota sobre sentencia “note on a sentence”.^[11]
• 1605 – anotar is first recorded.^[2]
• 1611 – Covarrubias records the senses “sign”, “infamy” and “marginal note”.^[6]
• 1884 – the Academy defines the note outside the text of a book.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A mark or sign put on something to identify it or make it known.^[3]
2. A note written in the margin of a book or document, or a comment or explanation outside the main text, such as a footnote.^[3][9]
3. A jotting made to remember something: Tomé notas durante la clase.^[3][1]
4. A short written message, or the paper it is written on.^[3]
5. A short news item in a newspaper;^[10] (Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay) a newspaper article.^[3][10]
6. A mark or grade in an examination; a high mark: sacar nota.^[3][1][9]
7. A bill for a purchase or for what has been eaten or drunk.^[3][9]
8. A diplomatic communication between a foreign ministry and foreign representatives.^[3]
9. Fame, standing: un autor de nota.^[3]
10. (music) A musical note.^[1][9]
11. (Puerto Rico, Venezuela; colloquial) The state produced by a drug; drunkenness (Cuba, Puerto Rico).^[10]

Word family

• anotar

Related words

• notar
• notario
• notable
• denotar
• Latin nota

Usage notes

Set phrases include tomar nota “to take note”, dar la nota “to strike a discordant note, behave out of place”, nota de prensa “press release” and nota de corte “minimum entry mark” for a university.^[3][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. nota
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. nota
4. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d e f Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. nota
6. ^ a b Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 1167
7. ^ Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 4, 680
8. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 743
9. ^ a b c d e Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. nota
10. ^ a b c d Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. nota
11. ^ Lleal, Coloma (dir.), DICCA-XV: Diccionario del castellano del siglo XV en la Corona de Aragón, Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, Grup d'Estudis d'Història de la Llengua (GHCL), https://ghcl.ub.edu/diccaxv, p. s.v. nota