nota

Forms

nota f (plural note)^[1] Old Italian also has nuota.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin nota (“mark, sign; character; musical note”), a learned word.^[3][4][5] Italian took over with it the derivatives notabile, notaio (from Latin notārius (“stenographer, secretary”)), notare and notazione.^[3] Only in the Alpine dialects does the word live on as a popular term for the mark cut on sheep and goats to show their owner: Lombard noda in Ticino and Bergamo, recorded since 1300.^[6][7][8] The learned word is shared with French note and Spanish nota.^[4]

The origin of Latin “nota” is uncertain.^[3][5] It was traditionally referred to Latin nōscō (“to get to know”), as “a means of recognition”;^[1][9] Nocentini accepts this, explaining the short vowel of “nŏta” against long “nōtus” by the short vowel of Latin cognitus, and compares German Kunde (“news”).^[4] Schrijver, followed by de Vaan, showed that “nota” cannot come from the root Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”); his tentative alternative, a “*snot-ā” from the root of Latin sentiō (“to perceive”), is not convincing either, and de Vaan leaves the word unexplained.^[10][1] Devoto too found no clear connections.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is Frate Ubertino in the 13th century, with the sense of a written note or memorandum; in the passage the GDLI quotes, he says one cannot judge “without an open understanding of the glossed notes” (de le chiosate note).^[3][2] GRADIT dates sense 1b, the brief written note, to the 13th century.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Before 1306 Iacopone da Todi uses nota for a sign standing for a musical sound or a melody.^[3] In the 16th century the word acquired the senses of a list or bill (before 1566, Annibale Caro) and of a distinguishing mark or characteristic (before 1565, Benedetto Varchi); Filippo Sassetti writes of the note by which the ancients recognized cinnamon.^[3][12] The explanatory note added to a text is recorded before 1698, in Francesco Redi.^[3]

In 1790 the Notizie del mondo uses nota for an official communication;^[3] Ugolini in 1848 called this sense of a dispatch generally accepted in the ministries, though without good literary examples.^[3] The scholastic formula nota bene, with nota as the imperative of the Latin verb, is attested in English (before 1721) and French (1755) before Italian.^[3] Figurative uses include una nota stonata, a false note, le dolenti note, the unpleasant part of a matter, and a chiare note, plainly.^[13][5]

Timeline

• 13th century – Frate Ubertino uses nota for a written note.^[3]
• Before 1306 – Iacopone da Todi uses the word for a musical note.^[3]
• 1300 – The pastoral sense “mark on a sheep” is documented in the Alpine dialects.^[6]
• Before 1565 – Benedetto Varchi uses nota for a distinguishing sign.^[3]
• Before 1566 – Annibale Caro uses it for a list or bill.^[3]
• Before 1698 – Francesco Redi uses it for an explanatory note on a text.^[3]
• 1790 – The Notizie del mondo uses it for an official communication.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A sign or mark made to distinguish or remember something; a distinctive feature: La pazienza è la nota dominante del suo carattere.^[5][14][15]
2. A short written note or memorandum, prendere nota means to write down or take note of: Ho preso nota del suo indirizzo.^[5][16][17]
3. An explanatory note or annotation added to a text, at the foot of the page or at the end: Il libro ha molte note a piè di pagina.^[5][16][14]
4. (journalism) A short article giving a position on a topic.^[5]
5. An official communication or memorandum: una nota diplomatica.^[5][14][13]
6. A bill or account; a list: la nota del ristorante.^[5][13][1]
7. (music) A sign for a musical sound, or the sound itself: le sette note.^[5][13][17]
8. (figurative) A touch or element that stands out against its surroundings: Il suo arrivo portò una nota di allegria.^[5][15]
9. (education) A written remark entered in a pupil's school record, usually for bad behaviour.^[18]

Word family

• notabile
• notaio
• notare
• notazione
• notevole
• annotare

Related words

• noto
• conoscere
• Latin nota
• Latin nōscō

Usage notes

Nota is also a form of the verb notare (“he notes”, “note!”), and the feminine of the adjective noto “known”, which comes from Latin nōtus.^[18][14] Fixed phrases include degno di nota “noteworthy”, prendere nota and tenere nota “to keep a record”, le dolenti note and a chiare note.^[13][17][15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 11, 565
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2602
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
16. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
17. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
18. ^ a b Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org