English → Latin
“note” in Latin
notōto mark, make a mark; to write, especially in shorthand; to write remarks or notesnōtusfamiliar, customary, in common use; widely known, famous, well-known; of great renown, illustrious, celebrated, notoriousignumvisible indication: sign, mark, signal; seal, signet; emblem, ensignīnsignea distinguishing mark, emblem, badge; an ensign, an honour, a badge of honour; a coat of armsindiciuminformation, evidence, discovery, notice; reward for information; indication, sign, proof, tokenannotātiōremark, annotation; The registering of a person among the accused.sonussound, noise; pitch; speech; tone, character, style; voice, tongueepīstoliumnote, short letterchīrographumone's handwriting; autograph; manuscriptexplicātiōThe act of unfolding or unrolling.; An explanation, explication, exposition.
The English word note itself goes back to Latin nota.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
note v.
notare (to put down in writing; also, to observe as remarkable; but in the latter sense not till after Augustus: there is no authority for its use in the sense of “to make an explanatory observation “): annotare (to mark down in writing; then, especially, to make a corrective or explanatory remark, although it occurs thus for the first time after Augustus; Vid: Plin., Ep., 9, 26, 5, visus es mihi in scriptis meis annotare quaedam ut tumida, quae ego sublimia arbitrabar; Quint., 1, 14, 7, de quibus in orthographia pauca annotabo: (☞ Admonere and animadvertere in this sense would be quite wrong).
note
Mark, nota; signum; insigne; indicium [SYN. in MARK, Vid:] : Note of admiration, signum exclamationis (grammatical).
Annotation, annotatio (technical term of post-Augustan, grammarians): *scholion (an explanatory note: σχόλιον, Graec. in Cic., Att., 16, 7, 3): explicatio; interpretatio. [☞ Nota, PROP., the censor’s mark, i. e., censure, is defended by Hand and Weber as having been long used as technical term.] To write a few notes, pauca annotare (de aliqua re); on a book, commentari librum (Suet., Gram., 2); commentaria in librum componere (Gell., 2, 6, init.). Note-Latin, *vocabula Latina quibus grammatici in annotationibus scribendis utuntur.
In music, *soni or vocis signum; *nota musica (Kraft): notes, modi musici (musical pieces): to sing from notes, *ex libello canere (not from the memory): *ab oculo canere (at sight, after Petronius, 75, 4).
Billet, epistolium (but only Catullus, 66 or 68, 2): epistola pusilla: literulae
NOTE OF HAND, chirographum (to be distinguished from syngrapha = a deed drawn up as a formal contract, and signed by both parties): to lend money on a note of hand, *chirographo exhibito pecuniam alicui credere: to borrow money on a note of hand, *per chirographum pecuniam mutuam sumere: to give a note of hand, chirographum exhibere (Vid: Gell., 14, 2, chirographi exhibitio): to give a note of hand for anything, chirographo cavere de re (Suet., Cal., 12).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for note?
- The usual Latin words for “note” are notō, nōtus, signum; also īnsigne, indicium, annotātiō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.