LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
English → Latin

“notion” in Latin

The English word notion itself goes back to Latin nōscō, through nōtiō.

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

notion
notio (which one connects with anything; hence, also, the “meaning” attached to a word): informatio (the image one forms of anything in the mind): intelligentia (the knowledge of anything): species (Cic.’s translation of ἰδέα, “an idea”). An innate notion, notio in animis informata; notio animis impressa; insita et quasi consignata in animis notio; quasi naturalis et insita in anmis nostris notio; animo insita informatio quaedam; sine doctrina, anticipatio; antecepta animo rei quaedam informatio, sine qua nec intelligi quidquam, nec quaeri, nec disputari potest; innata cognitio; praenotio; insita (or insita praeceptaque) cognitio; quod natura insculpsit in mentibus (all Cic. for the Greek ἔννοια, πρόκηψις, which he says notat notionem quamlibet, quae antequam judicii vis adolevit, ita se animo impressit, ut ei se constanter eandem praesentet). An obscure notion, notio tecta atque involuta (Cic.): obscure notions, intelligentiae obscurae, adumbratae, inchoatae; cognitio indagationis indigens. General notions, notitiae rerum: confused notions, complicatae notiones: to form a notion of anything, aliquid mente formare or fingere; aliquid animo effingere; alicujus rei notionem mente fingere: informare in animo alicujus rei notionem; notionem alicujus rei animo concipere: to attach a notion to anything, notionem cum re conjungere or alicui rei subjicere: to have a clear, or definite, notion of anything, satis firme conceptum animo comprehensumque tenere; probe or plane intelligere or perspectum habere aliquid: to form a notion of anything beforehand, notione animi praesentire aliquid: to have no notion of anything, notionem alicujus rei nullam habere; aliquid ignorare: to have a fahe notion of anything, prava de aliqua re sentire: to have truer notions of the nature of the gods, veriores de natura deorum notiones in animo informatas habere (Cic.): to have some notion of religion, haud intacti religione animi esse: much depends on what notion you entertain of the tribunate, plurimum refert, quid tu esse tribunatum putes: all men do not entertain the same notions of what is honorable and dishonorable, non eadem omnibus honesta sunt ac turpia: not to be able to form any notion of anything, fugit aliquid intelligentiae nostrae vim et notionem: to confound the notions of right and wrong, species veri scelerisque permiscere (Hor., Sat., 2, 3, 208): to explain a notion, notionem alicujus rei explicare, evolvere; vim et notionem alicujus rei explicare (Cic.): to explain a confused or obscure notion, animi notionem complicatam evolvere (Cic., Off., 3, 19, 76); obscuram intelligentiam enodare.
Meaning of a word, notio: vis: sententia. To include two things in the notion of this word, huic verbo duas notiones subjicere: to attach a notion to a word, vocabulo, verbo, etc. notionem or sententiam subjicere: the only notion of the word is, neque ulla alia huic verbo subjecta notio est, nisi, etc. What notion is involved in these words? quae vis inest in his verbis? quae notio his verbis subjecta est

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for notion?
The usual Latin words for “notion” are nōtiō, īnfōrmātiō, intellegentia; also speciēs, anticipātiō. 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.