Notation

How to spell notation

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce notation

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does notation mean?

1. nounA set of written symbols or characters used to represent something, such as in music, mathematics, or chemistry.
2. nounA short written note or annotation made in the margin or on a record.

Notation in a sentence

• The composer wrote the melody in standard musical notation.

• The auditor added a brief notation beside the disputed figure.

• Scientific notation makes very large numbers easier to read.

• Each file carried a notation recording the date it was reviewed.

Where does notation come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin noun nota, which meant a 'mark', 'sign', or 'written character', and the related verb notare, 'to mark or note down'. From these the Latin notatio was formed, describing the act of marking or designating something. English took the word in through French notation in the 1500s, where it first referred broadly to the marking or noting of things. Over time, and especially as music and mathematics developed standardised symbols, the meaning narrowed toward an organised system of written signs. The same nota root still shows up in everyday relatives such as 'note', 'notable', and 'annotate', and remembering that family helps fix the single t and the plain -ation ending in the spelling.

How the word is built

• not- (from Latin nota: mark, sign)
• -ation (noun suffix forming a process or system)