Notice

How to spell notice

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce notice

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does notice mean?

1. verbTo become aware of something through observation or attention.
2. nounA formal announcement, warning, or written information displayed for people to read.

Notice in a sentence

• verb

  She began to notice small errors creeping into the report.

• noun

  The landlord gave a month's notice before raising the rent.

• verb

  Few drivers notice the faded warning sign at the junction.

• noun

  A notice on the office wall listed the new safety rules.

Where does notice come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word notice arrived in English in the late 1400s from Old French notice, which in turn came from the Latin notitia, meaning 'a being known', 'acquaintance', or 'knowledge'. That noun was built on notus, the past participle of noscere, the Latin verb meaning 'to come to know' or 'to recognise', the same root that gives us 'note', 'notion', and 'notable'. Early uses in English centred on the idea of knowledge or information about something, and from there the meaning broadened to a formal announcement and then to the act of observing or paying attention. The familiar warning sense, as in giving someone notice before leaving a job, grew out of this notion of making something known in advance. Because the spelling preserves the Latin notus, the silent link to 'note' is a useful reminder that the word ends in -ice rather than the -ise some writers expect.

How the word is built

• not- (from Latin notus: known)
• -ice (noun-forming suffix)