notation

[noh-tey-shuh n]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR notation ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a system of graphic symbols for a specialized use, other than ordinary writing: musical notation.

the process or method of noting or setting down by means of a special system of signs or symbols.

the act of noting, marking, or setting down in writing.

a note, jotting, or record; annotation: notations in the margin.

Origin of notation

1560–70; < Latin notātiōn- (stem of notātiō) a marking, equivalent to notāt(us) (past participle of notāre to note) + -iōn- -ion

Related formsno·ta·tion·al, adjectivenon·no·ta·tion·al, adjectivere·no·ta·tion, nounsub·no·ta·tion, nounsub·no·ta·tion·al, adjectiveun·no·ta·tion·al, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for notation

documentation, code, script, memo, memorandum, system, chit, note, record, representation, symbols, jotting, characters, noting

Examples from the Web for notation

Contemporary Examples of notation

The tightly patterned organization of the notation is a “very strange find” and appears too careful to be a document draft.
New Mayan Discovery: The World Isn’t Ending!
Vivien Marx
May 10, 2012

Historical Examples of notation

A tiny spot almost on their course, with Mado's minute notation.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, November, 1930
Various
Make a notation, with chalk, of the gravity of each cell each morning.
The Automobile Storage Battery
O. A. Witte
Notae was more often used, and it finally gave the name to notation.
The Hindu-Arabic Numerals
David Eugene Smith
Scholar Phelps waited patiently until I'd made the notation.
Highways in Hiding
George Oliver Smith
You'll find every notation in the log accurate to the yard or the second.
Blow The Man Down
Holman Day

British Dictionary definitions for notation

notation

noun

any series of signs or symbols used to represent quantities or elements in a specialized system, such as music or mathematics

the act or process of notating

the act of noting down
a note or record

Derived Formsnotational, adjective

Word Origin for notation

C16: from Latin notātiō a marking, from notāre to note

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for notation

1560s, "explanation of a term," from Middle French notation and directly from Latin notationem (nominative notatio) "a marking, notation, designation; etymology; shorthand; explanation," noun of action from past participle stem of notare "to note" (see note (v.)). Meaning "note, annotation" is from 1580s. Meaning "system of representing numbers or quantities by signs or symbols" is attested from 1706. Related: Notational.