English
annotate
Annotate comes from Latin annotātus, from notō ‘to mark, note’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-1‘to recognise’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥h₃sḱéti1‘to recognise’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnōskō1‘to know, get to know’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgnōscō1uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōscō1‘to become acquainted with something, learn about it, to be aware of’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnota1‘mark, sign’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnotō2as notāre‘to mark, note’next step skipped: Latin annotō
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEannotātus2
- Englishtodayannotate2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin noto
- 2 Wiktionary, English annotate
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-Wiktionary, Latin noto‘to recognise’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥h₃sḱétiWiktionary, Latin noto‘to recognise’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnōskōWiktionary, Latin noto‘to know, get to know’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgnōscōWiktionary, Latin notouncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōscōWiktionary, Latin noto‘to become acquainted with something, learn about it, to be aware of’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnotaWiktionary, Latin noto‘mark, sign’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnotōWiktionary, English annotateas notāre‘to mark, note’next step skipped: Latin annotō
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEannotātusWiktionary, English annotate
- EnglishtodayannotateWiktionary, English annotate
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’
can, could, know, normal, recognition, glory, con, ignore, narrative, ken, keen, ignorant, norm, cunning, prognosis, narration, connoisseur, uncouth, canny, kith, recognizance, gnosis, canna, cun, 84 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₃sḱéti ‘to recognise’
diagnostic, gnome, agnostic, 40 more
through Latin gnōscō
recognize, cognitive, quaint, incognito, noblesse, precognition, ignoble, 30 more
through Latin nōscō ‘to become acquainted with something, learn…’
notice, noble, notion, notorious, cognition, nobility, notoriety, acquaint, cognizance, 23 more
through Latin nota ‘mark, sign’
through Latin notō ‘to mark, note’
Today it means
verb To add annotation to.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “annotate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin noto. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- / annotate