English
denotation
Denotation comes from Late Latin dēnotātiō ‘censure’, from Latin dēnotāre ‘to denote, mark out’, and ultimately from nota.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnota1‘mark, sign’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnotō2as notāre‘to mark’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēnotāre2‘to denote, mark out’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdēnotātiō2‘censure’
- Englishearliest quotation 2018denotation2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin noto
- 2 Wiktionary, English denotation
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2018, James Lambert, A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity: “Regarding denotation, the terms were generally used to refer…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnotaWiktionary, Latin noto‘mark, sign’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnotōWiktionary, English denotationas notāre‘to mark’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēnotāreWiktionary, English denotation‘to denote, mark out’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdēnotātiōWiktionary, English denotation‘censure’
- Englishearliest quotation 2018denotationWiktionary, English denotation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2018, James Lambert, A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity: “Regarding denotation, the terms were generally used to refer…”
Formed from denote + -ation
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’
can, could, know, normal, glory, ignore, narrative, recognition, con, ken, keen, ignorant, norm, cunning, prognosis, canny, narration, connoisseur, uncouth, canna, kith, recognizance, gnosis, cun, 84 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₃sḱéti ‘to recognise’
diagnostic, gnome, agnostic, 40 more
through Latin gnōscō
recognize, cognitive, quaint, incognito, noblesse, ignoble, precognition, 30 more
through Latin nōscō ‘to become acquainted with something, learn…’
notice, noble, notorious, nobility, notion, cognition, notoriety, acquaint, cognizance, 23 more
through Latin nota ‘mark, sign’
through Latin notō ‘to mark’
Today it means
noun The act of denoting, or something (such as a symbol) that denotes
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “denotation”; 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 / Latin nota / denotation