English
denote
Denote comes from Latin denotare, from notō ‘to mark out’, 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 notare‘to mark out’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdenotare2
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600denoter2
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599-1602denote2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin noto
- 2 Wiktionary, English denote
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599-1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Hamlet: “together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, that…”.
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 denoteas notare‘to mark out’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdenotareWiktionary, English denote
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600denoterWiktionary, English denote
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599-1602denoteWiktionary, English denote. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599-1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Hamlet: “together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, that…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’
can, could, know, normal, recognition, narrative, glory, con, ignore, ken, ignorant, keen, norm, cunning, narration, prognosis, canny, 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, precognition, noblesse, 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 out’
Today it means
verb To indicate; to mark.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “denote”; 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- / denote