Etymograph

English

notabilia

Notabilia comes from Latin notabilis ‘notable’, from notō ‘to note, mark’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-1‘to recognise’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥h₃sḱéti1‘to recognise’uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnōskō1‘to know, get to know’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgnōscō1uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōscō1‘to become acquainted with something, learn about it, to be aware of’uncertain
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnota1‘mark, sign’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnotō2‘to note, mark’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnotabilis3‘notable’
  9. Englishtodaynotabilia3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin noto
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin notabilis
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English notabilia

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-Wiktionary, Latin noto‘to recognise’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥h₃sḱétiWiktionary, Latin noto‘to recognise’uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnōskōWiktionary, Latin noto‘to know, get to know’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgnōscōWiktionary, Latin notouncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōscōWiktionary, Latin noto‘to become acquainted with something, learn about it, to be aware of’uncertain
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnotaWiktionary, Latin noto‘mark, sign’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnotōWiktionary, Latin notabilis‘to note, mark’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnotabilisWiktionary, English notabilia‘notable’
  9. EnglishtodaynotabiliaWiktionary, English notabilia

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’

can, could, know, normal, recognition, narrative, glory, ignore, con, ken, keen, ignorant, norm, cunning, narration, prognosis, canny, connoisseur, uncouth, canna, kith, recognizance, gnosis, cun, 82 more

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₃sḱéti ‘to recognise’

diagnostic, gnome, agnostic, 38 more

through Latin gnōscō

recognize, cognitive, quaint, incognito, noblesse, precognition, ignoble, 28 more

through Latin nōscō ‘to become acquainted with something, learn…’

notice, noble, notion, notorious, cognition, notoriety, nobility, acquaint, cognizance, 21 more

through Latin nota ‘mark, sign’

note, notary, annotation, 8 more

through Latin notō ‘to note, mark’

notation, denote, annotate, 8 more

Today it means

noun Things or people worthy of notice.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “notabilia”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin noto, Latin notabilis. 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- / notabilia