Etymograph

English

notate

Notate comes from Latin notātus ‘marked, having been marked’, from notō ‘mark, write, note’, 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‘mark, write, note’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnotātus3‘marked, having been marked’
  9. Englishtodaynotate3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin noto
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin notatus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English notate

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 notatus‘mark, write, note’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnotātusWiktionary, English notate‘marked, having been marked’
  9. EnglishtodaynotateWiktionary, English notate

first attested First attested in 1871 (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

First attested in 1871; back-formation from notation or from Latin notātus, perfect passive participle of notō; either way, see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

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

can, could, know, normal, recognition, glory, con, ignore, ken, narrative, keen, ignorant, norm, cunning, prognosis, narration, 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’

note, notary, 10 more

through Latin notō ‘mark, write, note’

notable, denote, annotation, 8 more

Another origin of notate

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-‘to recognise’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥h₃sḱéti‘to recognise’uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnōskō‘to know, get to know’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgnōscōuncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōscō‘to become acquainted with something, learn about it, to be aware of’uncertain
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnota‘mark, sign’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnotō‘mark, write, note’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnotātus‘marked, having been marked’
  9. Englishtodaynotate

First attested in 1857; borrowed from Latin notātus, see Etymology 1 and -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more.

Today it means

verb To mark with spots or lines, which are often colored.

Sources

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

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