English
notion
Notion comes from Latin nōtiō ‘a becoming acquainted, a taking cognizance, an…’, from nōscō ‘to know’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-1‘to recognise’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥h₃sḱéti1‘to recognise’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnōskō1‘to know, get to know’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgnōscō1
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōscō2‘to know’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōtus3‘known, acquainted’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōtiō2‘a becoming acquainted, a taking cognizance, an examination, an investigation’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1606notion2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin nosco
- 2 Wiktionary, English notion
- 3 Wiktionary, Latin notio
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Macbeth: “Who wrought with them, and all things else that…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-Wiktionary, Latin nosco‘to recognise’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥h₃sḱétiWiktionary, Latin nosco‘to recognise’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnōskōWiktionary, Latin nosco‘to know, get to know’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgnōscōWiktionary, Latin nosco
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōscōWiktionary, English notion‘to know’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōtusWiktionary, Latin notio‘known, acquainted’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōtiōWiktionary, English notion‘a becoming acquainted, a taking cognizance, an examination, an investigation’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1606notionWiktionary, English notion. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Macbeth: “Who wrought with them, and all things else that…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’
can, could, know, normal, glory, ignore, ken, narrative, keen, recognition, con, ignorant, norm, cunning, prognosis, canny, narration, connoisseur, uncouth, canna, kith, recognizance, gnosis, cun, 83 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₃sḱéti ‘to recognise’
diagnostic, gnome, agnostic, 39 more
through Latin gnōscō
recognize, cognitive, quaint, incognito, denote, noblesse, annotation, ignoble, precognition, 29 more
through Latin nōscō ‘to know’
note, noble, nobility, cognition, notary, acquaint, notation, cognizance, annotate, 24 more
through Latin nōtus ‘known, acquainted’
Today it means
noun Mental apprehension of whatever may be known, thought, or imagined; idea, concept.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “notion”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin nosco, Latin notio. 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- / notion