Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A brief record, especially one written down to aid the memory.
  • noun A comment or explanation, as on a passage in a text.
  • noun A brief informal letter: synonym: letter.
  • noun A formal written diplomatic or official communication.
  • noun A piece of paper currency.
  • noun A debt security, usually with a maturity of ten years or less.
  • noun A promissory note.
  • noun A tone of definite pitch.
  • noun A symbol for such a tone, indicating pitch by its position on the staff and duration by its shape.
  • noun A key of an instrument, such as a piano.
  • noun The characteristic vocal sound made by a songbird or other animal.
  • noun The sign of a particular quality or emotion.
  • noun Importance; consequence.
  • noun Notice; observation.
  • noun Obsolete A song, melody, or tune.
  • transitive verb To observe carefully; notice: synonym: see.
  • transitive verb To make a note of; write down.
  • transitive verb To show; indicate.
  • transitive verb To make mention of; remark.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To distinguish with a mark; set a mark upon; mark.
  • To observe carefully; notice particularly.
  • To set down in writing; make a memorandum of.
  • To set down in musical characters; furnish with musical notes.
  • To furnish with marginal notes; annotate.
  • To denote; point out; indicate.
  • To put a mark upon; brand; stigmatize.
  • Synonyms To record, register, minute, jot down.
  • Note, Denote, Connote (see the definitions of these words), mark.
  • To sing.
  • To butt; push with the horns; gore.
  • To use; make use of; enjoy.
  • To use for food; eat: as, he notes very little.
  • To need; have occasion for.
  • noun A mark or token by which a thing may be known; a sign; stamp; badge; symbol; in logic, a character or quality.
  • noun Significance; consequence; distinction; reputation.
  • noun Notice; observation; heed.
  • noun Notice; information; intelligence.
  • noun A mark on the margin of a book drawing attention to something in the text; hence, a statement subsidiary to the text of a book elucidating or adding something; an explanatory or critical comment; an annotation.
  • noun A minute or memorandum, intended to assist the memory, or for after use or reference: as, I made a note of the circumstance: generally in the plural: as, to take notes of a sermon or speech; to speak from notes.
  • noun plural A report (verbatim or more or less condensed) of a speech, discourse, statement, testimony, or the like.
  • noun A list of items; an inventory; a catalogue; a bill; an account; a reckoning.
  • noun A written or printed paper acknowledging a debt and promising payment: as, a promissory note; a bank-note; a note of hand (that is, a signed promise to pay a sum of money); a negotiable note.
  • noun A short letter; a billet.
  • noun A diplomatic or official communication in writing.
  • noun A small size of paper used for writing letters or notes.
  • noun In music: In the staffnotation, a character or sign by which a tone is recorded and represented to the eye. A musical sound or tone, in general or particular: as, the note of a bird; the first note of a song, etc.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin nota, annotation; see gnō- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English note, noote ("use, usefulness, profit"), from Old English notu ("use, enjoyment, advantage, profit, utility"), from Proto-Germanic *nutō (“enjoyment, utilisation”), from Proto-Indo-European *newd- (“to acquire, make use of”). Cognate with West Frisian not ("yield, produce, crop"), Dutch genot ("enjoyment, pleasure"), Dutch nut ("usefulness, utility, behoof"), German Nutzen ("benefit, usefulness, utility"), Icelandic not ("use", noun). Related also to Old English notian ("to enjoy, make use of, employ"), Old English nēotan ("to use, enjoy"), Old High German niozan ("to use, enjoy"), Modern German benutzen ("to use"). Related to nait.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English noten, notien, from Old English notian ("to make use of, use, employ, enjoy"), from Proto-Germanic *nutōnan (“to make use of”), from Proto-Indo-European *neud- (“to acquire, make use of”).

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English note, from Old English not, nōt ("note, mark, sign") and Old French note ("letter, note"), both from Latin nota ("mark, sign, remark, note").

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