note

Less common meanings

13. 13
    nounobsoletecountable or uncountable

    Notification, information, or intelligence given or received.

    Note

    To give someone note of an event once meant to tell them about it. The sense is obsolete, and modern English uses notice or word instead. In older texts, read it as news received rather than attention paid. That keeps it apart from the "heed" sense, which still survives in take note. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • Giving someone note of an event meant informing them about it. gutenberg.org
    • The notification or information sense is obsolete and distinct from the heed sense. en.wiktionary.org
14. 14
    debt papernouncountable or uncountable

    A written paper acknowledging a debt and promising to pay it; a promissory note.

    She held a note guaranteeing repayment with interest.

    The company issued notes to raise money from investors.

    Similarbond

    Note

    Finance usually names the kind of promise along with the word: a promissory note, a note of hand, a negotiable note. It sits among draft, bond, commercial paper and IOU without matching any of them exactly. Keep it apart from paper money. A note in this sense records what a particular party owes, and it is not usually currency passed from hand to hand. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Draft, bond, commercial paper and IOU are related financial terms rather than exact interchangeable equivalents of note. en.wiktionary.org
    • A note records a party's debt and promise to pay. en.wiktionary.org
    • Some promissory notes also function as currency; Bank of England banknotes are promissory notes. cdn.websitebuilder.service.justice.gov.uk
15. 15
    bird callnouncountable or uncountable

    The musical sound of a bird's call or song.

    Experienced birdwatchers can identify a species from a single note.

    The thrush repeated the same note again and again at dawn.

    Similarcall, chirp, song, trill

    Note

    Describing a bird's note usually means comparing it with some other sound. In Peter Christen Asbjørnsen's Round the Yule Log (1881, translated by H. L. Brækstad), the woodcock's note resembles the repeated croaking of a frog, followed by a sharp hiss. Observers use the word for a single call, which is often enough to tell one species from another. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Peter Christen Asbjørnsen wrote the collection, translated by H. L. Brækstad. sites.pitt.edu
    • Folk and Fairy Tales appeared under that title in 1883. The translation had already appeared as Round the Yule Log: Norwegian Folk and Fairy Tales in 1881. sites.pitt.edu
    • The passage compares the woodcock's note with repeated frog croaking followed by a sharp hiss. en.wiktionary.org
16. 16
    nouncountable or uncountable

    A mark, sign, or feature by which something can be recognized; a distinctive quality.

    Generosity was the defining note of his public life.

    A faint accent was the one note that gave away her origins.

    UsageOften a note of + quality or feeling: a note of caution, a note of optimism.

    Similarhallmark, characteristic, feature, trait, mark

    Note

    Behind the everyday phrase a note of something sits an older theological use. In 1841 John Henry Newman argued that the Anglican church had "the Note of possession" and "the Note of life", visible marks by which a true church is known. Mary Augusta Ward's Robert Elsmere (1888) and Brian Haresnape in Modern Railways (1962) show the looser habit, where a note of youth or of gloom is a quality running through the whole. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 7 facts

    • An older theological use refers to recognizable marks of a church. newmanreader.org
    • In 1841 John Henry Newman described the Anglican church as having the quoted notes of possession and life. en.wiktionary.org
    • The theological notes are identifying characteristics of a true church. newmanreader.org
    • Mary Augusta Ward wrote Robert Elsmere. en.wikipedia.org
    • Robert Elsmere was first published in 1888. gutenberg.org
    • Robert Elsmere contains the example of a note of youth running through something. gutenberg.org
    • Brian Haresnape used the example of overall gloom in Modern Railways in 1962. en.wiktionary.org
17. 17
    diplomatic letternouncountable or uncountable

    A formal written communication sent between governments or diplomats; a diplomatic missive.

    The ambassador delivered a formal note to the foreign ministry.

    Diplomatic notes passed between the two capitals for weeks.

    UsageOften a diplomatic note or a note of protest.

    Similarmemorandum, dispatch, missive

18. 18
    paper sizenouncountable or uncountable

    A small size of writing paper used for letters or short messages.

    For business mail she used letter size; for personal messages, note.

    Folded note sheets are a popular choice for invitations and sympathy cards.

19. 19
    denoteverbtransitive

    To denote or designate; to serve as a sign for something.

    Similardenote, signify, indicate, designate, mark

    Note

    Mathematical writing keeps this sense alive, usually in the passive: the inverse of x "may be noted x⁻¹". Here the verb means "write as" and comes close to denote. The symbol is what results, and nothing is being observed, which is the reverse of the "observe" sense. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • The quoted wording “may be noted x⁻¹” occurs in an example about an inverse. en.wiktionary.org
20. 20
    nouncountable or uncountable

    A mark or sign made to call attention to something, or one that serves as proof or evidence.

    Similarmark, sign, token, marker

21. 21
    write in marginsverbtransitive

    To add explanatory comments to a text, usually in its margins or between its lines.

    Similarannotate, gloss

22. 22
    rhythm gamenouncountable or uncountable

    In rhythm games, an on-screen indicator that a player must click, tap, or hit when it appears.

    The hardest song throws dozens of notes at the player each second.

    He tapped the screen the instant the note reached the line.

    Note

    Rhythm games took the musical symbol and made it something the player acts on. Each note arrives on screen in time with the music, and the player answers it with a tap, click or hit. Players speak of hitting or missing notes, and a song's difficulty shows in how many notes it sends at once. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • Players respond to on-screen indicators with inputs timed to music. en.wikipedia.org
    • The number of simultaneous notes is a factor in difficulty. osu.ppy.sh
23. 23
    write musicverbtransitive

    To write down a piece of music using musical symbols.

    Similartranscribe, notate

24. 24
    protest a billverbtransitive

    Of a notary, to make an official dated record on a bill or draft that it has been refused acceptance or payment, as the first step toward a formal protest.

    The clerk noted the dishonored bill before filing the protest.

    A notary must note the draft promptly to protect the holder's rights.

    Note

    Commercial law uses the verb for the notary's first step when a bill is refused: a dated record on which a formal protest later rests. The object can be the bill or the protest itself. Kimberly Budd's 2020 opinion for the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts describes notaries "noting the protest" so that certificates could be dated on receipt and time limits met. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • Noting is a dated notarial record of dishonor preceding a formal protest. law.justia.com
    • Both a bill and a protest can be the object of the verb. law.justia.com
    • Kimberly Budd authored the cited 2020 opinion for the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. en.wiktionary.org
    • The opinion uses the exact phrase "noting the protest" and explains its connection to certificate dates and time restrictions. law.justia.com
25. 25
    nounobsoletecountable or uncountable

    An itemized account, or a list of things or of sums charged.

    Heere is now the Smithes note, for Shooing, / And Plough-Irons.

    c. 1596, William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth,. Epilogue.”

    Note

    A tradesman's reckoning that has long dropped out of use. In Shakespeare's The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, a smith's note covers shoeing and plow irons, a tally of work done and money owed. A modern reader may mistake such a note for a written promise to pay, but this one is the seller's list, not the debtor's pledge. Today a writer would say bill or account. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • The Second Part of Henry the Fourth is a work by William Shakespeare. internetshakespeare.uvic.ca
    • The play mentions a smith's account for shoeing and plow irons; Davy presents it and Shallow orders it calculated and paid. folger.edu
    • The note in this passage is the tradesman's account rather than the debtor's promise to pay. folger.edu
26. 26
    nounobsoletecountable or uncountable

    A mark or sign of disgrace; a stigma.

    That my poſteritie ſham’d with the note / Shall curſe my bones, and hold it for no ſinne, / To wiſh that I their father had not beene.

    1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto)

    Once more, the more to aggrauate the note, With a foule Traitors name ſtuffe I thy throte, And wiſh (ſo pleaſe my Soueraigne) ere I moue, What my tong ſpeaks, my right drawn ſword may proue

    1595, William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Richard the Second”

    Note

    Shakespeare uses note for a brand of shame that outlives the person who bears it. In Lucrece (1594), descendants are "sham'd with the note". In Richard II, a challenger calls his enemy traitor "the more to aggravate the note". This is the dark twin of the distinguishing mark: a note that sets someone apart for the worse. Stigma does this work now. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • Shakespeare uses note for shame that survives its bearer. internetshakespeare.uvic.ca
    • Shakespeare's Lucrece was first published in 1594. shakespearedocumented.folger.edu
    • The quotation concerns descendants shamed by the mark; it occurs in Tarquin's contemplation of his future disgrace. internetshakespeare.uvic.ca
    • In Richard II, Bolingbroke challenges Thomas Mowbray and repeats the accusation of treason with the quoted phrase. folger.edu
27. 27
    daily tasksnoundialectalIrelandNorthern EnglandScotlandUKuncountable

    In British dialect, that which is needed or necessary; business, duty, or work.

    And have thou that for thy note !

    1838, William Marriott, “The Deluge”

    Thou canst do thy note; that have I espied.

    1962, Arthur C. Cawley, Everyman

    Similarwork, business, duty

    Note

    This is a different word that only shares the spelling. It comes from Old English notu, "use, profit", from a Germanic root for enjoyment and use. In northern English, Scottish and Irish dialect it means one's needful work, as in the miracle-play line "Thou canst do thy note". The Halifax Courier of 1897 spells it noit, in the complaint "Tha'll keep me at this noit all day". Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

    • The dialect noun has a separate etymology and descends from Old English notu, meaning use or profit. en.wiktionary.org
    • Old English notu derives from a Germanic ancestor associated with use and enjoyment. en.wiktionary.org
    • The work or duty sense is recorded in northern English, Scottish and Irish dialect. en.wiktionary.org
    • The quoted wording occurs in a modernized edition of a medieval miracle play; the underlying play is Herod the Great. en.wiktionary.org
    • The Halifax Courier used noit in the quoted complaint in 1897; the quotation is dated 27 May and reproduced by Joseph Wright. en.wiktionary.org
28. 28
    noundialectalIrelandNorthern EnglandScotlandUKuncountable

    In British dialect, a cow's or sow's giving of milk; the period after calving or farrowing when she yields most; or the milk produced then.

    A cow is said to be in note when she is in milk.

    1888, S. O. Addy Gloss, Words Sheffield

    For sale, a Kerry cow, five years old, at her note in May.

    1875, Paper, Belfast

    Similarmilk

    Note

    The dairy sense comes from the same "use, profit" word as the dialect word for work: a cow in note is a cow at her most useful. The sense depends on prepositions: in note, near note, at early note. A Belfast paper of 1875 offers "a Kerry cow, five years old, at her note in May", and S. O. Addy's Sheffield glossary (1888) explains in note as in milk. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

    • The dairy sense and the dialect sense ‘work’ share the Middle English ‘use, profit’ origin. en.wiktionary.org
    • The dairy sense describes the cow's most productive and useful period. en.wiktionary.org
    • The historical dairy expressions include ‘in note’, ‘near note’, and ‘at early note’. en.wiktionary.org
    • A Belfast newspaper quotation dated 1875 contains the quoted advertisement, including the cow's age and May reference. en.wiktionary.org
    • Sidney Oldall Addy's Sheffield glossary was published in 1888. openlibrary.org
    • Addy explains ‘in note’ as ‘in milk’. en.wiktionary.org
29. 29
    criticismnouncountable or uncountable

    A critical comment or remark made about something.

    The producer delivered her notes on the rough cut.

    He bristled at every critical note the editor offered.

    UsageMostly plural, after give: the director gave notes on the scene.

    Similarcomment, criticism, critique, remark, feedback