nota bene
See also: notabene
English
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from Classical Latin notā bene (“note well”).[1]
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌnəʊtə ˈbɛneɪ/,[1] /ˌnəʊtə ˈbɛni/[1]
- IPA(key): /ˌnoʊtə ˈbɛneɪ/, /ˌnoʊ.tə ˈbɛ.ni/[2][3], /ˌnoʊ.tə ˈbi.ni/[2][3], /ˌnoʊ.tə ˈbeɪ.ni/[2]
Audio (US): (file)
Phrase
nota bene (plural notate bene)
- (imperative) Take special note; used to add an aside or warning to a text.[1]
Usage notes
- As with the Latin phrases id est and exempli gratia, nota bene is now more commonly encountered in its abbreviated forms n.b. or N.B.[1]
- In Latin, notā is the singular present active imperative form of notō (“I mark”, “I note”, “I observe”), whose plural equivalent is notāte; consequently, in English, when addressing an audience of more than one person, the plural form notate bene is occasionally used instead of the singular. This practice is not necessary in English; nota bene is regarded as correct usage irrespective of number by all but the most pedantic language users. The abbreviation n.b. may stand for either.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Noun
nota bene
- (rare, informal) An instance of the phrase nota bene or its variant spellings.[1] Also, by extension:
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 “nota bene, int. and n.” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [Draft revision; June 2008]
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 “nota bene”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 “nota bene”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
Dutch
Etymology
From Classical Latin notā bene (“note well”). See the Latin section's etymology for further information.
Pronunciation
Audio: (file) - IPA(key): /ˌnoː.taː ˈbeː.nə/
Phrase
- nota bene (used to add an aside or warning to a text)
Derived terms
- NB (abbreviation)
French
Etymology
From Classical Latin notā bene (“note well”). See the Latin section’s etymology for further information..
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nɔ.ta be.ne/
Audio: (file)
Interjection
- nota bene (used to add an aside or warning to a text)
Further reading
- “nota bene”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
Italian
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from Classical Latin notā bene (“note well”). See the Latin section’s etymology for further information..
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈnɔ.ta ˈbɛ.ne/
- Hyphenation: nò‧ta‧bè‧ne
Phrase
- nota bene (used to add an aside or warning to a text)
Derived terms
- NB (abbreviation)
Latin
Etymology
notā, singular present active imperative form of notō (“I mark”, “I note”, “I observe”) + bene (“well”), adverbial form of bonus (“good”)
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈnɔ.taː ˈbɛ.nɛ]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈnɔː.t̪a ˈbɛː.ne]
Phrase
notā bene (plural notāte bene)
- nota bene (used to add an aside or warning to a text)
Derived terms
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin notā bene.
Noun
Declension
| singular only | indefinite | definite |
|---|---|---|
| nominative-accusative | nota bene | nota beneul |
| genitive-dative | nota bene | nota beneului |
| vocative | nota beneule | |
Spanish
Etymology
From Classical Latin notā bene (“note well”). See that entry for more information.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˌnota ˈbene/ [ˌno.t̪a ˈβ̞e.ne]
- Syllabification: no‧ta be‧ne
Phrase
- nota bene (used to add an aside or warning to a text)
Further reading
- “nota bene”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024