Other forms: denotes, denoted, denoting
To denote is to be the sign or name for something. The symbol denotes danger, denoting the plural, what does it denote.
It pairs with connote, and the pair is worth keeping straight: a word denotes what it refers to and connotes what it suggests. Home and residence denote the same thing and connote quite different ones. The Latin means to mark out.
1verbdenoteTo be the sign or name for something.
“On the map, a red triangle denotes a campsite.”
denote is a signifying.
Latin denotare means to mark out, from de- plus notare, to mark, from nota, a mark.
Latin
denotare
Middle French
denoter
English, today
denote
Built from
From Middle French denoter, from Latin denotare, from de- (“complete”) and notare (“to mark out”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA