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Origin and history of notion

notion(n.)

late 14c., nocioun, "a general concept, conception," from Latin notionem (nominative notio) "concept, conception, idea, notice," noun of action from past participle stem of noscere "come to know," from PIE root *gno- "to know." Coined by Cicero as a loan-translation of Greek ennoia "act of thinking, notion, conception," or prolepsis "previous notion, previous conception."

Meaning "an opinion, a view, a somewhat vague belief" is from c. 1600; that of "a not very rational inclination, a whim" is by 1746. Notions in the concrete sense of "miscellaneous small articles of convenience or utensils" (such as sold by Yankee peddlers) is by 1803, American English, via the idea of "clever product of invention."

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to notion

notional(adj.)

1590s, "pertaining to or expressing a notion or notions," from notion + -al (earlier nocional, late 14c., from Medieval Latin notionalis). Meaning "full of whims, dealing in imaginary things" is from 1791. Grammatical sense is from 1928 (Jespersen); economics use is from 1958.

*gno-

*gnō-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to know."

It might form all or part of: acknowledge; acquaint; agnostic; anagnorisis; astrognosy; can (v.1) "have power to, be able;" cognition; cognizance; con (n.2) "study;" connoisseur; could; couth; cunning; diagnosis; ennoble; gnome; (n.2) "short, pithy statement of general truth;" gnomic; gnomon; gnosis; gnostic; Gnostic; ignoble; ignorant; ignore; incognito; ken (n.1) "cognizance, intellectual view;" kenning; kith; know; knowledge; narrate; narration; nobility; noble; notice; notify; notion; notorious; physiognomy; prognosis; quaint; recognize; reconnaissance; reconnoiter; uncouth; Zend.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit jna- "know;" Avestan zainti- "knowledge," Old Persian xšnasatiy "he shall know;" Old Church Slavonic znati "recognizes," Russian znat "to know;" Latin gnoscere "get to know," nobilis "known, famous, noble;" Greek gignōskein "to know," gnōtos "known," gnōsis "knowledge, inquiry;" Old Irish gnath "known;" German kennen "to know," Gothic kannjan "to make known."

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    impression
    late 14c., "mark produced by pressure," also "image produced in the mind or emotions by something external," from Old French impression "print, stamp; a pressing on the mind" (13c.), from Latin impressionem (nominative impressio) "a pressing into, onset, attack," figuratively "a
    belief
    late 12c., bileave, "confidence reposed in a person or thing; faith in a religion," replacing Old English geleafa "belief, faith," from West Germanic *ga-laubon "to hold dear, esteem, trust" (source also of Old Saxon gilobo, Middle Dutch gelove, Old High German giloubo, German Gl
    opinion
    early 14c., opinioun, "a judgment formed or a conclusion reached, especially one based on evidence that does not produce knowledge or certainty," from Old French opinion "opinion, view, judgements founded upon probabilities" (12c.), from Latin opinionem (nominative opinio) "opini
    pet
    Perhaps from pet (n.1) on a similar notion to that in American English that gets my goat (for which see goat), but the underlying...notion is obscure, and the form of the original expression makes this doubtful....Perhaps from the notion of "characteristic of an indulged or spoiled child," but OED notes that this word seems to have been...
    racket
    Meaning "dishonest activity" (1785) is perhaps an extended sense, from the notion of "something going on" or "noise or disturbance...Or it might be from racquet, via the notion of "a game," or from or reinforced by rack-rent "extortionate rent."...There also was a verb racket "carry on eager or energetic action" (1753), and the gangster sense might be via the notion...
    fence
    Sense of "enclosure" is first recorded mid-15c. on notion of "that which serves as a defense."...Sense of "dealer in stolen goods" is thieves' slang, first attested c. 1700, from notion of such transactions taking place...To be figuratively on the fence "uncommitted" is from 1828, perhaps from the notion of spectators at a fight, or a simple...
    stiff
    1859, "corpse, dead body," slang, from stiff (adj.) which had been associated with notion of rigor mortis since c. 1200....The slang meaning "something or someone bound to lose" is 1890 (originally of racehorses), from the notion of "corpse."...
    conception
    early 14c., "act of conceiving in the womb," from Old French concepcion (Modern French conception) "conception, grasp, comprehension," from Latin conceptionem (nominative conceptio) "a comprehending, conception," noun of action from past-participle stem of concipere "to take in a
    idea
    late 14c., "archetype, concept of a thing in the mind of God," from Latin idea "Platonic idea, archetype," a word in philosophy, the word (Cicero writes it in Greek) and the idea taken from Greek idea "form; the look of a thing; a kind, sort, nature; mode, fashion," in logic, "a
    presence
    mid-14c., "fact of being present, state of being in a certain place and not some other," also "space before or around someone or something," from Old French presence (12c., Modern French présence), from Latin praesentia "a being present," from praesentem (see present (adj.)). Fro

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