Words / B2

noh-TAYSHUN/nəʊˈteɪʃn/

Notation is a system of written symbols for numbers, music, or ideas: chemical notation; musical notation. Note is a short written remark (already in the dictionary); a notion is an idea (already elsewhere). Use standard notation in the working. Mix-up: notion / annotation (a comment on a text). Do not call a paragraph of prose “notation”.

Meaning

A system of written symbols for numbers, music, or scientific ideas.

Examples

• “Use standard chemical notation in the working, not a sentence in words.”
• “The extract asks how musical notation changed after the printing press, which is the symbols sense.”

Good to know

chemical / musical / scientific notation; in notation. Trap: notion / note. Maths, chemistry, and music. A symbol system, not a belief.

New