nōˈtāshən noun
( -s )
Etymology: Latin notation-, notatio, from notatus (past participle of notare to note, denote) + -ion-, -io -ion — more at note
1. obsolete : etymological explanation or denotation
2.
a. : annotation , note
damage, according to the constable's notations, consisted of broken front bumper — Richard Joseph
if a letter refers to an enclosure, add the appropriate notation to the closing lines — D.D.Lessenberry & T.J.Crawford
b. : an act of noting : observation
3.
a. : the act, process, method, or an instance of representing by a system or set of marks, signs, figures, or characters
b. : a system of characters, symbols, or abbreviated expressions used in an art or science to express technical facts, quantities, or other data
4.
a.
(1) : the act, process, or system of recording music or musical details by means of written notes or symbols to indicate pitch, rhythm, tempo, harmonic combinations, style, and specific directions for performance
(2) : musical notes and symbols
b. : the representation of dance movements by means of written symbols
c. : the recording of chess moves
d. : the system of signs and symbols used in symbolic logic — compare truth table
5. : the act or an instance of recording (as natural appearances or states of mind) through artistic or literary means
swift notations of a light quite different from that of the Caribbean — Virgil Barker
exact notation of qualities, tones, rapports of colors and forms — Meyer Schapiro
the whole purport of literature … is the notation of the heart — Thornton Wilder