nota

Nota, notae, f., first declension, built on the same root as nosco and notus: a nota is what makes a thing known. Hence mark, sign, brand, and then the written marks that stand for words. Notae in the plural is the regular word for shorthand, the notae Tironianae that Cicero's secretary is credited with.

There is a harder sense worth knowing. The censor's nota was the black mark entered against a citizen's name on the roll, which stripped him of standing, so nota carries "stigma, disgrace" as readily as "annotation", and notare means to brand as well as to note down. English note, notation, notary, notable and notorious all sit here, the last one preserving the unfriendly half.