From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Notion \No"tion\, [L. notio, fr. noscere to know: cf. F. notion.
See {Know}.]
1. Mental apprehension of whatever may be known or imagined;
an idea; a conception; more properly, a general or
universal conception, as distinguishable or definable by
marks or notae.
[1913 Webster]
What hath been generally agreed on, I content myself
to assume under the notion of principles. --Sir I.
Newton.
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Few agree in their notions about these words.
--Cheyne.
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That notion of hunger, cold, sound, color, thought,
wish, or fear which is in the mind, is called the
"idea" of hunger, cold, etc. --I. Watts.
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Notion, again, signifies either the act of
apprehending, signalizing, that is, the remarking or
taking note of, the various notes, marks, or
characters of an object which its qualities afford,
or the result of that act. --Sir W.
Hamilton.
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2. A sentiment; an opinion.
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The extravagant notion they entertain of themselves.
--Addison.
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A perverse will easily collects together a system of
notions to justify itself in its obliquity. --J. H.
Newman.
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3. Sense; mind. [Obs.] --Shak.
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4. An invention; an ingenious device; a knickknack; as,
Yankee notions. [Colloq.]
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5. Inclination; intention; disposition; as, I have a notion
to do it. [Colloq.]
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6. Miscellaneous small objects; sundries; -- usually
referring to articles displayed together for sale.
[PJC]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
notion
n 1: a vague idea in which some confidence is placed; "his
impression of her was favorable"; "what are your feelings
about the crisis?"; "it strengthened my belief in his
sincerity"; "I had a feeling that she was lying" [syn:
{impression}, {feeling}, {belief}, {notion}, {opinion}]
2: a general inclusive concept
3: an odd or fanciful or capricious idea; "the theatrical notion
of disguise is associated with disaster in his stories"; "he
had a whimsy about flying to the moon"; "whimsy can be
humorous to someone with time to enjoy it" [syn: {notion},
{whim}, {whimsy}, {whimsey}]
4: (usually plural) small personal articles or clothing or
sewing items; "buttons and needles are notions"
From French-English FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.3.4 [fd-fra-eng]:
notion /nɔtjɔ̃/
notion
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