different between clue vs notion

English

Etymology

Variant of clew (“a ball of thread or yarn”), from Middle English clewe, from Old English cl?ewen (“ball”), from Proto-Germanic *kliuw?n?, *klewô (“ball, bale”), from Proto-Indo-European *glew- (“to amass, conglomerate; clump, ball, bale”). Sense evolution with reference to the one which the mythical Theseus used to guide him out of the Minotaur's labyrinth. More at clew.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /klu?/
• (obsolete) IPA^(key): /klju?/
• Rhymes: -u?
• Homophone: clew

Noun

clue (plural clues)

1. (now rare) A strand of yarn etc. as used to guide one through a labyrinth; something which points the way, a guide.
2. Information which may lead one to a certain point or conclusion.

3. An object or a kind of indication which may be used as evidence.

4. Insight or understanding ("to have a clue [about]" or "to have clue". See have a clue, clue stick)

Synonyms

• (information which may lead one to a certain point or conclusion): hint, indication, suggestion
• (object or indication which may be used as evidence): signature
• (understanding): idea

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• evidence
• red herring

Verb

clue (third-person singular simple present clues, present participle cluing or clueing, simple past and past participle clued)

1. To provide with a clue.

2. To provide someone with information which he or she lacks (often used with "in" or "up").

Derived terms

• clue in
• clued up

Translations

References

Anagrams

• Luce, leuc-, luce

Latin

Verb

clu?

1. second-person singular present active imperative of clue?

Middle English

Noun

clue

1. Alternative form of clewe

English

Etymology

From Latin n?ti? (“a becoming acquainted, a taking cognizance, an examination, an investigation, a conception, idea, notion”), from n?scere (“to know”). Compare French notion. See know.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?n????n/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?no???n/
• Rhymes: -????n

Noun

notion (plural notions)

1. Mental apprehension of whatever may be known, thought, or imagined; idea, concept.

   • What hath been generally agreed on, I content myself to assume under the notion of principles.

   • 1705-1715', George Cheyne, The Philosophical Principles of Religion Natural and Revealed

     there are few that agree in their Notions about them:.

   • 1725, Isaac Watts, Logick, or The Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry After Truth With a Variety of Rules to Guard

     That notion of hunger, cold, sound, color, thought, wish, or fear which is in the mind, is called the "idea" of hunger, cold, etc.

   • 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.

2. A sentiment; an opinion.
   • December 2, 1832, John Henry Newman, Wilfulness, the Sin of Saul

     A perverse will easily collects together a system of notions to justify itself in its obliquity.
3. (obsolete) Sense; mind.
4. (colloquial) An invention; an ingenious device; a knickknack.

5. Any small article used in sewing and haberdashery, either for attachment to garments or as a tool, such as a button, zipper, or thimble.
6. (colloquial) Inclination; intention; disposition.

Translations

See also

• concept
• conception
• meaning

Further reading

• notion in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• notion in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• notion on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin n?ti?, n?ti?nem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n?.sj??/

Noun

notion f (plural notions)

1. notion

Further reading

• “notion” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).