Editing Nota bene

{{short description|Italian and Latin phrase}}
{{about|the Latin phrase|the suite of applications for scholars|Nota Bene (word processor)}}
{{redirect|N.b.||NB (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Mainz nutzen der buecher.jpg |thumb|right|275px|''Nota bene'' editorial remarks: The monographic “Verses on the Futility of Unread Books” is a NB presented to the reader for deeper discussion of the subject. (Handwriting Hs. I 300, City Library of Mainz.)]]
{{Italic title}}

'''{{lang|la|Nota bene}}''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|n|oʊ|t|ə|_|ˈ|b|ɛ|n|eɪ|,_|ˈ|b|ɛ|n|i|,_|ˈ|b|iː|n|i}} {{respell|NOH|tə|_|BEN|ay|,_|BEN|ee|,_|BEE|nee}};<ref name=oed>{{Cite OED|term=nota bene|id=2426898483|access-date=2025-04-12|access=free}}</ref><ref name="collins" /> plural: '''{{lang|la|notate bene}}''') is the [[Latin language|Latin]] phrase meaning ''note well''.<ref name="collins">{{Cite Collins Dictionary|nota bene|access-date=2025-04-12}}</ref>
In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as '''NB''' and '''N.B.''', and in lower-case as '''n.b.''' and '''nb'''; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' first appeared in the [[English writing style|English style of writing]] around the year 1711.<ref>{{cite book
 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-NAvAQAAMAAJ&q=Joseph%20Addison's%20passions%20of%20the%20fan&pg=PA283| page=283 | title=The Works of Joseph Addison| first=Joseph| last=Addison| author-link=Joseph Addison|  publisher=W. W. Gibbings| year=1891}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/12030/12030-h/12030-h.htm#section102| title=No. 102 Wednesday, June 27, 1711| first=Joseph| last=Addison| author-link=Joseph Addison| publisher=[[Project Gutenberg]]| year=2004}}</ref><ref name="etymology">{{cite web| url =http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=nota+bene&allowed_in_frame=0| title=nota bene| work=Online Etymology Dictionary| author=Harper, Douglas| access-date = 2016-03-02}}</ref>  In [[Modern English]], since the 14th century, the editorial usage of ''NB'' is common to the [[legal writing|legal style of writing]] of documents to direct the reader's attention to a thematically relevant aspect of the subject that qualifies the matter being litigated,<ref name="legalterms">{{cite web| url=http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/glossary-of-terms#N| title=nota bene| work=HM Courts & Tribunals Service – Glossary of terms – Latin| publisher=Her Majesty's Courts Service, United Kingdom| access-date=2012-09-28| archive-date=2012-10-03| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003024620/http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/glossary-of-terms#N | url-status=dead}}</ref> whereas in [[academic writing]], the editorial abbreviation ''n.b.'' is a casual synonym for ''[[footnote]]''.

[[File:18010319 Wife wanted ad - Maryland Gazette.png|thumb|right|275px|''Nota bene'' editorial usage: In 1801, the author of the “Wife-Wanted” newspaper advert used the uppercase N.B. editorial abbreviation to stipulate that only moral women need apply to marry him.]]
In medieval manuscripts, the editorial marks used to draw the reader's attention to a supporting text also are called {{lang|la|nota bene}} marks; however, the catalogue of medieval editorial marks does not include the NB abbreviation. The medieval equivalents to the n.b.-mark are anagrams derived from the four letters of the Latin word {{lang|la|nota}}, thus the abbreviation '''DM''' for {{lang|la|dignum memoria}} ("worth remembering") and the [[Index (typography)|typographic]] index symbol of the [[Manicule|''manicule'']] (☞), the little hand that indicates the start of the relevant supporting text.<ref>Raymond Clemens and Timothy Graham, Introduction to Manuscript Studies (Ithaca: [[Cornell University Press]], 2007), p.&nbsp;44.</ref>

== See also ==
{{wiktionary|nota bene|NB|N.B.|nb|n.b.|nota|D.M.|DM|manicule}}
* [[Annotation]]
* ''[[Obiter dictum]]''
* ''[[Postscript]]''
* ''[[Quod vide]]''
* [[List of Latin abbreviations]]
* [[List of Latin phrases]]
* [[List of legal Latin terms]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Latin literary phrases]]
[[Category:Legal terminology]]


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