Notion Noun B Idea General Obsolete Small Vague

no·tion
\\ˈnō-shən\\ noun1.
  a.
    (1) an individual's conception or impression of something known, experienced, or imagined
    (2) an inclusive general concept
    (3) a theory or belief held by a person or group
  b. a personal inclination :

whim

2. obsolete : ,
3. plural : small useful items :
Synonyms: see

notion
  1533 (implied in notional), from L. notionem (nom. notio) "concept," from notus, pp. of noscere "come to know" (see know). Coined by Cicero as a loan-translation of Gk. ennoia "act of thinking, notion, conception," or prolepsis "previous notion, previous conception." Notions "miscellaneous articles" (1805, Amer.Eng.) springs from the idea of "clever invention."

notion
no·tion / 5nEuFn; NAmE 5nouFn / noun    ~ (that...) | ~ (of sth) an idea, a belief or an understanding of sth
   观念；信念；理解:
   a political system based on the notions of equality and liberty
   建立在自由平等观念基础上的政治体系
   I have to reject the notion that greed can be a good thing.
   我不能接受那种认为贪欲也可以是件好事的想法。
   She had only a vague notion of what might happen.
   对于可能发生的事她只有一个模糊的概念。

notion noun

no·tion
\ˈnōshən\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: Latin notion-, notio idea, conception, act of coming to know, from notus + -ion-, -io -ion
1.
 a.
  (1) : a mental apprehension or picture of whatever may be known or imagined : the meaning or content assigned by the mind to a term : ,
   < my notion of the country gentleman of the 17th century — T.B.Macaulay >
   < have no adequate notion of what we mean by causation — Edward Sapir >
   < outraged her mother's notions of economic and amorous propriety — New York Times >
   < her notion of a delta was a lot of channels and islands — C.S.Forester >
  (2) obsolete : a form, character, or sense in which a thing is taken or exists
  (3) obsolete : ,
  (4) : ,
   < the meaning of the notion law >
 b. : a general or universal concept
  < introduced the notion of organism into the world of minute beings — A.N.Whitehead >
  < the notion of an established body of alphabetical symbols — Charlton Laird >
  < arriving at the notion of law — Irving Babbitt >
 c.
  (1) Lockeanism : a complex idea that has its original and constant existence in the thoughts of men rather than in the reality of things
  (2) Berkeleianism : a conception that in distinction from an idea has no corresponding sense impression but nevertheless has something real corresponding to it (as minds and their operations, including God)
   < it must be owned at the same time that we have some notion of soul, spirit, and the operations of the mind, such as willing, loving, hating, inasmuch as we know or understand the meaning of these words — George Berkeley >
  (3) [translation of German begriff] Hegelianism : the organized unity of a differentiated whole corresponding to some universal; specifically : the dialectical synthesis of Being and Essence approaching the Absolute Idea
  (4) Kantianism : a pure concept of reason — compare
2.
 a. : an idea, theory, or belief held by someone
  < had a vague notion that some supervision should be exercised — Robertson Davies >
  < disliked this notion of begging of strange people — Pearl Buck >
  < this notion of a basically honest mankind — L.A.Fiedler >
  < man's notions about his history have altered tremendously — L.C.Eiseley >
 b.
  (1) : an inclination, whim, or fancy
   < it's a queer notion of the old gentleman — George Meredith >
   — often used in the phrase take a notion
   < took the notion of having a ball in costume — Winston Churchill >
   < rocks their ancestors had taken a notion to — Willa Cather >
  (2) : a perverse, crotchety, or flighty idea or fancy
   < don't go getting any notions into your head — Maeve Brennan >
   < get notions before he was fifty — Jean Stafford >
   < some of it was just notions that the poor woman had got into her head — B.A.Williams >
 c. dialect chiefly Britain : a fondness for one of the opposite sex
3.
 a. obsolete : ,
 b. : , ,
  < has not the least notion of what it's all about >
  < has no more notion of how to run a business than a child >
  < had no notion … that you analysed people like that — Walter de la Mare >
4.
 a. : an ingenious device : any of various small articles or wares :
 b. notions plural : small articles usually sold in one department of a store (as findings for sewing, ribbons, buttons, small personal and clothing items)

Synonyms: see