Donotation

Donotation is a nonstandard term that appears only sporadically in informal or fringe discussions. There is no widely accepted definition in major dictionaries or scholarly literature, and its intended meaning can vary by author.

Some usages treat donotation as a portmanteau of donation and notation, proposed to describe the act of contributing notational resources—such as symbols, musical scores, or data schemas—to a shared repository or community project. In this sense, it would refer to a voluntary exchange of notation rather than its content, though this interpretation is not established.

Other writers consider donotation to be a misspelling or mistaken blend of related terms such as denotation, connotation, or notation. In linguistic or semiotic contexts, it is sometimes encountered as a nonce term whose meaning depends on the surrounding text and the author’s intent.

Because there is no consensus, readers encountering donotation should seek a precise definition from the source in which it appears and treat the term as undefined unless clarified. In practice, it is safer to substitute established terms such as denotation, connotation, notation, or donation when aiming for clear communication.

See also: denotation, connotation, notation, donation.