footnote
Asterisk's destination below
A footnote is a note at the bottom of a page providing additional information, citation, or commentary on something in the main text, typically marked with a superscript number or symbol.
Footnotes handle material too detailed or tangential for the main argument: See footnote 3 for the full citation.
Figuratively, a footnote is something minor or incidental: He'll be a footnote in history.
Directing attention elsewhere
- endnoteBack-of-book citation
- bibliographyList of cited works
- sourcePoint of origin
- ibidSame place, abbreviated
cross-reference · cite · superscript · annotation · documentation · index · appendix · quotation
Statement making something clear
- glossShine or annotation
- annotationAdded explanatory comment
- elucidationAct of explaining clearly
- explicationDetailed interpretive analysis
commentary · interpretation · amplification · elaboration · contextualization · disambiguation · illumination · unpacking
Brief theatrical digression
- tangentLine touching curve once
- excursusExtended tangential passage
- sidebarAncillary text box
- parentheticalSet off by punctuation
afterthought · addendum · postscript · supplementary · incidental · ancillary · peripheral · subordinate
Relating to education or theory
- researchSystematic fact-finding effort
- thesisAcademic argument requiring defense
- dissertationExtended academic treatise
- journalRecord of daily events
publication · scholarship · textual · archival · monograph · manuscript · treatise · critical edition
Scale with lowered third
- trivialLacking significance or weight
- overlookedNot noticed or considered
- forgottenNo longer recalled
- obscureUnknown to most
marginal · incidental · afterthought · unnoticed · relegated
reference
Directing attention elsewhere
- endnoteBack-of-book citation
- bibliographyList of cited works
- sourcePoint of origin
ibid · cross-reference · cite · superscript · annotation · documentation · index · appendix · quotation · attribution
explanation
Statement making something clear
- glossShine or annotation
- annotationAdded explanatory comment
- elucidationAct of explaining clearly
explication · commentary · interpretation · amplification · elaboration · contextualization · disambiguation · illumination · unpacking · paraphrase
aside
Brief theatrical digression
parenthetical · afterthought · addendum · postscript · supplementary · incidental · ancillary · peripheral · subordinate · secondary
academic
Relating to education or theory
- researchSystematic fact-finding effort
- thesisAcademic argument requiring defense
- dissertationExtended academic treatise
journal · publication · scholarship · textual · archival · monograph · manuscript · treatise · critical edition · apparatus
minor
Scale with lowered third
- trivialLacking significance or weight
- overlookedNot noticed or considered
- forgottenNo longer recalled
obscure · marginal · incidental · afterthought · unnoticed · relegated
- literary idiomscatch-22, red herring, white whale, chapter and verse, by the book
- Marginaliamarginalia, annotation, gloss, highlighting, underlining
- reference systemsDewey Decimal, library system, filing system, catalog, database
- research papersresearch paper, journal article, scholarly article, dissertation, original research
- acknowledgmentsacknowledgment, acknowledgement, acknowledgments, acknowledgment, dedications
- digressionsdigression, tangent, aside, sidetrack, detour
footnoteheader
Top line of document
headline · heading · title · masthead · running head
footnotethesis
Academic argument requiring defense
main point · crux · substance · heart of the matter · primary source
footnotelandmark
Notable point of reference
milestone · turning point · watershed moment · defining moment · headline