A short piece of text, often numbered, placed at the bottom of a printed page, that adds a comment, citation, reference etc, to a designated part of the main text.
"The author added a footnote to clarify the origin of the historical date mentioned in paragraph three."
In plain English: A footnote is extra information written at the bottom of a page to explain something from the main text.
"The professor added a footnote to explain his special use of an old word."
Usage: Use "footnote" as a noun for explanatory notes or citations found at the bottom of a page and as a verb meaning to add such references to your writing. Avoid confusing this with endnotes, which are grouped together at the very end of a document rather than placed individually on each relevant page.
To add footnotes to a text.
"The editor decided to add footnotes to the text to clarify historical references."
In plain English: To footnote something means to add extra information at the bottom of a page as a note.
"The professor decided to footnote every claim in his new article with sources from previous studies."
The word footnote is a straightforward combination of the words "foot" and "note." It was first used to describe explanatory remarks placed at the bottom of a page rather than within the main text.