Meaning

noun a brief (and hurriedly handwritten) note

verb write briefly or hurriedly; write a short note of

noun a slight but appreciable amount

originThe noun is borrowed from Latin iōta (“the letter iota of the Ancient Greek alphabet”), from Ancient Greek ἰῶτα (iôta, “ninth letter of the Ancient Greek alphabet; (figurative) very small part of writing, jot”), from Phoenician 𐤉 (y‬, “tenth letter of the Phoenician abjad, yodh”). Doublet of iota and yodh. Etymology 1, noun sense 3 (“brief and hurriedly written note”) is derived from the verb.…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0