'notify' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'notificare', where 'notus' meant 'known' and 'facere' meant 'to make.'

'notificare' passed into Old French as 'notifier' and into Middle English (e.g. 'notifyen'/'notifien'), eventually becoming the modern English word 'notify.'

Initially it meant 'to make known,' but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'to inform or give notice to' (often with a formal or official nuance).