Nota bene is the Latin phrase meaning note well. In manuscripts, nota bene is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of nota bene and notate bene first appeared in English around the year 1711. In Modern English, since the 14th century, the editorial usage of NB is common in legal writing to direct the reader's attention to a thematically relevant aspect of the subject that qualifies the matter being litigated.