Etymology

point

P3O1I1N1T1

Today it means: Something tiny, as a pinprick; a very small mark. Full definition →

First used 15th c.Middle English poynt ← Old French point m ← Latin pūnctum
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point · noun, interjection1

  1. Proto-Italic · derived from*pungō“to sting, prick”
  2. Latin · derived frompūncta f
  3. Old French · derived frompointe f“sharp tip”
  4. Latin · derived frompūnctum“a hole punched in; a point, puncture”
  5. Old French · derived frompoint m“dot; minute amount”
  6. Middle English · inherited frompoynt
  7. English todaypoint

From Middle English poynt, from Old French point m (“dot; minute amount”), from Latin pūnctum (“a hole punched in; a point, puncture”), substantive use of pūnctus m, perfect passive participle of pungō (“to prick, punch”); alternatively, from Old French pointe f (“sharp tip”), from Latin pūncta f (past participle), all from Proto-Italic *pungō (“to sting, prick”). Mostly displaced native Middle English ord (“point”), from Old English ord (“point”). Doublet of pointe, ponto, puncto, punctum, punt, and punto.

point · verb2

  1. Latin · derived frompūnctum
  2. Old French · derived frompointier
  3. Middle English · inherited frompointen
  4. English todaypoint

From Middle English pointen, poynten, from Old French pointier, pointer, poynter, from point from Latin pūnctum.

point · verb3

  1. Middle English · inherited frompointen
  2. English todaypoint

From Middle English pointen, poynten, by apheresis of apointen, appointen, appoynten. See appoint.

Point · proper noun4

Short for West Point.

Point · proper noun5

  1. French · derived fromPons
  2. English todayPoint

Probably an altered form of French Pons, see Ponce. It is also a variant of the English surname Points.

Words from the same roots

Latinpūnctum all →

puntopontopunctatepunctumcircumpunctpunctiformpunctiliopunctopunty

First known use, by meaning

  • from 15th c. Something tiny, as a pinprick; a very small mark.
  • from 14th c. A full stop or other terminal punctuation mark.
  • from 18th c. A decimal point (now especially when reading decimal fractions aloud).
  • from 17th c. Each of the marks or strokes written above letters, especially in Semitic languages, to indicate vowels, stress etc.
  • from 14th c. A zero-dimensional mathematical object representing a location in one or more dimensions; something considered to have position but no magnitude or direction.
  • from 13th c. An individual element in a larger whole; a particular detail, thought, or quality.
  • from 13th c. A particular moment in an event or occurrence; a juncture.
  • from 13th c. Condition, state.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.