Etymology

point out

Today it means: To identify among a group of similar subjects, or in a scene where the subject might not be readily seen or noticed, with a gesture of the body. Full definition →

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The story

From point and out. Instead of pointing to a particular thing, the term implies pointing to one particular thing out of several similar things, or to a thing in a scene where it might not be readily seen.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.