punctuate

The story

1. Medieval Latin · derived frompūnctus“a point, dot”
2. Medieval Latin · borrowed frompūnctuātus
3. English todaypunctuate

Borrowed from Medieval Latin pūnctuātus, perfect passive participle of pūnctuō (“to mark with points”), from Medieval Latin pūnctus (“a point, dot”), from pungō (“to prick, punch”); see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix). Doublet of punch.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 1675 To add punctuation to.
• from 1848 To add or to interrupt at regular intervals.
• from 1883 To emphasize; to stress.