point of departure

plural points of departure

1. figurativelyformalA starting point, either a physical place or the initial idea or fact from which a discussion, journey, project, or analysis begins.

   Its point of departure is the view that conceptions of agency are […]

   set of presumptions in a line of thought, a theory, Felix Berenskoetter, “Anxiety, Time, and Agency”, in Forthcoming in International Theory, Cambridge University Press, →DOI, retrieved 01 Feb 2021

   2 more examples

   […] so “going back to the way things were” is not a useful point of departure.

   state of affairs, viewpoints at the beginning of rounds of negotiations or discussions in general 2021 January 17, Kathija Yassim, “An experiment in what school could be”, in Mail & Guardian, retrieved 01 Feb 2021

   […] choosing to be childfree was a huge point of departure from my community […]

   separation from a mindset 2021 January 26, Nayomi Munaweera, “What Kamala Harris means to women who are childfree by choice”, in Vox, retrieved 01 Feb 2021

2. medicineA dosage level at which additional administration of an agent significantly loses its efficacy.

   In toxicology, point of departure (POD) is defined as the point on a toxicological dose-response curve […] generally corresponding to an estimated low effect level or no effect level.

   2017 April 6, “What Is Point of Departure (POD) and How to Use It to Calculate Toxicological Reference Dose (RfD)”, in ChemSafetyPro^(https://www.chemsafetypro.com/Topics/CRA/What_is_Point_of_Departure_(POD)_in_Toxicology_and_How_to_Use_It_to_Calculate_Reference_Dose_RfD.html), retrieved 01 Feb 2021

   Synonyms: reference point

3. lifestyleSynonym of starting point.

   […] the point of departure is Hong Kong International Airport.

   2021 January 23, 刘强, “Greater Bay Airlines applies to HKSAR for routes”, in China.org.cn, retrieved 01 Feb 2021

   Synonyms: starting point