Meanings
- historicaluncountablebiologyThe primordial heart in an embryo, appearing as a throbbing point.
The rudiments of the brain, eyes, punctum saliens, spinal cord, six vertebrae, shades of ribs, a dark knob at the cephalic extremity of spine, and an oval expansion at the caudal extremity.
1846, The Lancet London: A Journal of British and Foreign Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics, Physiology, Chemistry, Pharmacology, Public Health and News, page 382 - figurativelyuncountableStarting point, source; gist.
In him we discover the punctum saliens of a principle which is the master spirit of animal and vegetable motion, the ruling power of chemical science, the governing influence of atmospheric composition, the presiding genius of respiration, […]
1830, The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, page 67Synonyms: bowels, sum, brass tacks, core, crux, essence, gist, drift
Synonyms & antonyms
nounStarting point, source; gist.
Origin
- Latinpunctum saliēns“leaping point”
- Englishpunctum saliens
Borrowed from Latin punctum saliēns (“leaping point”), attributed to Volcher Coiter or Ulysses Aldrovandi, after a Latin translation of Aristotle's History of Animals (book 6, part 3).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
punctum saliens. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/punctum%20saliens
“punctum saliens.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/punctum%20saliens. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “punctum saliens,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/punctum%20saliens.
Source: punctum saliens on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.