poignant

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English poinaunt, also poynaunt and pugnaunt,^[2][3] borrowed from Anglo-Norman poignant and Middle French poignant,^[4] the present participle of poindre (“to prick, sting, pierce”),^{[4][5][6][7][3]} from Latin pungō (“to prick, pierce, sting”).^{[4][5][6][7][8]} In Anglo-Norman and Old French the adjective already meant sharp, pointed, stinging, wounding, piercing and sharp-tasting in the 12th century;^[4][9] the Anglo-Norman Dictionary's earliest record is from 1086, and the OED takes 11th-century surnames such as Puignant as a sign of earlier use.^[9][4] The Latin verb, which could also mean to vex or grieve, is from Proto-Indo-European *peuk- (“to prick”).^[5][7] Etymonline relates it to pugnus (“fist”) and calls the word an etymological double reverse: the order of the n and the g, switched in the Latin verb, was switched back in French.^[5] The OED notes Middle English forms such as peynant, perhaps influenced by peiner (“to pain”).^[4] The word is a doublet of pungent, which comes from the Latin present participle pungēns.^[6][10][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Sharp or pungent to the taste: about 1387–95, in the General Prologue of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, of a cook's sauce that was poynaunt and sharp.^[4][2][6] Etymonline dates the word to the late 14th century.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Chaucer used the word six times, always spelt poynaunt, for sharp tastes and for things that pierce or distress.^[11][2] The sense "painfully sharp to the feelings", of hunger, thirst, an insult or grief, followed about 1390, in the Parson's Tale.^[4][6] Word Origins notes that in the Middle Ages a weapon could also be poignant, sharp-pointed,^[12] a use the OED records from before 1425 to 1695.^[4] From about 1473, in Caxton, words could be poignant, stinging or severe, sometimes pleasantly pointed;^[4][13] by the mid-17th century the word could also mean stimulating to the mind, delightfully piquant.^[4][13] Johnson (1755) put "sharp; stimulating the palate" first, quoting Dryden's "No poignant sauce she knew".^[14] The modern sense, arousing deep emotion, especially sorrow or regret, and now often said of art and literature, is recorded from before 1763.^[4] The taste sense has since passed to pungent, and is now rare.^[12][4][5] The noun poignancy is recorded from before 1688 for the sharpness of words; it was used for keenness of feeling from the 1700s.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1387–95 – sharp or pungent to the taste.^[4][2][6]
• c. 1390 – painfully sharp to the feelings.^[4][6]
• before 1425 – of a weapon, sharp-pointed (obsolete by 1695).^[4]
• c. 1473 – of words, sharp, stinging (obsolete).^[4]
• before 1657 – stimulating to the mind; delightfully piquant.^[4]
• before 1688 – the noun poignancy, sharpness of words.^[6]
• before 1763 – deeply moving, arousing sorrow or regret.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Deeply moving; arousing a keen feeling of sadness or regret: The old letters made a poignant reminder of the war years.^[3][10][4]
2. Painfully sharp to the feelings; keenly felt: a poignant sense of loss.^[3][10][4]
3. Sharp and to the point; cutting or stinging: a poignant remark about the minister.^[10][3][13]
4. Sharply pungent to the taste or smell (now rare).^[10][4][13]
5. (obsolete, before 1425–1695) Of a weapon, sharp-pointed or piercing.^[4][13]

Word family

• poignance
• poignantly
• unpoignant

Related words

• poignancy
• pungent
• point
• puncture
• poniard

Usage notes

The first edition of the OED (1907) gave the pronunciation /ˈpɔɪnənt/; the OED notes that /-nə-/ in the second syllable was usual in dictionaries until the early 20th century, after which American dictionaries added /-njə-/.^[4] Word Origins warns that poniard, a slim dagger often spelt with a g in early texts, is not from this word, but from Latin pugnus (“fist”).^[12]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
7. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
8. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
10. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
11. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
12. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
13. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
14. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.