pointer

Etymology

It is formed from English point + -er, partly from the verb and partly from the noun.^[2][3][4] The verb and the noun point come ultimately from Latin pungō (“to prick, pierce”).^[5] An earlier poyntour, apparently a tiler, occurs in a Latin document of about 1346 from Lincoln,^[2] and Etymonline finds it as a surname from the early 13th century.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A maker of tagged points or laces for fastening clothes: 1500, in the records of the borough of Nottingham.^[2] Merriam-Webster also dates the first use to 1500,^[4] and Dictionary.com to 1490–1500.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The sense "a person or thing that points or indicates" is recorded from 1534,^[2] and Etymonline dates "thing that points" to the 1570s.^[5] It was soon applied to the two stars of the Plough that point to the Pole Star (1567), the hand of a clock or dial (1596) and a teacher's rod (1658).^[2] The gun dog that stands rigid with its muzzle towards the game is recorded from 1718, in Prior,^[2] or 1717 according to Etymonline;^[5] Johnson (1755) gave both "any thing that points" and "a dog that points out the game to sportsmen".^[7] The figurative sense "a hint, a piece of advice" is recorded by 1883,^[5] and the English Dialect Dictionary found it in Donegal and in American and Canadian use.^[8] In computing a pointer was first a value giving the address of data in memory (1963), and since 1971 also the arrow moved about on a screen.^[2] In slang it has meant the penis (1763), and in Australia and New Zealand a cardsharp (1853) and a loafer (1894).^[9]

Timeline

• 1500 – a maker of tagged laces (obsolete by 1658).^[2]
• 1534 – a person or thing that points or indicates.^[2]
• 1567 – the Pointers, two stars of the Plough.^[2]
• 1596 – the hand or indicator of a clock or instrument.^[2]
• 1658 – a rod used by a teacher or lecturer.^[2]
• 1718 – a gun dog that points at game.^[2][5]
• 1883 – a hint, a piece of advice.^[5]
• 1963 – computing, the address of data in memory.^[2]
• 1971 – computing, an arrow on a screen.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person or thing that points or indicates.^[10][2][11]
2. A needle or hand that shows a reading on a dial or measuring instrument.^[10][11][2]
3. A long stick, or a beam of light, used to point to things on a chart, map or board: a laser pointer.^[10][11][2]
4. A gun dog of a breed that stands still with its muzzle pointed towards game it has scented.^[10][11][2]
5. A helpful piece of advice; a hint or tip: She gave the new driver a few pointers about the route.^[10][12][6]
6. In computing, a symbol such as an arrow that is moved on a screen to select things.^[2][12]
7. In computing, a value or variable giving the address of data in memory.^[2][12]
8. Pointers: two stars of the Plough that point towards the Pole Star.^[2][10]

Word family

• three-pointer

Related words

• point
• pungent
• punctuate

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
9. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
10. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
11. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
12. ^ a b c Barber, Katherine, ed. (2004), The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, 2nd ed., Toronto: Oxford University Press