Etymologically
Log in

point

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 14:03. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pwɛ̃/[1]
  • IPA (Quebec): [pwɛ̃ɪ̃][1]

Forms

point m (plural points)[1] Middle French poinct, spelled after the Latin.[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French point, inherited from Latin pūnctum (“a prick; a dot; a point”), the neuter of the past participle of pungō (“to prick”) (see poindre) used as a noun.[2][3][4][5] In Latin “pūnctum” had already moved from “prick” to the hole it makes, a punctuation mark, a small spot, a very short moment, a vote (from the dots marked beside each name), a throw at dice and the geometrical point.[3][6]

As the second part of a negation, “ne … point”, it is the noun used of a tiny quantity in “point de” “a scrap of”, then felt as a helper of “ne”; this use is peculiar to Gallo-Romance and appears in French about 1050.[7][4][8] Old Occitan punh is used in the same way.[8]

Cognate with Italian punto, Catalan punt, Spanish punto and Portuguese ponto.[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The negation no … point is found about 1050; the noun first appears at the end of the 11th century in the glosses of Rashi, meaning “a prick, a puncture”.[7][2]

Semantic evolution

The sense “prick” has faded, but it lives on in sewing (about 1225), in surgery (stitches, about 1240), in embroidery (1352) and tapestry (1583), and in the sharp pain of a point de côté (1680), now understood as a pain felt at one spot.[2][3] From the 12th century the word also meant a fixed place (1176–1181, Chrétien de Troyes), a moment (point du jour, about 1165) and a state or situation, whence à point (about 1275), sur le point de (about 1260) and à point nommé (1547).[2][7]

The geometrical point dates from about 1265 (Brunetto Latini).[2] At sea it was a ship's position on the chart (1529), and faire le point (1811, Chateaubriand) later came to mean “to take stock” (1931).[2][10] Newer phrases include point mort (1862, of an engine), point noir (a blackhead, 1836; a traffic bottleneck, 1966) and point chaud (1965).[2] As a negation point was the stronger, fuller partner of pas in classical French; it is now literary or rural.[11][12]

Timeline

  • c. 1050 – No … point, the negation.[7]
  • Late 11th century – Point “prick” in Rashi's glosses.[2]
  • c. 1165 – Point du jour.[2]
  • 1176–1181 – A fixed place, in Chrétien de Troyes.[2]
  • c. 1225 – A stitch in sewing.[2]
  • c. 1265 – The point of geometry, in Brunetto Latini.[2]
  • 1529 – A ship's position on the chart.[2]
  • 1680 – Point de côté.[2]
  • 1811 – Faire le point at sea, in Chateaubriand.[2]
  • 1862 – Point mort in mechanics.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A dot, a small round mark; the full stop: mettre un point.[12][1]
  2. (geometry) A point, an element of space without extent.[12]
  3. A precise place or position: point de départ, point de vue.[12][11]
  4. A moment or stage; a state: à ce point, être sur le point de.[2][7]
  5. An item or question under discussion: point par point.[2]
  6. A unit of scoring in games, sports and marking.[1][10]
  7. A stitch in sewing, embroidery or knitting.[1][2]
  8. A sharp localized pain: point de côté.[2]

Adverb

  1. (literary) Second part of a negation with ne, equal to pas: Je ne te hais point.[11][12]
  2. (literary) Alone: not at all: point du tout.[11][12]

Word family

  • pointer
  • appointer
  • embonpoint
  • rond-point
  • ponctuel
  • mal en point

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 585a
  6. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  11. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  12. ^ a b c d e f Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)