point French · revision 17451

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1050 (negation); late 11th century (noun)|origins=la pungō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pwɛ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Quebec): [pwɛ̃ɪ̃]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''point''' ''m'' (plural points)^(Wiktionary)

+ Middle French ''poinct'', spelled after the Latin.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|point]], [[inh|la|pūnctum|t=a prick; a dot; a point]], the neuter of the past participle of [[m|la|pungō|t=to prick]] (see [[poindre]]) used as a noun.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|9, 585a) 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.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ 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.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873) Old Occitan [[m|pro|punh]] is used in the same way.^(Littré 1873)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|punto]], [[ca|punt]], [[es|punto]] and [[pt|ponto]].^(Littré 1873)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==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”.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==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.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) 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).^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ The geometrical point dates from about 1265 (Brunetto Latini).^(TLFi) 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).^(TLFi)^(BHVF) Newer phrases include ''point mort'' (1862, of an engine), ''point noir'' (a blackhead, 1836; a traffic bottleneck, 1966) and ''point chaud'' (1965).^(TLFi) As a negation ''point'' was the stronger, fuller partner of ''pas'' in classical French; it is now literary or rural.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1050 – ''No … point'', the negation.^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * Late 11th century – ''Point'' “prick” in Rashi's glosses.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1165 – ''Point du jour''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1176–1181 – A fixed place, in Chrétien de Troyes.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1225 – A stitch in sewing.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1265 – The point of geometry, in Brunetto Latini.^(TLFi)

+ * 1529 – A ship's position on the chart.^(TLFi)

+ * 1680 – ''Point de côté''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1811 – ''Faire le point'' at sea, in Chateaubriand.^(TLFi)

+ * 1862 – ''Point mort'' in mechanics.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|dot]], a small round mark; the full stop: ''mettre un point''.^(Larousse)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(geometry)'' A point, an element of space without extent.^(Larousse)

+ # A precise place or position: ''point de départ'', ''point de vue''.^(Larousse)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # A moment or stage; a state: ''à ce point'', ''être sur le point de''.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ # An item or question under discussion: ''point par point''.^(TLFi)

+ # A unit of scoring in games, sports and marking.^(Wiktionary)^(BHVF)

+ # A [[m|en|stitch]] in sewing, embroidery or knitting.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # A sharp localized pain: ''point de côté''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # ''(literary)'' Second part of a [[m|en|negation]] with ''ne'', equal to ''pas'': ''Je ne te hais point''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # ''(literary)'' Alone: not at all: ''point du tout''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pointer]]

+ * [[appointer]]

+ * [[embonpoint]]

+ * [[rond-point]]

+ * [[ponctuel]]

+ * [[mal en point]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[poindre]]

+ * [[pointe]]

+ * [[ponctuer]]

+ * [[la|pūnctum]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}