punto Italian · revision 37672

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=12th–13th century|origins=la pungō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈpun.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''punto''' ''m'' (plural punti)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include [[roa-oit|ponto]], used by Iacopone.^(DEI|3151) A Latin record of 1290 has ⟨pontum⟩ for a point in a game.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|punctum|t=small hole; dot; point; moment]], the neuter of the past participle of [[m|la|pungō|t=to prick, sting]] used as a noun.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) DELI calls it a learned word, while Nocentini and Meyer-Lübke count it among the inherited Romance words: [[fr|point]], [[oc|ponch]], [[es|punto]] and [[pt|ponto]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) A Late Latin masculine [[m|la-lat|punctus]] existed beside it.^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ De Vaan traces [[m|la|pungō]] to a nasal present of a root ⟨*pug-⟩ or ⟨*puk-⟩, and compares [[grc|πύξ|tr=púx|t=with the fist]]; [[m|la|pugnus|t=fist]] and [[m|la|pugna|t=fight]] may belong to the same family.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ The negative adverb ⟨punto⟩ “not at all” grew out of the noun, “not even a point”, as [[m|fr|point]] did in French.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Several uses are calques of French: the school mark follows French usage of 1690, and [[fare il punto]], [[punto d'appoggio]] and [[punto d'onore]] follow [[m|fr|faire le point]], [[m|fr|point d'appui]] and [[m|fr|point d'honneur]].^(DELI 1999) For [[punto di vista]], Camilli pointed out that Vignola wrote “il punto della vista” in the literal sense of perspective before 1573, decades before the French theorists, so that France gave back only the figurative sense.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Nocentini dates the noun to the 12th or 13th century.^(Nocentini 2010) DELI's first dated sense is “instant, moment” in Filippo da Messina, in the mid-13th century, and DEI records the word from the 13th century.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|3151)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “precise place” is in Dante before 1321, and “passage of a text or speech” in the ''Commedia'' (1300–1313).^(DELI 1999) The point of geometry appears in Zanobi da Strata before 1364, and the stitch in sewing in Fazio degli Uberti before 1367.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT) The adverb ''punto'' “not at all” is in Boccaccio in 1353 (1325 in Nocentini and GRADIT); in Tuscan it is also an adjective, as in ''non ho punta voglia''.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ Later senses multiplied: a ship's position at sea (1581), a dot or full stop (Lionardo Salviati, 1584), a unit of score in games (1566), a surgical stitch (Benvenuto Cellini, 1558–1571), a school mark (1871) and the printer's point (1908).^(DELI 1999) ''Puntata'', an instalment of a serial, was a bookbinders' word, recorded in 1812.^(DELI 1999) The proverb ''per un punto Martin perse la cappa'' (15th century) has a French counterpart.^(DEI|3151) English took ''punto'' from Italian or Spanish in 1584 for a fine point of behaviour, and later in glassmaking and lacework.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Mid-13th century – Filippo da Messina uses ''punto'' “instant”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante uses it for a passage of a text.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1353 – Boccaccio uses the adverb “not at all”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1364 – Zanobi da Strata uses the geometrical point.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT)

+ * Before 1367 – Fazio degli Uberti uses it for a stitch.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1566 – Lionardo Salviati uses it for a point scored in a game.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1584 – English ''punto'' is first recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1871 – Tommaseo–Bellini records it for a school mark.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(geometry)'' A [[m|en|point]], the basic element without dimensions: ''il punto d'incontro di due rette''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A small round mark, a [[m|en|dot]]; the [[m|en|full stop]] at the end of a sentence: ''Dopo il punto si scrive la maiuscola.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A tiny speck seen from far away: ''La barca era ormai un punto all'orizzonte.''^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # A place, a particular spot: ''Ci vediamo nel solito punto.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # A passage of a text; a question or topic under discussion: ''venire al punto'', to come to the point.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # A moment, a particular stage: ''A quel punto ho deciso di andarmene.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # A degree or level: ''a che punto siamo con i lavori?'' asks how far the work has got.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # A [[m|en|stitch]] in sewing, embroidery or knitting; a surgical stitch.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A unit of score in a game or a ranking; a mark: ''La squadra ha perso due punti in classifica.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A percentage point; a staple; the position of a ship at sea.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # ''(Tuscan, with a negative)'' Not at all: ''Quel film non mi è piaciuto punto.''^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[puntino]]

+ * [[punteggiare]]

+ * [[punteggiatura]]

+ * [[punteggio]]

+ * [[puntata]]

+ * [[appunto]]

+ * [[puntiforme]]

+ * [[puntinismo]]

+ * [[impuntire]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pungere]]

+ * [[punta]]

+ * [[la|punctum]]

+ * [[fr|point]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Punto'' is also the past participle of ''pungere'' “to prick, sting”, recorded as an adjective in Luigi Alamanni in 1548.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) Common phrases include ''di punto in bianco'' “all of a sudden”, ''punto e virgola'' “semicolon”, ''due punti'' “colon”, ''mettere a punto'' “to fine-tune” and ''in punto'' “sharp” (''alle sei in punto'').^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}