point

Etymology 1

From Middle English point, from Old French point m (“dot; minute amount”), from Latin pūnctum (“a hole punched in; a point, puncture”), substantive use of pūnctus m, perfect passive participle of pungō (“I prick, punch”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- (“prick, punch”)); alternatively, from Old French pointe f (“sharp tip”), from Latin pūncta f (past participle). Displaced native Middle English ord (“point”), from Old English ord (“point”). Doublet of pointe, punctum, punt, and punto.

noun

1. A discrete division of something.
   1. An individual element in a larger whole; a particular detail, thought, or quality.
      The Congress debated the finer points of the bill.
   2. A particular moment in an event or occurrence; a juncture.
      There comes a point in a marathon when some people give up.
      At this point in the meeting, I'd like to propose a new item for the agenda.
   3. (archaic) Condition, state.
      She was not feeling in good point.
   4. A topic of discussion or debate; a proposition.
      I made the point that we all had an interest to protect.
   5. A focus of conversation or consideration; the main idea.
      The point is that we should stay together, whatever happens.
   6. A purpose or objective, which makes something meaningful.
      Since the decision has already been made, I see little point in further discussion.
      We're all gonna die What's the point in life What's the point in life if we all die? 2023, “What's the Point in Life”, performed by Coach Party
   7. (obsolete) The smallest quantity of something; a jot, a whit.
      full large of limbe and euery ioint / He was, and cared not for God or man a point. 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.ii
   8. (obsolete) A tiny amount of time; a moment.
      1599, John Davies, Nosce Teipsum When time's first point begun / Made he all souls.|title=Of the Soule of Man and the Immortalitie Thereof
   9. A specific location or place, seen as a spatial position.
      We should meet at a pre-arranged point.
   10. (mathematics, sciences) A zero-dimensional mathematical object representing a location in one or more dimensions; something considered to have position but no magnitude or direction.
   11. A full stop or other terminal punctuation mark.
       Commas and points they set exactly right. 1735, Alexander Pope, The Prologue to the Satires
   12. (music) A dot or mark used to designate certain tones or time. In ancient music, it distinguished or characterized certain tones or styles (points of perfection, of augmentation, etc.). In modern music, it is placed on the right of a note to raise its value, or prolong its time, by one half.
   13. (by extension) A note; a tune.
   14. A distinguishing quality or characteristic.
       Logic isn't my strong point.
   15. (in the plural, dated) The chief or excellent features.
       the points of a horse
       Knowledge was always useful, and he had frequently heard the words 'Great Portland Street' on the lips of his son, who regularly perused all the twelve automobilistic papers, and who was apparently the most learned pundit and inclusive encyclopædia ever created on the subject of petrol-driven vehicles, their prices, and their innumerable points. 1931, Arnold Bennett, The Night Visitor and Other Stories, page 290
   16. Something tiny, as a pinprick; a very small mark.
       The stars showed as tiny points of yellow light.
   17. (now only in phrases) A tenth; formerly also a twelfth.
       Possession is nine points of the law.
   18. Short for percentage point.
       We have yet to touch on the idea of stars and directors receiving gross points, which is a percentage of the studio's gross dollar (e.g., the $5.00 studio share of the total box office dollar in Table 4.1). Even if the points are paid on "first dollar," the reference is only to studio share. 2013, Louise Levison, Filmmakers and Financing: Business Plans for Independents, page 67
   19. Each of the marks or strokes written above letters, especially in Semitic languages, to indicate vowels, stress etc.
   20. (sports, video games, board games) A unit of scoring in a game or competition.
       The one with the most points will win the game
   21. (mathematics) A decimal point (now especially when reading decimal fractions aloud).
       10.5 is "ten point five", or ten and a half.
   22. (economics) A unit used to express differences in prices of stocks and shares.
   23. (typography) a unit of measure equal to 1/12 of a pica, or approximately 1/72 of an inch (exactly 1/72 of an inch in the digital era).
   24. (UK) An electric power socket.
   25. (navigation, nautical) A unit of bearing equal to one thirty-second of a circle, i.e. 11.25°.
       Ship ahoy, three points off the starboard bow!
   26. (UK) A unit of measure for rain, equal to 0.254 mm or 0.01 of an inch.
   27. (automotive, chiefly in the plural) Either of the two metal surfaces in a distributor which close or open to allow or prevent the flow of current through the ignition coil. There is usually a moving point, pushed by the distributor cam, and a fixed point, and they are built together as a unit.
2. A sharp extremity.
   1. The sharp tip of an object.
      Cut the skin with the point of the knife.
   2. Any projecting extremity of an object.
   3. An object which has a sharp or tapering tip.
      His cowboy belt was studded with points.
      1. (archaeology) A spearhead or similar object hafted to a handle.
         Solutrean points resemble the canines of the sabre-toothed cats. 2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History
   4. (backgammon) Each of the twelve triangular positions in either table of a backgammon board, on which the stones are played.
   5. A peninsula or promontory.
   6. The position at the front or vanguard of an advancing force.
      1. (by extension) An operational or public leadership position in a risky endeavor.
         "When do we pull the trigger?" he asked. I was quick to respond, "If Tammy get's Mrs. Wellington to agree, she'll call you in a couple hours. Then just pull out all stops. Tammy has point on this, I don't want to hear from you unless it's an all clear." 2013, Erik Schubach, Music of the Soul, volume 1
         The president’s senior policy adviser, Stephen Miller, has been point on immigration policy. July 2, 2018, Paul Winfree, “Trump’s economic agenda is unfocused. Here’s how to fix it.”, in Washington Post
         He captained Regis High School’s 1958 squad, but now runs point on infectious diseases. July 23, 2020, Gabe Lacques, “Dr. Anthony Fauci throws first pitch at Nationals-Yankees MLB opener”, in USA TODAY
         Instead of one point-person taking all the parents’ questions, WPSD has “put together coaches and ambassadors to handle calls so one person doesn’t have to handle 2,500 calls,” Woolf said. August 11, 2020, Michelle Karas, “Woodland Park School District plans for Aug. 25 reopening with multiple learning options”, in Pikes Peak Courier
   7. Each of the main directions on a compass, usually considered to be 32 in number; a direction.
   8. (nautical) The difference between two points of the compass.
      to fall off a point
   9. Pointedness of speech or writing; a penetrating or decisive quality of expression.
      There was moreover a hint of the duchess in the infinite point with which, as she felt, she exclaimed: "And this is what you call coming often?" 1897, Henry James, What Maisie Knew
      I told him about everything I could think of; and what I couldn't think of he did. He asked about six questions during my yarn, but every question had a point to it. At the end he bowed and thanked me once more. As a thanker he was main-truck high; I never see anybody so polite. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 4, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
   10. (rail transport, UK, in the plural) A railroad switch.
   11. (usually in the plural) An area of contrasting colour on an animal, especially a dog; a marking.
       The point color of that cat was a deep, rich sable.
   12. A tine or snag of an antler.
   13. (fencing) A movement executed with the sabre or foil.
       tierce point
3. (heraldry) One of the "corners" of the escutcheon: the base (bottom center) unless a qualifier is added (point dexter, point dexter base, point sinister, point sinister base), generally when separately tinctured. (Compare terrace, point champaine, enté en point.) .]]
4. (heraldry, by extension) An ordinary similar to a pile (but sometimes shorter), extending upward from the base. (Often termed a point pointed.)
   The point, according to Edmondson, (meaning the point pointed,) is an ordinary somewhat resembling the pile, issuing from the base, as in Plate VII. fig. 24, and is sometimes termed a base point pointed, but the word base is superfluous, as that is the proper place of the point;[…] 1828, William Berry, Encyclopaedia Heraldica Or Complete Dictionary of Heraldry
5. (nautical) A short piece of cordage used in reefing sails.
6. (historical) A string or lace used to tie together certain garments.
7. Lace worked by the needle.
   point de Venise; Brussels point
8. (US, slang, dated) An item of private information; a hint; a tip; a pointer.
9. The attitude assumed by a pointer dog when he finds game.
   The dog came to a point.
10. (falconry) The perpendicular rising of a hawk over the place where its prey has gone into cover.
11. The act of pointing, as of the foot downward in certain dance positions.
12. The gesture of extending the index finger in a direction in order to indicate something.
    […] DCDP children are exposed to more points and gesturelike signs in their linguistic environment […] 2005, Marc Marschark, Patricia Elizabeth Spencer, Oxford handbook of deaf studies, language, and education
13. (medicine, obsolete) A vaccine point.
14. Short for point man.
15. In various sports, a position of a certain player, or, by extension, the player occupying that position.
    1. (cricket) A fielding position square of the wicket on the off side, between gully and cover.
    2. (lacrosse, ice hockey) The position of the player of each side who stands a short distance in front of the goalkeeper.
    3. (baseball) The position of the pitcher and catcher.
    4. (hunting) A spot to which a straight run is made; hence, a straight run from point to point; a cross-country run.

Etymology 2

From Middle English pointen, poynten, from Old French pointier, pointer, poynter, from point from Latin pūnctum.

verb

1. (intransitive) To extend the index finger in the direction of something in order to show where it is or to draw attention to it.
   Luiz struggled with the movement of Helguson in the box, as he collected a long ball and the Spaniard barged him over, leaving referee Chris Foy little option but to point to the spot. October 23, 2011, Becky Ashton, “QPR 1 - 0 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport
   It's rude to point at other people.
2. (intransitive) To draw attention to something or indicate a direction.
   In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way. 2013-06-07, Ed Pilkington, “‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 6
   The arrow of a compass points north
   The skis were pointing uphill.
   The arrow on the map points towards the entrance
3. (intransitive) To face in a particular direction.
4. (transitive, sometimes figurative) To direct toward an object; to aim.
   to point a gun at a wolf, or a cannon at a fort
   Mr. Fitzsimons pointed my attention to an outside car on which was written, "Take warning," or something of that kind, and he pointed that out to me, and drew my attention to it, as a thing likely to intimidate […] 1853, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, Parliamentary Papers, volume 11, page 267
5. To give a point to; to sharpen; to cut, forge, grind, or file to an acute end.
   to point a dart, a pencil, or (figuratively) a moral
6. (intransitive) To indicate a probability of something.
   Tens of thousands of Portuguese, Greek and Irish people have left their homelands this year, many heading for the southern hemisphere. Anecdotal evidence points to the same happening in Spain and Italy. December 21, 2011, Helen Pidd, “Europeans migrate south as continent drifts deeper into crisis”, in the Guardian
7. (transitive, intransitive, masonry) To repair mortar.
8. (transitive, masonry) To fill up and finish the joints of (a wall), by introducing additional cement or mortar, and bringing it to a smooth surface.
9. (stone-cutting) To cut, as a surface, with a pointed tool.
   Damaged stone will be removed, and the new stone installed and pointed to ensure a comprehensive match to maintain the integrity of the structure. May 20 2020, Philip Haigh, “Ribblehead: at the heart of the S&C's survival and its revival: Ribblehead Viaduct repairs”, in Rail, page 27
10. (transitive) To direct or encourage (someone) in a particular direction.
    If he asks for food, point him toward the refrigerator.
11. (transitive, mathematics) To separate an integer from a decimal with a decimal point.
12. (transitive) To mark with diacritics.
13. (dated) To supply with punctuation marks; to punctuate.
    to point a composition
14. (transitive, computing) To direct the central processing unit to seek information at a certain location in memory.
15. (transitive, Internet) To direct requests sent to a domain name to the IP address corresponding to that domain name.
16. (intransitive, nautical) To sail close to the wind.
    Bear off a little, we're pointing.
17. (intransitive, hunting) To indicate the presence of game by a fixed and steady look, as certain hunting dogs do.
    He treads with caution, and he points with fear. 1713, John Gay, The Rural Sports
18. (medicine, of an abscess) To approximate to the surface; to head.
19. (dated) To give point to (something said or done); to give particular prominence or force to.
    ‘Oh, it is the great defect in our Indian character!’ – and, as if to point his criticism, the lights of the Civil Station appeared on a rise to the right. 1924, EM Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin, published 2005, page 85

Etymology 3

From Middle English pointen, poynten, by apheresis of apointen, appointen, appoynten. See appoint.

verb

1. (obsolete) To appoint.