punt

Etymology 1

From Old English [Term?], from Latin pontō (“Gaulish flat-bottomed boat, pontoon”), from pons (“bridge”); readopted from Middle Low German punte (“ferry boat”) or Middle Dutch ponte (“ferry boat”) of the same origin.

noun

1. (nautical) A pontoon; a narrow shallow boat propelled by a pole.

verb

1. (nautical) To propel a punt or similar craft by means of a pole.
2. Of a fish, to walk along the seafloor using its fins as limbs.

Etymology 2

Possibly a dialectal variant of bunt. Rugby is the origin of the sports usage of the term.

verb

1. To dropkick; to kick something a considerable distance.
   1. (rugby, American football, Australian Rules football, Gaelic football, soccer, transitive, intransitive) To kick a ball dropped from the hands before it hits the ground. (This puts the ball farther from the goal across which the opposing team is attempting to score, so improves the chances of the team punting.)
   2. (soccer) To kick a bouncing ball far and high.
      With five minutes remaining Hennessey was down well to block another Vukcevic shot, while Gunter was smartly in to punt away the dangerous loose ball. September 2, 2011, “Wales 2-1 Montenegro”, in BBC
2. (colloquial, intransitive) To equivocate and delay or put off (answering a question, addressing an issue, etc).
   The briefer reported it had been terminated on orders from Secretary Schlesinger, but attributed this to a sense Shamrock produced little, not to the fact it had been discovered. The NSA briefer punted on whether Fort Meade had been reading Americans' private messages, ... 2014, John Prados, The Family Jewels: The CIA, Secrecy, and Presidential Power, University of Texas Press, page 91
3. To retreat from one's objective; to abandon an effort one still notionally supports.
   Punting: Using svn revert¶ If you decide that you want to throw out your changes and start your edits again (whether this occurs after a conflict or anytime), just revert your changes ca. 2002, Ben Collins-Sussman, Brian W. Fitzpatrick, C. Michael Pilato, “Basic Work Cycle”, in Version Control with Subversion
4. (colloquial, intransitive) To make the best choice from a set of non-ideal alternatives.
5. (colloquial, transitive) To eject; to kick out of a place.
   The user is punted from the channel, and must rejoin to gain access. 2001, Roger A. Grimes, Malicious Mobile Code: Virus Protection for Windows, page 236

noun

1. (rugby, American football, soccer) A kick made by a player who drops the ball and kicks it before it hits the ground.

Etymology 3

Borrowed from French pointe or Spanish punto (“point”). Doublet of point.

noun

1. A point in the game of faro.
2. The act of playing at basset, baccara, faro, etc.
3. A bet or wager.
4. (Australia) Gambling, as a pastime, especially betting on horseraces or the dogs. E.g anyone up for a punt on Randwick?
5. A highly speculative investment or other commitment.
6. A wild guess.
7. An indentation in the base of a wine bottle.
8. (glassblowing) A thin glass rod which is temporarily attached to a larger piece in order to better manipulate the larger piece.

verb

1. To play at basset, baccara, faro, etc.
2. (Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, UK) To stake against the bank, to back a horse, to gamble or take a chance more generally
   Whether you want to gamble on a horse race, bet on which player will score first in a game of football, have a punt on a particular tennis player winning a grand slam event, you are buying a chance, a chance which is measured in terms of probability, ‘the odds’. 2004, John Buglear, “Is it worth the risk? – introducing probability”, in Quantitative methods for business: the A-Z of QM, page 339
   Eriksson's men still worth a punt June 23, 2006, Dan Roebuck, “Eriksson's men still worth a punt”, in The Guardian
   Australians have a reputation for being keen to bet on two flies climbing up a wall and today young ones often take a casual classroom punt November 3, 2009, Sarah Collerton, “Cup punt not child's play”, in ABC News
3. (figurative) To make a highly speculative investment or other commitment, or take a wild guess.

Etymology 4

Borrowed from Irish punt, from Middle English pund.

noun

1. The Irish pound, used as the unit of currency of Ireland until it was replaced by the euro in 2002.