Where does “flashpoint” come from?
Flashpoint comes from English point, which derives from Middle English flasshen and flasken, tracing back to Latin punctus, the past participle of pungere meaning to prick or pierce.
flashpoint (English): The lowest temperature at which a liquid can form...
Definitions
- The lowest temperature at which a liquid can form...
Ancestry of “flashpoint”, step by step
flashpoint traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English point
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | point | A discrete division of something; A sharp... |
| 2 | Middle English | point | — |
| 3 | Old French | point | a sting; a prick; moment; time; dot |
| 4 | Latin | pūnctum | point |
| 5 | Latin | punctus | pricked, punctured, pierced, having been pricked;... |
| 6 | Latin | -tus | Forms the past participle of verbs; Forms... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -tus | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -tus | Derives action nouns from verb roots |