Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “pointe” come from?

Pointe comes from French pointe, from Late Latin puncta, from Latin punctus (past participle of pungere, to prick or pierce), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European pewḱ-.

pointe (English): The tip of the toe; a ballet position executed...

Definitions

  1. The tip of the toe; a ballet position executed...

Ancestry of “pointe”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchpointépast participle of pointer
2Latinpunctanominative feminine singular of pūnctus;...
3Latinpunctuspricked, punctured, pierced, having been pricked;...
4Latin-tusForms the past participle of verbs; Forms...
5Proto-Italic-tus—
6Proto-Indo-European-tusDerives action nouns from verb roots

Words derived from “pointe”

  • pointework
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tus →