Where does “punctuation” come from?
Punctuation comes from Medieval Latin punctuatio, derived from Latin punctuo, based on Latin punctum and punctus, the past participle of Latin punctus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European pewḱ-, meaning to prick or pierce.
punctuation (English): A set of symbols and marks which are used to...
Definitions
- A set of symbols and marks which are used to...
Ancestry of “punctuation”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medieval Latin | punctuatio | a marking with points, a writing, agreement |
| 2 | Latin | punctuo | I mark with a point or by pointing; point, prick |
| 3 | Latin | punctus | pricked, punctured, pierced, having been pricked;... |
| 4 | Latin | -tus | Forms the past participle of verbs; Forms... |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | -tus | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -tus | Derives action nouns from verb roots |