Where does “three-pointer” come from?

three-pointer (English) comes from English point, from Middle English point, from Old French point, from Latin pūnctum, from Latin punctus, from Latin -tus, from Proto-Italic -tus, from Proto-Indo-European -tus — Derives action nouns from verb roots.

three-pointer (English): A goal or other means of scoring worth three...

Definitions

  1. A goal or other means of scoring worth three...

Ancestry of “three-pointer”, step by step

three-pointer traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English point

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpointA discrete division of something; A sharp...
2Middle Englishpoint
3Old Frenchpointa sting; a prick; moment; time; dot
4Latinpūnctumpoint
5Latinpunctuspricked, punctured, pierced, having been pricked;...
6Latin-tusForms the past participle of verbs; Forms...
7Proto-Italic-tus
8Proto-Indo-European-tusDerives action nouns from verb roots

via English three

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishthreeA numerical value after two and before four....
2Middle Englishthrethree
3Old Englishþrīthree
4Proto-West Germanicþrīʀthree
5Proto-Germanicþrīzthree
6Proto-Indo-European*tréyes
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tusEvery word from Latin -tusEvery word from Latin punctus