Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “point” come from?

point (Middle English) comes 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.

Ancestry of “point”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchpointa sting; a prick; moment; time; dot
2Latinpūnctum—
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 “point”

  • point
  • points
  • pointing
  • standpoint
  • viewpoint
  • pointer
  • pointless
  • endpoint
  • pinpoint
  • counterpoint
  • midpoint
  • checkpoint
  • breakpoint
  • pointy
  • counterpane
  • gunpoint
  • ballpoint
  • multipoint
  • nonpoint
  • flashpoint
  • waypoint
  • needlepoint
  • pointcut
  • setpoint
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tus →