Apoyntement

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An arranged time and place to meet someone ; the act of choosing a person for a job or office ; an agreed settlement or formal decision reached between parties
2. A fixed meeting set in advance with someone ; the naming of a person to a position or public post ; a binding arrangement or ruling agreed upon by parties
3. A prearranged engagement to meet ; the selection of an individual to fill a role or office ; a mutual agreement or formal ordinance that settles a matter

Etymology: "Apoyntement" is Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-Norman and Old French, where "apointement" meant an arrangement or agreement reached between parties. It comes from the verb "apointer," to arrange or set in order, which was built from "a point," meaning "to a point" or into a fixed condition. The idea is of things brought into line and settled, so an agreement, and later a fixed time. The sense of a planned meeting came from that notion of a settled arrangement. Over time the spelling shifted toward "appointment," with the "-ment" ending matching other English nouns of action and result, and the older form survives mainly in historical texts. The shift in meaning from a settled deal to a scheduled encounter is the part that stands out most, since the word's core idea of being fixed in place stayed the same.