Point

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /pɔɪnt/

Definitions

1. A specific location in space, a particular moment in time, or the essential meaning of something being communicated
2. A precise spot in physical space, a distinct moment in chronological order, or the fundamental idea conveyed in a discussion
3. A certain location within a defined area, a key instant in time, or the central concept being expressed in communication

Etymology: The noun "point" has a surprisingly tangled ancestry. Its deepest source is the Latin "pungere," meaning "to prick" or "to sting," whose past participle "punctum" gave us a hole punched in something, and then, by extension, a tiny mark or a sharp tip. Old French turned this into "point," meaning a dot or a minute amount, and English borrowed it in the Middle Ages. Yet English already had its own word for the same idea, the Old English "ord," meaning a point or tip, and "point" gradually displaced it, so the sharpness of a pinprick ended up in the everyday word for a location or an idea. The verb has a different path. Middle English "poynten" came from Old French "pointier," which was built on the same Latin root. Its meaning of aiming or directing a thing toward something, as in pointing a finger, grew naturally out of the sense of a sharp tip being aimed at a target.

Synonyms: tip, dot, mark, punctuation, signal

Antonyms: whole, entirety, mass