Punta

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of pointed tool or projection, often used in sewing or carpentry
2. A specific traditional dance from the Caribbean, characterized by rhythmic hip movements
3. A geographical term that can refer to a point or promontory, typically along a coast

Etymology: "Punta" is Spanish and Italian for "point," and it reaches back to the Latin verb "pungere," meaning "to prick." Its Latin ancestor "puncta," a past participle of that verb, gave the sense of something sharp and projecting. Mapmakers across Spanish-speaking coasts used the term for a headland that juts out into the sea, which is why place names such as Punta Arenas in Chile and Punta del Este in Uruguay contain it. English "point" comes from the same Latin root, "punctum," which passed into Old French and then English. So the two words are cousins: one entered English through French and kept a general sense of a sharp tip, while the other traveled through Spanish and Italian and became a fixed term for a coastal promontory.

Synonyms: point, tip