English
poignant
Poignant comes from Middle English poynaunt ‘Sour or acidic to the taste’, from Latin pungō ‘prick’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pewǵ-‘prick, punch’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pungō‘to prick, sting’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpungō‘prick’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400puignant
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500poynaunt‘Sour or acidic to the taste’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590poignant
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pewǵ-‘prick, punch’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pungō‘to prick, sting’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpungō‘prick’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400puignant
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500poynaunt‘Sour or acidic to the taste’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590poignant
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book VII: “His siluer shield, now idle maisterlesse; / His poynant…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- ‘prick, punch’
fuck, fist, pivot, pygmy, repugnant, impugn, pugnacious, 39 more
through Proto-Italic *pungō ‘to prick, sting’
through Latin pungō ‘prick’
point, punch, puncture, pungent, punctuate, compunction, punto, pugilist, 20 more
Today it means
adj Sharp-pointed; keen.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- / poignant