English

point

Point comes from Old French point ‘dot’, from Latin pūnctum ‘a hole punched in; a point’, from pungō ‘to prick’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- ‘to prick, punch’.

Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pewǵ-‘to prick, punch’reconstructed
Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pungō‘to prick, sting’reconstructed
Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpungō‘to prick; to puncture’
Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūnctum‘point; puncture’
Old Frenchc. 842–1400point‘dot’
Middle Englishc. 1150–1500poynt‘small hole’
Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588point

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pewǵ-‘to prick, punch’reconstructed
Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pungō‘to prick, sting’reconstructed
Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpungō‘to prick; to puncture’
Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūnctum‘point; puncture’
Old Frenchc. 842–1400point‘dot’
Middle Englishc. 1150–1500poynt‘small hole’
Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588point

Earliest quotation: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Leaue words & let them feele your lances pointes”.

The story

From Middle English poynt, from Old French point m (‘dot; minute amount’), from Latin pūnctum (‘a hole punched in; a point, puncture’), substantive use of pūnctus m, perfect passive participle of pungō (‘to prick, punch’); alternatively, from Old French pointe f (‘sharp tip’), from Latin pūncta f (past participle), all from Proto-Italic *pungō (‘to sting, prick’).1disputed Scholars disagree here; the competing view is quoted as the source gives it. Mostly displaced native Middle English ord (‘point’), from Old English ord (‘point’).