poignancy
/ˈpɔɪnjənsi/POYN-yuhn-see
UK form converted from the US by rule · unchecked/ˈpɔɪnjənsi/POYN-yuhn-see
Meaningbeing poignant
Common meaning: the quality of being deeply moving or sad
Tap a word part to explore
- poignto prick, pierceLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1491 · scan
- ancynoun ending: the quality or state of
Journey through time
- Latinpungō, pupugī, pūnctum‘to prick, pierce’
- Englishpoignant‘keenly moving or sad’
- Englishformed in English from poignantpoignancy‘the quality of being deeply moving or sad’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from poignant + -ancy.
Dictionary: Skeat (1898), POIGNANT, p.453 · scan
Roots
- pungō, pupugī, pūnctum Latin “to prick, pierce”
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