Wordwyrt

pointer

/ˈpɔɪntə/POYN-tur
/ˈpɔɪntɚ/POYN-tur

Meaninga thing that points

Common meaning: a needle or stick that points

Other meanings: a tip; a hunting dog

Journey through time

  1. Latinpunctum‘a point’source
  2. Frenchpointsource
  3. Middle Englishpointsource
  4. Englishpoint‘a sharp tip’
  5. Englishformed in English from pointpointer‘a needle or stick that points’ · 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 point + -er.

Dictionary: Skeat (1898), POINT, p.453 · scan

Source words

  • punctum Latin · source word “a point”

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