punctus

English

Etymology

From Medieval Latin punctus (“punctuation mark”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈpʌŋktəs/

Noun

punctus

  1. (palaeography) The basic dot (‧) used to end a sentence in medieval punctuation (ancestral to the full stop/period).
    • 1993, Malcolm Beckwith Parkes, Pause and Effect‎[1], Plates and Commentaries, page 197:
      In the sacerdotal prayers in col. a the punctuation is by punctus flexus, punctus elevatus and punctus.
    • 2011 July 22, Tadao Kudouchi, edited by Akio Oizumi and Jacek Fisiak, English Historical Linguistics and Philology in Japan‎[2], De Gruyter, →ISBN, page 172:
      The most common item of punctuation was the punctus or point.
    • 2015 August 31, “Medieval Manuscripts”, in Albrecht Classen, editor, Handbook of Medieval Culture‎[3], volume 2, De Gruyter, →ISBN, page 1015:
      Curiously, the punctus versus was largely replaced with a punctus by ca.1100.

See also

Latin

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

    Perfect passive participle of pungō (“to prick, puncture, punch”).

    Participle

    pūnctus (feminine pūncta, neuter pūnctum, adverb pūnctim); first/second-declension participle

    1. pricked, punctured, pierced, having been pricked.
    2. marked with points; stippled.
    3. stung, bitten, pinched, having been affected sensibly.
    4. vexed, annoyed, grieved, troubled, disturbed, having been vexed or annoyed.
    Declension

    First/second-declension adjective.

    singular plural
    masculine feminine neuter masculine feminine neuter
    nominative pūnctus pūncta pūnctum pūnctī pūnctae pūncta
    genitive pūnctī pūnctae pūnctī pūnctōrum pūnctārum pūnctōrum
    dative pūnctō pūnctae pūnctō pūnctīs
    accusative pūnctum pūnctam pūnctum pūnctōs pūnctās pūncta
    ablative pūnctō pūnctā pūnctō pūnctīs
    vocative pūncte pūncta pūnctum pūnctī pūnctae pūncta
    Derived terms
    Descendants

    Noun

    pūnctus m (genitive pūnctī); second declension

    1. (Late Latin, New Latin; also mathematics) point
      Alternative form: pūnctum n
    Declension

    Second-declension noun.

    singular plural
    nominative pūnctus pūnctī
    genitive pūnctī pūnctōrum
    dative pūnctō pūnctīs
    accusative pūnctum pūnctōs
    ablative pūnctō pūnctīs
    vocative pūncte pūnctī

    Etymology 2

    Etymology tree
    Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ-
    Proto-Indo-European *-né-
    Proto-Indo-European *-ti
    Proto-Indo-European *punéǵti
    Proto-Italic *pungō
    Latin pungō
    Proto-Indo-European *-tus
    Proto-Italic *-tus
    Latin -tus
    Latin pūnctus

      From pungō + -tus.

      Noun

      pūnctus m (genitive pūnctūs); fourth declension

      2. a pricking, stinging, puncture
      3. (dubious) a point
        • Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia 2.68, Jean Hardouin, editor, Caii Plinii Secundi historiae naturalis libri XXXVII […], volume 1, published 1741, Paris, p. 107:
          Hae tot portiones terrae, immo vero, ut plures tradidere, 15mundi punctus: ( neque enim aliud est terra in universo: )
          Notae. [...] 15. Mundi punctus.] Acutum illud est Senecae dictum, lib. I. Natur. quaest. in prooem. pag. 831. Hoc est illud punctum, quod inter tot gentes ferro & igni dividitur. O quam ridiculi sunt mortalium termini, &c.
      4. (Medieval Latin) punctuation mark
      Usage notes
      • (point): In older editions of Pliny mundi punctus (with punctus as a 4th-declension noun) appears, while in more recent editions it is mundi puncto (with punctum or punctus as 2nd-declension noun); compare Citations:puncto.
      Declension

      Fourth-declension noun.

      singular plural
      nominative pūnctus pūnctūs
      genitive pūnctūs pūnctuum
      dative pūnctuī pūnctibus
      accusative pūnctum pūnctūs
      ablative pūnctū pūnctibus
      vocative pūnctus pūnctūs
      Synonyms
      Descendants

      References

      • “punctus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
      • "punctus", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
      • “punctus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
      • Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎[4], London: Macmillan and Co.
        • in an instant: puncto temporis
        • to obtain many (few) votes in a century or tribe: multa (pauca) puncta in centuria (tribu) aliqua ferre
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