"point" in seven languages
Meaningpoint
Spanish
punto
/ˈpunto/
masc.inherited
Also the full stop: punto y seguido, punto final.
French
point
/pwɛ̃/
masc.inherited
Italian
punto
/ˈpunto/
masc.inherited
Portuguese
ponto
/ˈpõtu/
masc.inherited
Romanian
punct
/punkt/
neut.learned
Catalan
punt
/pun/
masc.inherited
English
point
/pɔɪnt/
from Latin/French · Old French point
English → ItalianpointpuntoCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
PUNCTUM‘a prick, a dot (from PUNGERE 'to prick')’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
A point was a pinprick. After n, Spanish and Italian simply dropped the c of ct (punto, like santo from SANCTUM); in French it left a trace in the i of point and saint.
English relatives: punctual, puncture, punctuation, pungent
Sound laws at work
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In a sentence
- esEl punto de encuentro es la estación.
- frLe point de rendez-vous est la gare.
- itIl punto d'incontro è la stazione.
- ptO ponto de encontro é a estação.
- roPunctul de întâlnire e gara.
- caEl punt de trobada és l'estació.
- enThe meeting point is the station.