different between point vs sign

English

Pronunciation

• (UK, General American) enPR: point, IPA^(key): /p??nt/
• Rhymes: -??nt

Etymology 1

From Middle English point, from Old French point m (“dot; minute amount”), from Latin p?nctum (“a hole punched in; a point, puncture”), substantive use of p?nctus m, perfect passive participle of pung? (“I prick, punch”); alternatively, from Old French pointe f (“sharp tip”), from Latin p?ncta f (past participle). Displaced native Middle English ord (“point”), from Old English ord (“point”). Doublet of pointe, punctum, punt, and punto.

Noun

point (plural points)

1. A discrete division of something.
   1. An individual element in a larger whole; a particular detail, thought, or quality. [from 13th c.]

   2. A particular moment in an event or occurrence; a juncture. [from 13th c.]

   3. (archaic) Condition, state. [from 13th c.]

   4. A topic of discussion or debate; a proposition. [from 14th c.]

   5. A focus of conversation or consideration; the main idea.

   6. A purpose or objective, which makes something meaningful. [from 14th c.]

   7. (obsolete) The smallest quantity of something; a jot, a whit. [14th-17th c.]
   8. (obsolete) A tiny amount of time; a moment. [14th-17th c.]
      • 1599, John Davies, Nosce Teipsum

        When time's first point begun / Made he all souls.|title=Of the Soule of Man and the Immortalitie Thereof

   9. A specific location or place, seen as a spatial position. [from 14th c.]

   10. (mathematics, sciences) A zero-dimensional mathematical object representing a location in one or more dimensions; something considered to have position but no magnitude or direction. [from 14th c.]
   11. A full stop or other terminal punctuation mark. [from 14th c.]
   12. (music) A dot or mark used to designate certain tones or time. In ancient music, it distinguished or characterized certain tones or styles (points of perfection, of augmentation, etc.). In modern music, it is placed on the right of a note to raise its value, or prolong its time, by one half.
   13. (by extension) A note; a tune.
   14. A distinguishing quality or characteristic. [from 15th c.]

   15. (in the plural, dated) The chief or excellent features.

       the points of a horse

   16. Something tiny, as a pinprick; a very small mark. [from 15th c.]

   17. (now only in phrases) A tenth; formerly also a twelfth. [from 17th c.]

   18. Each of the marks or strokes written above letters, especially in Semitic languages, to indicate vowels, stress etc. [from 17th c.]
   19. (sports, video games, board games) A unit of scoring in a game or competition. [from 18th c.]

   20. (mathematics) A decimal point (now especially when reading decimal fractions aloud). [from 18th c.]

   21. (economics) A unit used to express differences in prices of stocks and shares. [from 19th c.]
   22. (typography) a unit of measure equal to 1/12 of a pica, or approximately 1/72 of an inch (exactly 1/72 of an inch in the digital era). [from 19th c.]
   23. (Britain) An electric power socket. [from 20th c.]
   24. (navigation, nautical) A unit of bearing equal to one thirty-second of a circle, i.e. 11.25°.

   25. (Britain) A unit of measure for rain, equal to 0.254 mm or 0.01 of an inch.
2. A sharp extremity.
   1. The sharp tip of an object. [from 14th c.]

   2. Any projecting extremity of an object. [from 14th c.]
   3. An object which has a sharp or tapering tip. [from 14th c.]

   4. (backgammon) Each of the twelve triangular positions in either table of a backgammon board, on which the stones are played. [from 15th c.]
   5. A peninsula or promontory. [from 15th c.]
   6. The position at the front or vanguard of an advancing force. [from 16th c.]
      1. (by extension) An operational or public leadership position in a risky endeavor.
   7. Each of the main directions on a compass, usually considered to be 32 in number; a direction. [from 16th c.]
   8. (nautical) The difference between two points of the compass.

   9. Pointedness of speech or writing; a penetrating or decisive quality of expression. [from 17th c.]
   10. (rail transport, Britain, in the plural) A railroad switch. [from 19th c.]
   11. (usually in the plural) An area of contrasting colour on an animal, especially a dog; a marking. [from 19th c.]

   12. A tine or snag of an antler.
   13. (fencing) A movement executed with the sabre or foil.

3. (heraldry) One of the several different parts of the escutcheon.
4. (nautical) A short piece of cordage used in reefing sails.
5. (historical) A string or lace used to tie together certain garments.
6. Lace worked by the needle.

7. (US, slang, dated) An item of private information; a hint; a tip; a pointer.
8. The attitude assumed by a pointer dog when he finds game.

9. (falconry) The perpendicular rising of a hawk over the place where its prey has gone into cover.
10. The act of pointing, as of the foot downward in certain dance positions.
11. The gesture of extending the index finger in a direction in order to indicate something.
    • 2005, Marc Marschark, Patricia Elizabeth Spencer, Oxford handbook of deaf studies, language, and education

      […] DCDP children are exposed to more points and gesturelike signs in their linguistic environment […]

12. (medicine, obsolete) A vaccine point.
13. In various sports, a position of a certain player, or, by extension, the player occupying that position.
    1. (cricket) A fielding position square of the wicket on the off side, between gully and cover. [from 19th c.]
    2. (lacrosse, ice hockey) The position of the player of each side who stands a short distance in front of the goalkeeper.
    3. (baseball) The position of the pitcher and catcher.
    4. (hunting) A spot to which a straight run is made; hence, a straight run from point to point; a cross-country run.

Synonyms

• (location or place): location, place, position, spot
• (in geometry): ord
• (particular moment in an event or occurrence): moment, ord, time
• (sharp tip): end, ord, tip
• (arithmetic symbol): spot, decimal point (name of the symbol; not used when reading decimal fractions aloud)
• (opinion): opinion, point of view, view, viewpoint
• (unit of measure of success or failure): mark (in a competition)
• (color of extremities of an animal):

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• ? Indonesian: poin
• ? Japanese: ???? (pointo)
• ? Korean: ??? (pointeu)

Translations

See also

• Appendix:Collocations of do, have, make, and take for the use of point with these verbs

References

• point on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Etymology 2

From Middle English pointen, poynten, from Old French pointier, pointer, poynter, from Medieval Latin punctare, p?nctu?re, from Latin p?nctum.

Verb

point (third-person singular simple present points, present participle pointing, simple past and past participle pointed)

1. (intransitive) To extend the index finger in the direction of something in order to show where it is or to draw attention to it.
   • Point at the tattered coat and ragged shoe.

2. (intransitive) To draw attention to something or indicate a direction.

3. (intransitive) To face in a particular direction.
4. (transitive, sometimes figuratively) To direct toward an object; to aim.
   • 1853, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, Parliamentary Papers (volume 11, page 267)

     Mr. Fitzsimons pointed my attention to an outside car on which was written, "Take warning," or something of that kind, and he pointed that out to me, and drew my attention to it, as a thing likely to intimidate […]

5. To give a point to; to sharpen; to cut, forge, grind, or file to an acute end.

6. (intransitive) To indicate a probability of something.
7. (transitive, intransitive, masonry) To repair mortar.
8. (transitive, masonry) To fill up and finish the joints of (a wall), by introducing additional cement or mortar, and bringing it to a smooth surface.
9. (stone-cutting) To cut, as a surface, with a pointed tool.
10. (transitive) To direct or encourage (someone) in a particular direction.
11. (transitive, mathematics) To separate an integer from a decimal with a decimal point.
12. (transitive) To mark with diacritics.
13. (dated) To supply with punctuation marks; to punctuate.

14. (transitive, computing) To direct the central processing unit to seek information at a certain location in memory.
15. (transitive, Internet) To direct requests sent to a domain name to the IP address corresponding to that domain name.
16. (intransitive, nautical) To sail close to the wind.

17. (intransitive, hunting) To indicate the presence of game by a fixed and steady look, as certain hunting dogs do.
    • 1713, John Gay, The Rural Sports

      He treads with caution, and he points with fear.

18. (medicine, of an abscess) To approximate to the surface; to head.
19. (dated) To give point to (something said or done); to give particular prominence or force to.
    • 1924, EM Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin 2005, p. 85:

      ‘Oh, it is the great defect in our Indian character!’ – and, as if to point his criticism, the lights of the Civil Station appeared on a rise to the right.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 3

From Middle English pointen, poynten, by apheresis of apointen, appointen, appoynten. See appoint.

Verb

point (third-person singular simple present points, present participle pointing, simple past and past participle pointed)

1. (obsolete) To appoint.

References

Further reading

• point in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• point in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Pinto, opt in, opt-in, pinot, pinto, piton, potin

Danish

Etymology

From French point, from Latin p?nctum, the neuter of the participle p?nctus (“pointed”). The Latin word is also borrowed to Danish punkt (“dot”) and punktum (“full stop”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [p?o???]

Noun

point

1. a point (in a game)

Declension

See also

• punkt
• pointe
• pointere

Further reading

• “point” in Den Danske Ordbog

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pw??/
• (Quebec) IPA^(key): [pw????]
• Rhymes: -??
• Homophones: poing, poings, points

Etymology 1

From Middle French poinct (with orthography modified to reflect the Latin etymology), from Old French point, from Latin punctum.

Noun

point m (plural points)

1. point (small mark)
2. (sports, games) point
3. full stop, period (punctuation mark)
4. (knitting) stitch pattern

Derived terms

Descendants

• ? Danish: point
• Norwegian Bokmål: poeng

Adverb

point

1. (literary, dialectal, usually with "ne") not

   Synonym: pas (contemporary French)

Related terms

• appointer
• pointe
• poindre
• poignant
• poinçon

Etymology 2

From Old French point, from Latin punctus.

Verb

point m (feminine singular pointe, masculine plural points, feminine plural pointes)

1. past participle of poindre

Etymology 3

From Latin pungit.

Verb

point

1. third-person singular present indicative of poindre

Anagrams

• piton

Further reading

• “point” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Manx

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Verb

point (verbal noun pointeil, past participle pointit)

1. appoint

Mutation

Norman

Etymology

From Old French point, from Latin punctum.

Noun

point m (plural points)

1. (Jersey) full stop, period (punctuation mark)

Derived terms

• point d'excliamâtion (“exclamation mark”)
• point d'tchestchionn'nie (“question mark”)
• point virgule (“semicolon”)

Old French

Etymology 1

From Latin punctum.

Noun

point m (oblique plural poinz or pointz, nominative singular poinz or pointz, nominative plural point)

1. a sting; a prick
2. moment; time
3. (on a die) dot
4. small amount

Adverb

point

1. a little
2. (with ne) not (indicates negation)

Descendants

• Middle French: poinct
  • French: point

Etymology 2

From Latin punctus.

Verb

point

1. past participle of poindre

Descendants

• Dutch: pointeren
• English: point
• Middle French: poinct
  • French: point
    • Norwegian Bokmål: poeng

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pw?nt/

Noun

point f pl

1. genitive plural of pointa

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /?põj?.t??(i)/

Noun

point m (plural points)

1. (Brazil, slang) a location where members of a group usually meet

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /sa?n/
• Homophones: sine, syne
• Rhymes: -a?n

Etymology 1

From Middle English signe, sygne, syng, seine, sine, syne, from Old English se?n (“sign; mark; token”) and Old French signe, seing (“sign; mark; signature”); both from Latin signum (“a mark; sign; token”); root uncertain. Doublet of signum. Partially displaced native token.

Noun

sign (countable and uncountable, plural signs)

1. (sometimes also used uncountably) A perceptible (e.g. visibile) indication.
   • 2000, Geoffrey McGuinness, Carmen McGuinness, How to Increase Your Child's Verbal Intelligence: The Language Wise Method, Yale University Press (?ISBN), page 38:

     The sound of the Orlando dinner train whistle reminds me that it ' s already Friday, an auditory sign. Another auditory sign, a distant thunder clap, warns me of limited computer time before our evening thunderstorm moves in.

2. (Canada, US, Australia, uncountable) Physical evidence left by an animal.

3. A clearly visible object, generally flat, bearing a short message in words or pictures.

4. A wonder; miracle; prodigy.
   • 1611, King James Version, Exodus 4:17:

     And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.

5. (astrology) An astrological sign.

6. (mathematics) Positive or negative polarity, as denoted by the + or - sign.

7. A specific gesture or motion used to communicate by those with speaking or hearing difficulties; now specifically, a linguistic unit in sign language equivalent to word in spoken languages.
   • 2007, Marcel Danesi, The Quest for Meaning:

     In American Sign Language (ASL), for instance, the sign for 'catch' is formed with one hand (in the role of agent) moving across the body (an action) to grasp the forefinger of the other hand (the patient).

8. (uncountable) Sign language in general.

9. A semantic unit, something that conveys meaning or information (e.g. a word of written language); (linguistics, semiotics) a unit consisting of a signifier and a signified concept. (See sign (semiotics).)
   • 1692, Thomas Bennet, Short Introduction of Grammar ... of the Latine Tongue:

     A Noun substantive and a Noun adjective may be thus distinguished, that a substantive may have the sign a or the before it; as, puer, a boy, the boy; but an adjective cannot, as, bonus, good.

   • 1753, Charles Davies, Busby's English Introduction to the Latin Tongue Examined, page 11:

     A Pronoun is a Noun implying a Person, but not admitting the Sign a or the before it.

   • 2008, Eero Tarasti, Robert S. Hatten, A Sounding of Signs: Modalities and Moments in Music, Culture, and Philosophy : Essays in Honor of Eero Tarasti on His 60th Anniversary:

     And some linguistic signs, like “the”, “and” or “with”, may lack apparent objects, though they are clearly meaningful and interpretable.

10. An omen.

11. (medicine) A property of the body that indicates a disease and, unlike a symptom, is unlikely to be noticed by the patient.
12. A military emblem carried on a banner or standard.

    (Can we find and add a quotation of Milton to this entry?)

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English signen, seinen, seinien, partly from Old English se?nian (“to mark; sign”) and partly from Anglo-Norman seigner, seiner et al., Old French signer et al., and their source Latin sign?re (“to mark, seal, indicate, signify”); all from Latin signum (“a mark, sign”); see Etymology 1, above. Compare sain.

Verb

sign (third-person singular simple present signs, present participle signing, simple past and past participle signed)

1. To make a mark
   1. (transitive, now rare) To seal (a document etc.) with an identifying seal or symbol. [from 13th c.]

      The Queen signed her letter with the regal signet.

   2. (transitive) To mark, to put or leave a mark on. [from 14th c.]
      • 1726, Elijah Fenton, The Odyssey of Homer:

        Meantime revolving in his thoughtful mind / The scar, with which his manly knee was sign'd […].

   3. (transitive) To validate or ratify (a document) by writing one's signature on it. [from 15th c.]
      • c. 1597, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice:

        Enquire the Iewes house out, giue him this deed, / And let him signe it […].

   4. (transitive) More generally, to write one's signature on (something) as a means of identification etc. [from 15th c.]

      I forgot to sign that letter to my aunt.

   5. (transitive or reflexive) To write (one's name) as a signature. [from 16th c.]

      Just sign your name at the bottom there.

      I received a letter from some woman who signs herself ‘Mrs Trellis’.

   6. (intransitive) To write one's signature. [from 17th c.]

      Please sign on the dotted line.

   7. (intransitive) To finalise a contractual agreement to work for a given sports team, record label etc. [from 19th c.]
      • 2011, The Guardian, (headline), 18 Oct 2011:

        Agents say Wales back Gavin Henson has signed for Cardiff Blues.

   8. (transitive) To engage (a sports player, musician etc.) in a contract. [from 19th c.]

      It was a great month. I managed to sign three major players.

2. To make the sign of the cross
   1. (transitive) To bless (someone or something) with the sign of the cross; to mark with the sign of the cross. [from 14th c.]

      • We receive this child into the congregation of Christ's flock, and do sign him with the sign of the cross.

      • 1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society 2012, p. 34:

        At the baptismal ceremony the child was […] signed with the cross in holy water.

   2. (reflexive) To cross oneself. [from 15th c.]
      • 1855, Robert Browning, Men and Women:

        Shaking a fist at him with one fierce arm, / Signing himself with the other because of Christ.

3. To indicate
   1. (intransitive) To communicate using a gesture or signal. [from 16th c.]
   2. (transitive) To communicate or make known (a meaning, intention, etc.) by a sign.
   3. (transitive) To communicate using gestures to (someone). [from 16th c.]

      He signed me that I should follow him through the doorway.

   4. (intransitive) To use sign language. [from 19th c.]
   5. (transitive) To furnish (a road etc.) with signs. [from 20th c.]
4. To determine the sign of
   1. (transitive) To calculate or derive whether a quantity has a positive or negative sign.

Derived terms

Related terms

• signal
• signature
• signet
• signify

Translations

Further reading

• sign in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• sign in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• IGNs, Ings, NGIs, Sing, Sing., gins, ings, nigs, sing, sing., snig