Etymograph

English

poignant

Poignant comes from Middle English poynaunt ‘Sour or acidic to the taste’, from Latin pungō ‘prick’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pewǵ-1‘prick, punch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pungō2‘to prick, sting’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpungō3‘prick’
  4. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400puignant3
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500poynaunt3‘Sour or acidic to the taste’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1590poignant3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *pungō
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin pungo
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English poignant
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book VII: “His siluer shield, now idle maisterlesse; / His poynant…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pewǵ-Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *pungō‘prick, punch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pungōWiktionary, Latin pungo‘to prick, sting’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpungōWiktionary, English poignant‘prick’
  4. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400puignantWiktionary, English poignant
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500poynauntWiktionary, English poignant‘Sour or acidic to the taste’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1590poignantWiktionary, English poignant. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book VII: “His siluer shield, now idle maisterlesse; / His poynant…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- ‘prick, punch’

fuck, fist, pivot, pygmy, repugnant, impugn, pugnacious, 39 more

through Proto-Italic *pungō ‘to prick, sting’

pointe, puncheon, 19 more

through Latin pungō ‘prick’

point, punch, puncture, pungent, punctuate, compunction, punto, pugilist, 20 more

Today it means

adj Sharp-pointed; keen.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “poignant”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Italic *pungō, Latin pungo. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- / poignant

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