Etymograph

English

pointel

Pointel comes from Latin punctillum ‘a little point’, from pungō ‘to prick’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pewǵ-1‘to prick, poke, stab’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pungō1‘to prick, sting’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpungō1‘to prick’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūnctus1
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpunctum1‘point’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpunctillum2‘a little point’
  7. Englishtodaypointel2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin punctillum
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English pointel

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pewǵ-Wiktionary, Latin punctillum‘to prick, poke, stab’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pungōWiktionary, Latin punctillum‘to prick, sting’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpungōWiktionary, Latin punctillum‘to prick’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūnctusWiktionary, Latin punctillum
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpunctumWiktionary, Latin punctillum‘point’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpunctillumWiktionary, English pointel‘a little point’
  7. EnglishtodaypointelWiktionary, English pointel

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- ‘to prick, poke, stab’

fuck, fist, pivot, repugnant, pygmy, pugnacious, impugn, 40 more

through Latin pungō ‘to prick’

poignant, pungent, compunction, pugilist, puncheon, 19 more

through Latin pūnctus

punch, punctuation, puncture, punctual, punctuate, 9 more

through Latin punctum ‘point’

punto, 12 more

Today it means

noun A sharp instrument; any sharp-pointed thing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “pointel”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin punctillum. 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- / pointel

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