POINT

To appoint. [Obs.] Spenser.

That which pricks or pierces; the sharp end of anything, esp. the sharp end of a piercing instrument, as a needle or a pin.

An instrument which pricks or pierces, as a sort of needle used by engravers, etchers, lace workers, and others; also, a pointed cutting tool, as a stone cutter's point; -- called also pointer.

Anything which tapers to a sharp, well-defined termination. Specifically: A small promontory or cape; a tract of land extending into the water beyond the common shore line.

The mark made by the end of a sharp, piercing instrument, as a needle; a prick.

An indefinitely small space; a mere spot indicated or supposed. Specifically: (Geom.) That which has neither parts nor magnitude; that which has position, but has neither length, breadth, nor thickness, -- sometimes conceived of as the limit of a line; that by the motion of which a line is conceived to be produced.

An indivisible portion of time; a moment; an instant; hence, the verge. When time's first point begun Made he all souls. Sir J. Davies.

A mark of punctuation; a character used to mark the divisions of a composition, or the pauses to be observed in reading, or to point off groups of figures, etc.; a stop, as a comma, a semicolon, and esp. a period; hence, figuratively, an end, or conclusion. And there a point, for ended is my tale. Chaucer. Commas and points they set exactly right. Pope.

Whatever serves to mark progress, rank, or relative position, or to indicate a transition from one state or position to another, degree; step; stage; hence, position or condition attained; as, a point of elevation, or of depression; the stock fell off five points; he won by tenpoints. "A point of precedence." Selden. "Creeping on from point to point." Tennyson. A lord full fat and in good point. Chaucer.

That which arrests attention, or indicates qualities or character; a salient feature; a characteristic; a peculiarity; hence, a particular; an item; a detail; as, the good or bad points of a man, a horse, a book, a story, etc. He told him, point for point, in short and plain. Chaucer. In point of religion and in point of honor. Bacon. Shalt thou dispute With Him the points of liberty Milton.

Hence, the most prominent or important feature, as of an argument, discourse, etc.; the essential matter; esp., the proposition to be established; as, the point of an anecdote. "Here lies the point." Shak. They will hardly prove his point. Arbuthnot.

A small matter; a trifle; a least consideration; a punctilio. This fellow doth not stand upon points. Shak. [He] cared not for God or man a point. Spenser.

A dot or mark used to designate certain tones or time; as:

A fixed conventional place for reference, or zero of reckoning, in the heavens, usually the intersection of two or more great circles of the sphere, and named specifically in each case according to the position intended; as, the equinoctial points; the solstitial points; the nodal points; vertical points, etc. See Equinoctial Nodal.

One of the several different parts of the escutcheon. See Escutcheon.

One of the points of the compass (see Points of the compass, below); also, the difference between two points of the compass; as, to fall off a point.

A short piece of cordage used in reefing sails. See Reef point, under Reef.

A a string or lace used to tie together certain parts of the dress. Sir W. Scott.

Lace wrought the needle; as, point de Venise; Brussels point. See Point lace, below.

A switch. [Eng.]

An item of private information; a hint; a tip; a pointer. [Cant, U. S.]

A fielder who is stationed on the off side, about twelve or fifteen yards from, and a little in advance of, the batsman.

The attitude assumed by a pointer dog when he finds game; as, the dog came to a point. See Pointer.

A standard unit of measure for the size of type bodies, being one twelfth of the thickness of pica type. See Point system of type, under Type.

A tyne or snag of an antler.

One of the spaces on a backgammon board.

A movement executed with the saber or foil; as, tierce point.

To give a point to; to sharpen; to cut, forge, grind, or file to an acute end; as, to point a dart, or a pencil. Used also figuratively; as, to point a moral.

To direct toward an abject; to aim; as, to point a gun at a wolf, or a cannon at a fort.

Hence, to direct the attention or notice of. Whosoever should be guided through his battles by Minerva, and pointed to every scene of them. Pope.

To supply with punctuation marks; to punctuate; as, to point a composition.

To mark (as Hebrew) with vowel points.

To give particular prominence to; to designate in a special manner; to indicate, as if by pointing; as, the error was pointed out. Pope. He points it, however, by no deviation from his straightforward manner of speech. Dickens.

To indicate or discover by a fixed look, as game.

To fill up and finish the joints of (a wall), by introducing additional cement or mortar, and bringing it to a smooth surface.

To cut, as a surface, with a pointed tool. To point a rope (Naut.), to taper and neatly finish off the end by interweaving the nettles. -- To point a sail (Naut.), to affix points through the eyelet holes of the reefs. -- To point off, to divide into periods or groups, or to separate, by pointing, as figures. -- To point the yards (of a vessel) (Naut.), to brace them so that the wind shall strike the sails obliquely. Totten.

To direct the point of something, as of a finger, for the purpose of designating an object, and attracting attention to it; -- with at. Now must the world point at poor Katharine. Shak. Point at the tattered coat and ragged shoe. Dryden.

To indicate the presence of game by fixed and steady look, as certain hunting dogs do. He treads with caution, and he points with fear. Gay.

To approximate to the surface; to head; -- said of an abscess. To point at, to treat with scorn or contempt by pointing or directing attention to. -- To point well (Naut.), to sail close to the wind; -- said of a vessel.