punctus

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈpuːnk.tus/, [ˈpuːŋkt̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈpunk.tus/, [ˈpuŋkt̪us]

Etymology 1

Perfect passive participle of pungō (“I prick, puncture, punch”).

Alternative forms

• pūnctum (for the noun meaning "point")

Participle

pūnctus (feminine pūncta, neuter pūnctum, adverb pūnctim); first/second-declension participle

1. pricked, punctured, pierced, having been pricked.
2. marked with points; stippled.
3. stung, bitten, pinched, having been affected sensibly.
4. vexed, annoyed, grieved, troubled, disturbed, having been vexed or annoyed.

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	pūnctus	pūncta	pūnctum		pūnctī	pūnctae	pūncta
Genitive	pūnctī	pūnctae	pūnctī		pūnctōrum	pūnctārum	pūnctōrum
Dative	pūnctō		pūnctō		pūnctīs
Accusative	pūnctum	pūnctam	pūnctum		pūnctōs	pūnctās	pūncta
Ablative	pūnctō	pūnctā	pūnctō		pūnctīs
Vocative	pūncte	pūncta	pūnctum		pūnctī	pūnctae	pūncta

Derived terms

Derived terms

• interpūnctus
• pūnctillum
• pūnctiō

• pūnctulum
• pūnctum

Descendants

• Asturian: puntu
• Catalan: punt, punta
• English: point
• French: point, pointe
• Friulian: pont, ponte
• German: Punkt, bunt (possibly)

• Italian: punto, punta
• Occitan: ponch, poncha
• Portuguese: ponto, ponta
• Sicilian: puntu
• Spanish: punto, punta
• Venetian: ponto

Noun

pūnctus m (genitive pūnctī); second declension

1. (Late Latin, New Latin; also mathematics) point

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	pūnctus	pūnctī
Genitive	pūnctī	pūnctōrum
Dative	pūnctō	pūnctīs
Accusative	pūnctum	pūnctōs
Ablative	pūnctō	pūnctīs
Vocative	pūncte	pūnctī

Etymology 2

From pungō +‎ -tus.

Noun

pūnctus m (genitive pūnctūs); fourth declension

1. a pricking, stinging, puncture
2. (dubious) a point
   • Plinius, Historia Naturalis, liber secundus [2], caput LXVIII [68]. In: Caii Plinii Secundi historiae naturalis libri XXXVII. quos interpretatione et notis illustravit Joannes Harduinus. Editio nova emendatior & auctior. Tomus primus, Paris, 1741, p. 107:

     Hae tot portiones terrae, immo vero, ut plures tradidere, ¹⁵mundi punctus: ( neque enim aliud est terra in universo: )

     Notae. [...] 15. Mundi punctus.] Acutum illud est Senecae dictum, lib. I. Natur. quaest. in prooem. pag. 831. Hoc est illud punctum, quod inter tot gentes ferro & igni dividitur. O quam ridiculi sunt mortalium termini, &c.

Usage notes

• (point): In older editions of Plinius' work mundi punctus (with punctus as a 4th declension substantive) appears, while in younger editions it is mundi puncto (with punctum or punctus as 2nd declension substantive), compare Citations:puncto.

Declension

Fourth-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	pūnctus	pūnctūs
Genitive	pūnctūs	pūnctuum
Dative	pūnctuī	pūnctibus
Accusative	pūnctum	pūnctūs
Ablative	pūnctū	pūnctibus
Vocative	pūnctus	pūnctūs

Synonyms

• (a pricking): pūnctiō
• (a point): pūnctum

Descendants

• English: punctus percontativus

Related terms

Related terms

• punctim
• punctiō
• punctiuncula

• punctūra
• pungō

References

• “punctus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• punctus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• punctus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • in an instant: puncto temporis
    
  • to obtain many (few) votes in a century or tribe: multa (pauca) puncta in centuria (tribu) aliqua ferre