Scuttar kirjoitti:
Eli what is a point?
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]
Point \Point\, n.
1. (Med.) A pointed piece of quill or bone covered at one end
with vaccine matter; -- called also vaccine point.
2. One of the raised dots used in certain systems of printing
and writing for the blind. The first practical system was
that devised by Louis Braille in 1829, and still used in
Europe (see Braille). Two modifications of this are
current in the United States:
3. In technical senses:
(a) In various games, a position of a certain player, or,
by extension, the player himself; as: (1) (Lacrosse &
Ice Hockey) The position of the player of each side
who stands a short distance in front of the goal
keeper; also, the player himself. (2) (Baseball) (pl.)
The position of the pitcher and catcher.
(b) (Hunting) A spot to which a straight run is made;
hence, a straight run from point to point; a
cross-country run. [Colloq. Oxf. E. D.]
(c) (Falconry) The perpendicular rising of a hawk over the
place where its prey has gone into cover.
(d) Act of pointing, as of the foot downward in certain
dance positions.
Point \Point\ (point), v. t. & i.
To appoint. [Obs.] --Spenser.
Point \Point\, n. [F. point, and probably also pointe, L.
punctum, puncta, fr. pungere, punctum, to prick. See
Pungent, and cf. Puncto, Puncture.]
1. That which pricks or pierces; the sharp end of anything,
esp. the sharp end of a piercing instrument, as a needle
or a pin.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. The mark made by the end of a sharp, piercing instrument,
as a needle; a prick.
5. 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.
6. An indivisible portion of time; a moment; an instant;
hence, the verge.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. A small matter; a trifle; a least consideration; a
punctilio.
12. (Mus.) A dot or mark used to designate certain tones or
time; as:
(a) (Anc. Mus.) A dot or mark distinguishing or
characterizing certain tones or styles; as, points of
perfection, of augmentation, etc.; hence, a note; a
tune. ``Sound the trumpet -- not a levant, or a
flourish, but a point of war.'' --Sir W. Scott.
(b) (Mod. Mus.) A dot placed at the right hand of a note,
to raise its value, or prolong its time, by one half,
as to make a whole note equal to three half notes, a
half note equal to three quarter notes.
13. (Astron.) 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.
14. (Her.) One of the several different parts of the
escutcheon. See Escutcheon.
15. (Naut.)
(a) 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.
(b) A short piece of cordage used in reefing sails. See
Reef point, under Reef.
16. (Anc. Costume) A a string or lace used to tie together
certain parts of the dress. --Sir W. Scott.
17. Lace wrought the needle; as, point de Venise; Brussels
point. See Point lace, below.
18. pl. (Railways) A switch. [Eng.]
19. An item of private information; a hint; a tip; a pointer.
[Cant, U. S.]
20. (Cricket) A fielder who is stationed on the off side,
about twelve or fifteen yards from, and a little in
advance of, the batsman.
21. The attitude assumed by a pointer dog when he finds game;
as, the dog came to a point. See Pointer.
22. (Type Making) 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.
23. A tyne or snag of an antler.
24. One of the spaces on a backgammon board.
25. (Fencing) A movement executed with the saber or foil; as,
tierce point.
Note: The word point is a general term, much used in the
sciences, particularly in mathematics, mechanics,
perspective, and physics, but generally either in the
geometrical sense, or in that of degree, or condition
of change, and with some accompanying descriptive or
qualifying term, under which, in the vocabulary, the
specific uses are explained; as, boiling point, carbon
point, dry point, freezing point, melting point,
vanishing point, etc.
At point, In point, At, In, or On, the point, as
near as can be; on the verge; about (see About, prep.,
6); as, at the point of death; he was on the point of
speaking. ``In point to fall down.'' --Chaucer. ``Caius
Sidius Geta, at point to have been taken, recovered
himself so valiantly as brought day on his side.''
--Milton.
Dead point. (Mach.) Same as Dead center, under Dead.
Far point (Med.), in ophthalmology, the farthest point at
which objects are seen distinctly. In normal eyes the
nearest point at which objects are seen distinctly; either
with the two eyes together (binocular near point), or with
each eye separately (monocular near point).
Nine points of the law, all but the tenth point; the
greater weight of authority.
On the point. See At point, above.
Point lace, lace wrought with the needle, as distinguished
from that made on the pillow.
Point net, a machine-made lace imitating a kind of Brussels
lace (Brussels ground).
Point of concurrence (Geom.), a point common to two lines,
but not a point of tangency or of intersection, as, for
instance, that in which a cycloid meets its base.
Point of contrary flexure, a point at which a curve changes
its direction of curvature, or at which its convexity and
concavity change sides.
Point of order, in parliamentary practice, a question of
order or propriety under the rules.
Point of sight (Persp.), in a perspective drawing, the
point assumed as that occupied by the eye of the
spectator.
Point of view, the relative position from which anything is
seen or any subject is considered.
Points of the compass (Naut.), the thirty-two points of
division of the compass card in the mariner's compass; the
corresponding points by which the circle of the horizon is
supposed to be divided, of which the four marking the
directions of east, west, north, and south, are called
cardinal points, and the rest are named from their
respective directions, as N. by E., N. N. E., N. E. by N.,
N. E., etc. See Illust. under Compass.
Point paper, paper pricked through so as to form a stencil
for transferring a design.
Point system of type. See under Type.
Singular point (Geom.), a point of a curve which possesses
some property not possessed by points in general on the
curve, as a cusp, a point of inflection, a node, etc.
To carry one's point, to accomplish one's object, as in a
controversy.
To make a point of, to attach special importance to.
To make, or gain, a point, accomplish that which was
proposed; also, to make advance by a step, grade, or
position.
To mark, or score, a point, as in billiards, cricket,
etc., to note down, or to make, a successful hit, run,
etc.
To strain a point, to go beyond the proper limit or rule;
to stretch one's authority or conscience.
Vowel point, in Hebrew, and certain other Eastern and
ancient languages, a mark placed above or below the
consonant, or attached to it, representing the vowel, or
vocal sound, which precedes or follows the consonant.
Point \Point\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pointed; p. pr. & vb. n.
Pointing.] [Cf. F. pointer. See Point, n.]
1. 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.
2. To direct toward an abject; to aim; as, to point a gun at
a wolf, or a cannon at a fort.
3. Hence, to direct the attention or notice of.
4. To supply with punctuation marks; to punctuate; as, to
point a composition.
5. To mark (as Hebrew) with vowel points.
6. To give particular prominence to; to designate in a
special manner; to indicate, as if by pointing; as, the
error was pointed out. --Pope.
7. To indicate or discover by a fixed look, as game.
8. (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.
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.
Point \Point\ (point), v. i.
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. (Med.) 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.
WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]
point
n 1: a geometric element that has position but no extension; "a
point is defined by its coordinates"
2: the precise location of something; a spatially limited
location; "she walked to a point where she could survey
the whole street"
3: a brief version of the essential meaning of something; "get
to the point"; "he missed the point of the joke"; "life
has lost its point"
4: a specific identifiable position in a continuum or series or
especially in a process; "a remarkable degree of
frankness"; "at what stage are the social sciences?" [syn:
degree, level, stage]
5: an isolated fact that is considered separately from the
whole; "several of the details are similar"; "a point of
information" [syn: detail, item]
6: an instant of time; "at that point I had to leave" [syn: point
in time]
7: the object of an activity; "what is the point of discussing
it?"
8: a V shape; "the cannibal's teeth were filed to sharp points"
[syn: tip, peak]
9: a very small circular shape; "a row of points"; "draw lines
between the dots" [syn: dot]
10: the unit of counting in scoring a game or contest; "he
scored 20 points in the first half"; "a touchdown counts
6 points"
11: a promontory extending out into a large body of water; "they
sailed south around the point"
12: a distinct part that can be specified separately in a group
of things that could be enumerated on a list; "he noticed
an item in the New York Times"; "she had several items on
her shopping list"; "the main point on the agenda was
taken up first" [syn: item]
13: a style in speech or writing that arrests attention and has
a penetrating or convincing quality or effect
14: an outstanding characteristic; "his acting was one of the
high points of the movie" [syn: spot]
15: sharp end; "he stuck the point of the knife into a tree";
"he broke the point of his pencil"
16: any of 32 horizontal directions indicated on the card of a
compass; "he checked the point on his compass" [syn: compass
point]
17: a linear unit used to measure the size of type;
approximately 1/72 inch
18: a punctuation mark (.) placed at the end of a declarative
sentence to indicate a full stop or after abbreviations;
"in England they call a period a stop" [syn: period, full
stop, stop, full point]
19: a V-shaped mark at one end of an arrow pointer; "the point
of the arrow was due north" [syn: head]
20: the property of a shape that tapers to a sharp point [syn: pointedness]
[ant: unpointedness]
21: a distinguishing or individuating characteristic; "he knows
my bad points as well as my good points"
22: the gun muzzle's direction; "he held me up at the point of a
gun" [syn: gunpoint]
23: a wall socket [syn: power point]
24: a contact in the distributor; as the rotor turns its
projecting arm contacts distributor points and current
flows to the spark plugs [syn: distributor point, breaker
point]
v 1: indicate a place, direction, person, or thing; either
spatially or figuratively; "I showed the customer the
glove section"; "He pointed to the empty parking space";
"he indicated his opponents" [syn: indicate, show]
2: be oriented; "The weather vane points North" [syn: orient]
3: direct into a position for use; "point a gun"; "He charged
his weapon at me" [syn: charge, level]
4: direct the course; determine the direction of travelling
[syn: steer, maneuver, manoeuver, manoeuvre, direct,
head, guide, channelize, channelise]
5: be a signal for or a symptom of; "These symptoms indicate a
serious illness"; "Her behavior points to a severe
neurosis"; "The economic indicators signal that the euro
is undervalued" [syn: bespeak, betoken, indicate, signal]
6: sail close to the wind [syn: luff]
7: mark (Hebrew words) with diacritics
8: mark with diacritics; "point the letter"
9: mark (a psalm text) to indicate the points at which the
music changes
10: be positionable in a specified manner; "The gun points with
ease"
11: intend (something) to move towards a certain goal; "He aimed
his fists towards his opponent's face"; "criticism
directed at her superior"; "direct your anger towards
others, not towards yourself" [syn: target, aim, place,
direct]
12: give a point to; "The candles are tapered" [syn: sharpen,
taper]
13: repair the joints of bricks; "point a chimney" [syn: repoint]
U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]
Point, TX (city, FIPS 58532)
Location: 32.93013 N, 95.87014 W
Population (1990): 645 (283 housing units)
Area: 7.2 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 75472
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]
point
1. <unit, text> (Sometimes abbreviated "pt") The unit of
length for text characters. There are six slightly
different definitions: Truchet point, Didot point, ATA
point, TeX point, Postscript point, and IN point.
The most commonly used are ATA in the USA and Didot in Europe.
A twip is 1/20 of a PostScript[?] point.
Different point systems
(
http://www.vakcer.com/oberon/dtp/fonts/point.htm).
(2002-03-10)
2. <hardware> To move a pointing device so that the
on-screen pointer is positioned over a certain object on the
screen such as a button in a graphical user interface. In
most window systems it is then necessary to click a
(physical) button on the pointing device to activate or select
the object. In some systems, just pointing to an object is
known as "mouse-over" event which may cause some help text
(called a "tool tip" in Windows) to be displayed.
(2001-05-21)
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