Point

(point.) [Fr., from L. punctum, a puncture, a small hole.] That which pricks, penetrates, or pierces, as the sharp or acute end of any piercing instrument or body, as of a needle, a pin, an awl, a thorn, a bayonet, .-(Geog.) A small cape, headland, or promontory; a tract of land extending into the sea, a lake, or river, beyond the shore-line, and becoming narrow at the end; as, Montauk Point. (Ast.) A certain place marked in the heavens, or distinguished for its importance in astronomical calculations. The four principal points or divisions of the horizon, viz., the east, west, north, and south, are called the cardinal points. The zenith and nadir are the vertical points; the points where the orbits of the planets cut the plane of the ecliptic are called the nodes; the points where the equator and ecliptic intersect are called the equinoctial points that whence the sun ascends towards the north pole being called the vernal point; and that by which he descends to the south pole, the autumnal point. The points of the ecliptic, where the sun's ascent above the equator, and descent below it, terminate, are called the solstitial points.-(Geom.) As defined by Euclid, a point is a quantity which has no parts, or which is indivisible. Points are the ends or extremities of lines. If a point be supposed to be moved any way, it will, by its motion, describe a line. - (Gram.) A character used to mark a division of writing, or the pause to be observed in reading or speaking; as the comma (,), semicolon (;), colon (:), and period (.); also the points of interrogation (?) and admiration (!).- Pointing, the art of dividing a discourse, by points, into periods and members of periods, in order to show the proper pauses to be made in reading. (Her.) A part of the escutcheon denoting the local position ofa figure.-(Mus.) Adot placed after a note to raise its value or prolong its time one-half, so as to make a semibreve equal to three minims, a minim equal to three crotchets, . A note of this kind is usually called a dotted note. When a point is placed over a note, it is called staccato (q. v.). (Optics.) A term variously applied with reference to the rays of light: thus, the point of dispersion is that in which the rays begin to diverge; the point of incidence, that point upon the surface of a gla , or any body, on which a ray of light falls; point of reflection, the point from which a ray is reflected; point of refraction, that point in the refracting surface where the refraction is effected.(Lit.) A lively turn of expre ion that strikes with agreeable surprise, such as is usually found or expre ed at the close of an epigram. [s. 718]