pointed 
ported bgr vcrtlr:il props or pirn, while the lateral prcs- 
MTM ire cnuiit. rliml.im , ,1 by liultrrssn nud flylim-liut- 
tresars. I '|> MI the rib* rnit shells of masonry ronstltutiiitt 
the vaults 01 rrlli UE, and between those of the pnHMWhlcn 
fall In the cxu-i i..r Unin.hu > . >i tin- imililiiii; tliin inclosing 
wall* are carried up, which walls may !, nud In the most 
perfect example* often are, utmost entirely done awny 
with, giving place to llght-transmittliw screens of colored 
glaw supported by a (lender secondary framework of stone 
and metal. The nae of the pointed arch and vault has the 
advantage over that of the earlier semicircular forms that 
the prraaurei outward are lea* strong and more eully 
counteracted ; and good examples of the style are as care- 
fully studied, and founded upon principle* as scientific 
and proportion! aa inhtle, a> the best Greek work. See 
inr<tirr<a arthttrcturr, under medieval, for an outline of 
(lie history of the style, and Decorated, Flamboyant, I'rr- 
pemKndar, and Tudor for the rharocterliitlr.il of some nf 
its varieties. See also early EnytuA architecture, under 
pointedly (poin'ted-li), ailr. In a pointed man- 
ner, (a) With point or force ; with lively turns of 
thought or expression. 
He often wrote too pointedly for his subject. Uryden. 
() With direct assertion ; with expUcitness ; with direct 
reference to a subject. 
pointedness (poin'ted-nes), n. 1. The state or 
quality of being pointed ; sharpness. 
High, full of rock, mountain, and poinlednet*. 
B. Jutunn, Discoveries. 
2. Kpigrammatical smartness or keenness. 
In this [you] excel him [Horace], that you add pointed- 
ev of thought. Dryden, Ded. of tr. of Juvenal. 
pointel (poin'tel), . [< ME. poyntcl, < OF. 
pointel, F. pointeau, a point, prick, = Sp. puiitcl, 
a glass-blowers' pipe, < ML. *punrtellum, LL. 
punctillum, a little point, dim. of L. punctual, 
a point: see point 1 . Cf. pontil, pontij, etc., and 
pointal.] 1. A point or sharp instrument; es- 
pecially, such an instrument used in writing ; in 
the middle- ages, a style used with ivory tablets 
or for writing on a soft surface, as of wax. 
His fclawc hadde a state tipped with horn, 
A peyrc of tables al of yvory. 
And a poynttl polysshcd fetisly. 
And wroot the names alwey as he stood 
Of alle folk that gaf hym any good. 
Chaucer, Summoner's Talc, 1. 34. 
Take a scharp poiinlel, or a pricke of yren, and peerse 
into the wex that hongith In the mouth of the glas ajens 
the erthe. Book of Quinte Kaence (ed. r'nrnivall), p. 6. 
2. Any sharp-pointed thing resembling a pen- 
cil, as the pistil of a plant. Also pointal. 
It (the basilisk] Is not halfe a foot long, and hath three 
DoinM>((Jalen salth)on the head, or, after Solinus, strakes 
like a Mitre. l*urcha, Pilgrimage, p. 500. 
A breathless ring was formed aliout 
That sudden flower : get round at any risk 
The gold-rough paintel, silver-blazing disk 
O' the lily ! Broirniny, Sordello. 
3. A pavement formed of materials of a loz- 
enge shape, or of squares set diagonally. Imp. 
Diet. Also pointal. 
pointelingt, ailr. See pointlini/. 
point-equation (point 'e-kwi'shon), . An 
equation in point-coordinates, 
pointer (poin'ter), w. [< point 1 + -fr 1 . Cf. F. 
puiiitciir, < ML. punctator, < punctarc, point ; cf . 
8p. puntcro = Pg. ponteiro, < ML. as if *punc- 
tariun,< L. pitnctum, point: see point 1 .] 1. One 
who or that which ]K)ints. Specifically- (a) One of 
the hands of a clock or watch ; the index -hand of a circu- 
lar barometer, anemometer, or the like, (ft) A long taper- 
ing stick used by teachers or lecturers In pointing out 
places on a map, or words, figures, diagrams etc., on a 
blackboard, (e) One of a breed of sportlng-dngs. A point- 
er Is a modified hound, of medium size, differing from the 
setter In being close-haired. When game is scented the 
pointer stands stiffly, with the muzzle raised and stretched 
toward the game, the tall straight out behind, and usually 
one fore foot raised. Most setters are now trained to this 
same action, Instead of to drop before game as formerly. 
Pointers are usually llvcr-coloral, or liver and white, but 
many retain the tan marks of the foxhound, and some are 
black. They are used chiefly for hunting birds, and make 
excellent retrievers. 
Thepointrr is known to have come originally from Spain. 
The Century, XXXI. 1*2. 
(ill pi. With the definite article, the two stars of the con- 
stellation I'rsa Major which guide the eye of the observer 
to the pole-star. 
2. A light pole with a black ball on flu- i ml 
of it, used at the masthead of a whaler when 
the boats are down. .Mary. 3. \anl., one of 
the pieces of timber fixed fore-and-aft, ami 
diagonally inside of a vessel's run or quarter, 
to connect the stern-frame with the after-body. 
Bee counters, 4. Also called make-piece. 4. A 
pointed tool ; especially, one used for cutting, 
graving, boring, and the like: a term common 
to many trades: as, a stone-cutters' pointer; a 
silversmiths' painter. 5. A tool used by brick- 
layers for clearing out the old mortar in point- 
ing brickwork. 6. The lever of a railroad- 
Hwirdi. 7. In printing, the workman who ad- 
sheets by means of the point-holes on a 
4586 
. 8. A hint: an indicution: a point: an 
iii ni of information which may be used with 
advantage: as, poiiitrm in a race or a game. 
[Slang] 
pointer-dog (poin'ter-dog), . Same siKpoiiifi r. 
I (<). 
point-finder (point'fin'der), H. In perq>., an 
instrument employed for determining the van- 
ishing-point in making projections. 
point-hole (point'hol), u. In printing, one of 
the needle-holes made in the margins of paper 
when printed on the first side or in the first 
color. If the sheet Is fltUxl by means of these point- 
holes when printing on the second side or in the second 
color, the second Impression will be in the same position, 
or In exact register. 
-pointic. An adjectival suffix used in mathe- 
matical language. An m-pointic contact is a 
contact consisting in two curves having m con- 
secutive points in common. 
pointil!6 (F. pron. pwan-te-lya'), n. [F., pp. 
of pointiltrr, dot, stipple, < pointc, point, dot: 
MOjjMtef*.] BMJMNMNI work, nnaerjxwnoed 1 . 
pointing (poin'ting), H. [Verbal n. of point 1 , 
'.] 1. The art of indicating the divisions of H 
writing; punctuation. 2. The marks or points 
made, or the system of marks employed, in 
punctuation. 3. The act of removing mortar 
from between the joints of a stone or bnck wall, 
and replacing it with new mortar; also, the 
material with which the joints are refilled. 4. 
In xoilp., the operation of marking off into reg- 
ular spaces by points the surface of a plaster 
or clay model, preliminary to reproducing it in 
marble, as well as the reproduction of these 
points on the marble block. The distances between 
the points being easily measurable, accuracy Is insured. 
Both the Greeks and the Romans pointed the marble 
blocks out of which their sculptures were to be cut. 
Pointing-marks are visible on a head of Alcibiades in the 
Louvre, and at Rome on the colossal statues in the Qui 
rlnal and the Discobolus in the Vatican. 
5. In milling, the first treatment of grain in the 
high-milling process. It consists in rubbing off the 
points of the grain, clipping the brush, and removing the 
germ-end, and is performed either by a machine similar 
to a smut-mill or by millstones set at an appropriate dis- 
tance apart. 
6. In rhantinif, the act, process, or result of 
indicating exactly how the words shall be 
adapted to the music, or of making such an 
adaptation. Since the same melody may be used with 
many different texts, and the same melody and text may 
be variously adapted to each other, pointing becomes an 
Intricate art, if both rhetorical and musical propriety Is 
to be maintained. No method of pointing Is yet recog- 
nized as standard, and the differences between different 
editors are considerable. 
7. The conical softish projection, of a light- 
yellow color, observable in an abscess wnen 
nearly ripe. Thomas, Med. Diet. 8. Nant., 
the operation of tapering the end of a rope and 
covering the tapered portion with the yarns 
that have not been removed for tapering. 
Cross pointing, a peculiar kind of braiding made by 
nsing the outer yams of a rope after it has been tapered. 
The yams arc twisted up Into nettles ; every alternate one 
Is turned up and the intermediate one down ; an upper 
nettle is brought down to the right of its corresponding 
lower one and the lower one Is laid up, all round the rope ; 
then what are now the upper nettles are brought down to 
the left of the lower ones, and so on. Flat-Joint point- 
ing, the operation of filling the joints of masonry evenly 
with mortar, and of marking them with a trowel Tuck- 
Joint pointing, the operation of finishing the Joint* of 
masonry with nnc mortar, left projecting slightly, and 
formed to parallel edges ; tuck-polntlng. 
pointinglyt (poin'ting-li), nrff. Pointedly; 
perspicuously. B. Jonson, Volpone, Ued. 
pointing-machine (poin'ting-ma-shen'), n. 1. 
A machine for cutting something (as a picket, 
a peg, a match, etc.) to a point. 2. A ma- 
chine for finishing the ends of pins, nails, etc. 
3. A machine or, more properly , an apparatus 
used by sculptors in the production of stone or 
marble copies of clay models, to locate accu- 
rately any point in the copy of the modeled 
figure. It consists of a round standard a, and three 
round crow-bars 6, c. d, made adjustable by means of 
the slldlng-crosses and set screws t. I, m. On 6 are two 
adjustable stocks , I, with steel points, and at h 1s a 
third point rigidly attached to ,1 In the clay model, or 
more usually. In a plaster cast of it, are fixed small metal 
socket plates , t. r, each with a small countersink or 
socket. To these three points the standard Is adjusted, 
the axis of the standard being, when applied to i t r. 
always eotneldsnt with the Intersection of two tiled 
planes. To the stone to be cut three socket-platcs if, f, ? 
are fixed In such positions that the points will exactly 
tit their countersinks. The cross-bar c being adjustable 
virtually on the standard. Its axis may In madr to coin- 
cide with any third plane of projection cutting at right 
angles the two fixed vertical planes Intersoclini; in th.- 
axis of the standard. On e Is another cross-bar r, with an 
adjnitable universal-motion sliding cross n, and tot is also 
attached at p a socket holding a bar/ that also carries at 
q * friction-spring holder for the pointer g, the sliding 
poise 
motion of which in the holder Is limited by the stop o. 
Suppose the instrument to be set on the socket- plates, and 
flu |H. inter y arranged to just touch the tip of the cat's 
\ 
Pointing-machine. 
tail in the model. It Is then applied to the stone, and If 
It does not simultaneously touch the bottoms of all the 
sockets when the point of n touches the stone, the latter 
Is cut carefully away till , t, and r all bed home in their 
sockets and the point of .-/ just touches the bottom of 
the cut Other points In the surface are located similarly 
as guides for the cutting, and Intel-mediate points are lo- 
cated ax the cutting proceeds. The instrument is also 
used to test the accuracy of the work as it progresses, and 
remarkable fidelity In the copy U attainable by Its use. 
4. A machine for preparing printed sheets for 
cutting. 
pointing-Stock (poin'ting-stok), n. An object 
of scandal or scorn. Compare lauijliintj-stock. 
I, his forlorn duchess, 
Was made a wonder and a pointinu-stoclc 
To every idle rascal follower. 
Shalt., 2 Hen. VI., II. 4. 48. 
point-lace (point'las), n. See tare. 
pointless (point'les), a. [< point + -Jem.] 1. 
Having no point; terminating squarely or in 
a rounded end. 
After the procession folowed therleof Northumberlande 
with a imiitUrn* sword naked. Hall, Rich. III., an. 2. 
An arrow with a pointltft head will fly further than a 
pointed one. M. and W. Thompson, Archery, p. 34. 
2. Without point or force: as, a poiiitlemi joke. 
O'er the protracted feast the suitors sit, 
And aim to wound the prince with pnintlem wit 
Fenton, in Pope's Odyssey, xx. 
3. In hot., same as niitticous. 
pointleted (point'let-ed), a. [< ixin< + -let + 
-e<F-.] In bot., having a small distinct point; 
apiculate. 
pointlingt, ailr. \_A\aopointf lin</; ME. poyntc- 
lyiif/r; < point + -/iw^'A] With the point di- 
rected forward. 
He myght wel see a spere grete and longe that came 
streyghte upon hym payntflyngc. 
Morte a' Arthur, II. 165. (Aarw.) 
pointmentt, . [By apheresis for appoin tment.] 
Appointment; arrangement. 
Two kynges mo were in his poynttmtnt, 
With the nowmber of knyghtes accordeng. 
Qentrydet(E. E. T. 3.), 1. 2178. 
To this pnynttneiit euery man was agreed, and on the 
Monday in the mornyng Sir Johan Bouchyer and his com- 
pany came to the house. 
Bernrrt, tr. of Frolssart's Chron. , II. xlx. 
He made poyntment to come to my house this daye. 
Udall, Flowers, fol. 45. 
point-pair (point'par), n. A degenerate conic 
consisting of two coincident straight lines con- 
nected by two points. It may also be considered as 
two points, the line between them being a bltangent. The 
two conceptions are equally legitimate. 
point-paper (point'pa'per), n. Pricked paper 
used for copying or transferring designs. K. 
H. Knit/lit. 
ppintrel (poin'trel), n. [Cf. pointel.] A grav- 
ing-tool. R. H. KnigJit. 
pointsman (points 'man), .; pi. pointsman 
(-men). A man who has charge of the points 
or switches on a railway; a switchman. [Eng.] 
Hast thou ne'er seen rough pnittlmnrn spy 
Some simple English phrase "With care" 
Or "This slue uppermost" and cry 
Like children 1 No? No more hare I. 
r x Calerrley, Thoughts at a Railway .Station. 
point-sphere ( point 'sfer), n. A point consid- 
ered as an infinitesimal sphere. 
point-tool (point'tol), n. In turnintj, aflat tool 
having a V-shaped point. 
pointy (poin'ti), n. [< point + -i/'.J Well- 
put ; pithy; full of point. [Slang.] 
ppise (poiz), r. : pret. and pp. poixcel, ppr. ;<i.- 
/</. [Formerly also /</'.-/, prim: / i *. 
. ;,(-<, /iili/ni'; < M K. /HII-III, 
jxiyacn, < OF. poiser, peiser, F. 
\HII\I. 
IK i.ii n, pcysen 
