811 
P O I 
tion, by comparing Scripture together with Jofephus; 
but they will hardly prove his point. Arbuthnot on Coins. 
Strange point and new ! 
Doftrine which we would know whence learn’d. Milton. 
A note ; a tune : 
You my lord archbifhop, 
Whole white inveftments figure innocence, 
Wherefore do you fo ill tranflate yourfelf 
Into the harlh and boifterous tongue of war f 
Turning your tongue divine 
To a loud trumpet and a point of war. Shakefpeare. 
Condition.—He was a lord ful fat, and in good point. 
Chaucer. —He never faw the queen in better health nor in 
better point. Stuart's Hiji. of Scot. 
Points, in Englilh antiquity, were a neceflary arti¬ 
cle in the drefs, at lead of men; and mention of them 
frequently occurs in the ancient comedies and other old 
books. They were pieces of firing about eight inches in 
length, confiding of three ftrands of cotton yarn, of various 
colours, twifted together, and tagged at both ends with 
bits of tin-plate: their ufe was to tie together the gar¬ 
ments worn on different parts of the body ; particularly 
the breeches, or hofe as they were called: hence the phrafe, 
“ to untrufs a point.” With the leathern doublet or jer¬ 
kin, buttons were introduced, which in time rendered 
points ufelefs. Thefe points continued to be given on 
Afcenfion-day to boys that perambulated the parilhes, 
together with willow wands, as a kind of honoraryrewards, 
though diftinguilhed only by the name of tags, and be¬ 
come ufelefs.—He hath ribbands of all colours; points more 
than all the lawyers can learnedly handle. Shakefpearc .—• 
I am refolved on two points; that if one break the other 
will hold ; or if both break yourgafkins fall. Shakefpeare. 
—King James was wont to fay, that the duke of Buck¬ 
ingham had given him a groom of his bed-chamber, who 
could not trufs his points. Clarendon. 
If your fon have not the day, 
For a filken point I’ll give my barony. Shakefpeare. 
Points, in eledlricity, are tliofe acute terminations of 
bodies which facilitate the paffage of the electrical fluid 
from or to fuch bodies. See the article Electricity, 
vol. vi. p. 4.09, 426-7. 
To POINT, v. a. To Iharpen; to forge or grind to a 
point.—New grind the blunted axe, and point the dart. 
Dry den. 
What help will all my heavenly friends afford, 
When to my break I lift the pointed fword ? Dryden. 
To direct towards an object, by way of forcing it on the 
notice; 
A fixed figure, for the hand of fcorn 
To point his flow unmdving finger at. Shakefpeare. 
To direct the eye or notice.—Whoever fhould be guided 
through his battles by Minerva, and pointed to every 
fcene of them, would fee nothing but fubjets offurprife. 
Pope. —To fliow, as by direting the finger.—It will be¬ 
come us, as rational creatures, to follow the diretion of 
nature, where it leems to point us out the way. Locke. 
—I (hall do juftice to thofe w’ho have difiinguiftied 
themfelves in learning, and point out their beauties. 
Addifon. 
Is not the elder 
By nature pointed out for preference ? Rowe. 
To direct towards a place: as,, The cannon were pointed 
againft the fort. To diftingui(h by ftops or points.— 
Pointed and difiinguiftied as they (the words) ought, the 
fenfe is excellently good, and the conftrudtion plain and 
eafy. Knalclibull’s Annot. of the New Tef. —To appoint_ 
This to be if you do not point any of the lower rooms for 
a dining-place of fervants. Bacon. 
To celebrate the foletr.n bridall cheare 
Twixt Peleus and dame Thetis pointed there. Spencer. 
P O I 
To POINT, v. n. To note with the finger; to force 
upon the notice, by dire&ing the finger towards it. With 
at commonly, foinetimes to, before the thing.—Sometimes 
we ufe one finger only, as in pointing at any thing. Ray 
on the Creation. 
Now muft the world point at poor Catherine, 
And fay, Lo ! there is mad Petruchio’s wife. Shakefpeare. 
To diftinguifli words or fentences by points.—Fond the 
Jews are of their method of pointing. Forbes .—To indi¬ 
cate, as dogs do to fportfmen : 
The fubtle dog fcowers with fagacious nofe. 
Now the warm feent afl’ures the covey near, 
He treads with caution and he points with fear. Gay. 
To fliow diftin&ly.—To point at what time the balance 
of power was molt equally held between their lords and 
commons in Rome, would perhaps admit a controverfy. 
Swift. 
POINT, a townfliip of North America, in Northum- 
berland-county, Pennfylvania ; with 431 inhabitants. 
POINT ABACOU'. See Cape Abacou. 
POINT-BLAN'K, adv. Diredtly : as, An arrow is (hot 
to the poiht-blanc, or white mark.—This boy will carry a 
letter twenty miles as eafy as a cannon will fhoot point- 
blank twelve fcore. Shakefpeare .—The other level point- 
blank at the inventing of caufes and axioms. Bacon .— 
The faculties that were given us for the glory of our 
Maker, are turned point-blank againft the intention of 
them. L’Ejirange. 
Unlefs it be the cannon ball, 
That, fhot i’ the air point-blank upright, 
Was born to that prodigious height, 
That learn’d philofophers maintain 
It ne’er , came back. Hudibrus. 
Point-Blank, in gunnery, denotes the (hot of a gun 
levelled horizontally, without either mounting or finking 
the muzzle of the piece. In (hooting point-blank, the (hot 
or bullet is fuppofed to go direftly forward in a ftraight 
line to the mark; and not to move in a curve, as bombs 
and highly-elevated random-fliots do. When a piece 
(lands upon a level plane, and is laid level, the diftance 
between the piece and the point where the (hot touches 
the ground firft, is called the point-blank range of that 
piece; but, as the fame piece ranges more or lefs, accor¬ 
ding to a greater or lefs charge, the point-blank range is 
taken from that of a piece loaded with fuch a charge as 
is commonly ufed in adlion. It is therefore neceflary 
that thefe ranges of all pieces fhould be known, fince the 
gunner judges from thence what elevation he is to give 
to his pieces, when he is either farther from or nearer to 
the objeft to be fired at; and this he can do pretty nearly 
by fight after confiderable practice. See the article Gun¬ 
nery. vol. ix. p. 112. 
POINT-DEVI'SE, or Device, adv. [In its primary 
fenfe, work performed by the needle; point in the French 
language denoting a flitch, and devife, anything invent¬ 
ed, diipofed, or arranged : point-devife was therefore a 
particular fort of patterned lace worked with the needle; 
and the term point-lace is (till familiar to every female. 
In a fecondary fenfe, point-devife became applicable to 
whatever was.] Uncommonly exadf, or conftrufted with 
the nicety and precifion of ditches made or devifed by the 
needle. Douce s Illuflr. of Shakefpeare .—Every thing 
about you fhould demonftrate a carelefs defolation ; but 
you are rather point-devife in your accoutrements,as loving 
yourfelf, than the lover of another. Shakefpeare.— Men’s 
behaviour fhould be like their apparel, not too ftraight or 
point-devife, but free for exercife. Bacon. 
Thus for the nuptial hour all fitted point-device, 
Some bufied are in decking of the bride. Drayton. 
POINT de GALLE, or Punto de Gallo, a feapert 
town, fituated on the fouth-weft point of Ceylon, and 
reckoned the third in confequence of the towns on the 
ifland, and fecond in affluence. The harbour is good ; 
and. 
\ 
