Pointer

How to spell pointer

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce pointer

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does pointer mean?

1. nounA piece of practical advice that helps someone do something better.
2. nounA long stick or device used to indicate something on a chart, screen, or map.
3. nounA breed of hunting dog trained to stand rigid and aim its body toward game.
4. nounIn programming, a variable that stores the memory address of another value.

Pointer in a sentence

• The coach gave her a useful pointer on improving her serve.

• She tapped the diagram with a wooden pointer during the lecture.

• Their pointer froze and aimed its nose toward the hidden bird.

• The function returns a pointer to the first element of the array.

• He offered one final pointer before the interview.

• The presenter used a laser pointer to highlight the figures.

Where does pointer come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built straightforwardly on the verb and noun 'point', which entered Middle English from the Old French 'point', itself from the Latin 'punctum', meaning 'a pricked dot' or 'a small mark made by piercing'. That Latin noun came from 'pungere', 'to prick or pierce', the same root that gives us 'puncture' and 'pungent'. By adding the agent suffix '-er', English formed a word for a thing or person that points, a usage that appears from around the seventeenth century. The sense developed naturally in several directions: a rod for indicating things on a chart, a hunting dog that freezes and 'points' its body toward game, and, much later, a figurative 'pointer' meaning a helpful hint that points you in the right direction. Because the spelling keeps the plain root 'point' intact before the regular '-er' ending, it rarely trips writers up.

How the word is built

• point (from Latin punctum: a pricked dot, mark)
• -er (agent/instrument suffix: the thing that points)