Standpoint

How to spell standpoint

10 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce standpoint

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does standpoint mean?

1. nounA particular perspective or attitude from which something is considered or judged.

Standpoint in a sentence

• From a financial standpoint, the merger makes little sense.

• The report examines the policy from an environmental standpoint.

Where does standpoint come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Standpoint is a compound of the everyday words 'stand' and 'point', but it did not arise naturally in English; it is a loan translation of the German Standpunkt, which combines 'stand' (a standing place) with 'Punkt' (point). The German term literally described a physical spot on which one stands to view something, and from there it took on the figurative sense of a mental position or perspective from which a matter is judged. English borrowed the idea in the early nineteenth century, rendering each German part with its native English equivalent rather than importing the foreign word. Because both halves are common Germanic words, the compound feels thoroughly English today, and the spelling is simply the two familiar words joined without a space. The root 'stand' goes back to Old English 'standan', meaning to be upright or to hold a position, the same notion that survives in the figurative 'where you stand' on an issue.

How the word is built

• stand (to take a position)
• point (place/position)