# pointing

Pronunciation: say "POYN-ting" /ˈpɔɪntɪŋ/

## Verb

1. Present participle of point. — present participle and gerund of point
   - Simple: Present participle of point. Use this form for an action happening right now.
   - _The guide was pointing out landmarks along the river as we drifted past._
   - _Stop pointing at the screen and tell me what you mean._

## Noun

2. The act of directing attention to something by extending a finger or object toward it.
   - Simple: The act of using a finger or object to show where something is.
   - _Her constant pointing across the room made everyone turn to look._
   - _A quick bit of pointing was enough to send the hikers down the correct trail._
3. The filling of the joints between bricks or stones with mortar.
   - Simple: The job of filling the gaps between bricks or stones with mortar.
   - _Good pointing keeps rain from soaking into the brickwork._
   - _They finished the pointing along the lower courses before the frost arrived._
4. The mortar placed between bricks to fill the gap.
   - Simple: The mortar that fills the gap between bricks.
   - _Weather had eaten away the pointing, leaving deep grooves in the wall._
   - _Fresh pointing gave the old facade a crisp, finished look._
5. The practice or art of supplying a text with punctuation marks.
   - Simple: The act of adding punctuation marks such as commas and periods to a piece of writing.
   - _The editor's light pointing kept the prose flowing without too many commas._
   - _Inconsistent pointing made the manuscript hard to follow._
6. The set of vowel marks added to Hebrew consonantal script to indicate vowels; also called nikud.
   - Simple: The small marks added to Hebrew writing to show the vowel sounds.
   - _Students rely on the pointing until they can read unvocalized text._
   - _The scribe added the pointing only after the consonants were complete._
7. The practice of placing marks in a text, usually a psalm, to show which syllables the chant advances on and where pauses occur.
   - Simple: Adding marks to a psalm or song text to show singers when to change notes and where to pause.
   - _Without consistent pointing, the verses fell apart whenever the choir tried to chant them._
   - _She spent the afternoon on the pointing for next Sunday's canticle._
8. A specific arrangement of the metrical chant marks worked out for one particular psalm or text.
   - Simple: One particular set of chant marks worked out for a single song text.
   - _Our choir adopted the older pointing because the cadences felt more natural._
   - _Two rival pointings of the canticle appear side by side in this edition._
9. A method of copying a sculptor's model into stone by measuring set points on the model and transferring those depths to the marble block.
   - Simple: A way of copying a statue into stone by measuring many points on a model.
   - _The workshop relied on pointing to turn the plaster cast into a marble figure._
   - _Through careful pointing, the carvers reproduced every fold of the original drapery._
10. The removal of the pointed tip of wheat grains during the first stage of high milling.
   - Simple: Rubbing off the pointed end of wheat grains in the first step of milling.
   - _Thorough pointing leaves the kernels clean before they reach the rollers._
   - _The miller checked that pointing had stripped the tips evenly across the batch._

## Origin

Formed from "point" combined with the suffix "-ing".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/pointing (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).