pointern.
/ˈpɔɪntə/, U.S. /ˈpɔɪn(t)ər/ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > tailoring or making clothes > making other clothing > [noun] > making other items of clothing > one who makes other items of clothing
wimpler1260
paltock-maker1376
wimplester1379
point-maker1405
girdler1428
silk-maid1474
pointer1500
middlemana1525
jack-maker1541
paste-wife1550
silkman1553
body-maker1573
linen-armourer1603
bodice-maker1672
costumier1798
costumer1830
costumist1842
rober1852
stock-maker1858
tie-maker1901
1500 in W. H. Stevenson Rec. Borough Nottingham (1885) III. 72 Ricardi Byrch, poynter.
1520 R. Whittington Uulgaria sig. D.vv In the townes ende, be pynners, poynters,..dyers, tanners.
1567 T. Harding Reioindre to M. Iewels Replie against Masse 32 It is more meete for Pinners, Pointers, and Nailesellers, to spende their tyme about telling, and making such accomptes.
1609 in Digby Myst. (1882) p. xxii Hatters, Poynters, Girdlers.
1658 J. Eliot Poems 15 His Haberdasher joyning with the Pointer Hath trust him up in his old mothers Joynter.
2. † d. Surveying = station pointer n. at station n. Compounds 2. Obsolete. rare.† e. Whaling. An indicator carried at the top of one of the masts of a whaling ship to guide boats towards whales. Obsolete.
a. A person who or thing which points or indicates, as with a finger, etc. Also with out (cf. to point out 1 at point v.1 Phrasal verbs).The sense of quot. a1625 is uncertain.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > hand gesture > [noun] > finger gesture > pointing > one who
pointer1534
1534 N. Udall Floures for Latine Spekynge gathered oute of Terence f. 184v This myn helper, and counseylour, and leader or poynter of the waye is aboue me, or better than I in this poynt.
a1625 J. Fletcher Pilgrim iii. iii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ggggg4v/2 Do'st thou heare Boy; thou pointer.
1663 E. Waterhouse Fortescutus Illustratus 535 When the Student has..laboured hard at the little Books together with the Register, which I take to be the best pointer out of original Lawes.
1848 Flash Lang. in Ladies' Repository Oct. 316/2 Pointer, one who shows thieves to the police.
1897 W. E. Roth Ethnol. Stud. N.-W.-Central Queensland Aborigines xi. 156 In all cases while the death bone is being ‘pointed’, the blood of the victim passes invisibly across the intervening space to the ‘pointer’.
1928 G. A. Coe Motives of Men xxx. 253 Attitudes are..leanings ‘towards’, and hence pointers-out of a direction and possibly a goal.
1973 W. Percy Lanterns on Levee Introd. p. xi For most of us, the communication of beauty takes two, the teacher and the hearer, the pointer and the looker.
2003 Sunday Mercury (Birmingham) (Nexis) 31 Aug. 19 It was quick and I could power myself away from the many gawpers, pointers and teasing gesticulations the Streetka attracted.
b. The hand or indicator of a clock, balance, dial, or other instrument.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > part(s) of
nut1428
peise1428
plumbc1450
Jack1498
clockwork1516
larum1542
Jack of the clockhouse1563
watch-wheel1568
work1570
plummeta1578
Jack of the clock1581
snail-cam1591
snail-work1591
pointer1596
quarter jack1604
mainspring1605
winder1606
notch-wheel1611
fusee1622
count-wheel1647
jack-wheel1647
frame1658
arbor1659
balance1660
fuse1674
hour-figure1675
stop1675
pallet1676
regulator1676
cock1678
movement1678
detent1688
savage1690
clock1696
pinwheel1696
starred wheel1696
swing-wheel1696
warning-wheel1696
watch1696
watch-part1696
hoop-wheel1704
hour-wheel1704
snail1714
step-wheel1714
tide-work1739
train1751
crutch1753
cannon pinion1764
rising board1769
remontoire1774
escapement1779
clock jack1784
locking plate1786
scapement1789
motion work1795
anchor escapement1798
scape1798
star-wheel1798
recoil escapement1800
recoiling pallet1801
recoiling scapement1801
cannon1802
hammer-tail1805
recoiling escapement1805
bottle jack1810
renovating spring1812
quarter-boy1815
pin tooth1817
solar wheel1819
impulse-teeth1825
pendulum wheel1825
pallet arbor1826
rewinder1826
rack hook1829
snail-wheel1831
quarter bell1832
tow1834
star pulley1836
watch train1838
clock train1843
raising-piece1843
wheelwork1843
gravity escapement1850
jumper1850
vertical escapement1850
time train1853
pin pallet1860
spade1862
dead well1867
stop-work1869
ringer1873
strike-or-silent1875
warning-piece1875
guard-pin1879
pendulum cock1881
warning-lever1881
beat-pin1883
fusee-piece1884
fusee-snail1884
shutter1884
tourbillion1884
tumbler1884
virgule1884
foliot1899
grasshopper1899
grasshopper escapement1899
trunk1899
pin lever1908
clock spring1933
society > communication > indication > pointing out > [noun] > one who or that which > on a dial or other measuring instrument
index1594
pointer1596
needle1869
1596 J. Blagrave Astrolabium Vranicum i. sig. B1 This Astrolabe hath three generall partes, that is to say, the Celestiall, the Zenitfer with his Cursor, and the Alimicantifer with his Pointer.
1667 R. Hooke in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 2 544 The distance of the Object-glass from the Pointers.
1672 in J. Barmby Churchwardens' Accts. Pittington (1888) 338 For putting on the pointer of the clocke, 6d.
1766 A. Birks & J. Birks Arithm. Coll. & Improvem. ii. i. 264 A clock hath two hands or pointers; the first..goes round once in 12 hours; the second..once in an hour.
1774 M. Mackenzie Treat. Maritim Surv. 37 The Pointer of the Vernier.
1834 J. Todd Lect. Childr. i. 3 You hear it tick and see the pointers move.
1894 S. R. Bottone Electr. Instr. Making (ed. 6) 119 A small pointer..is to be lightly glued to the top of the pivot at right angles to the needle below.
1933 Flight 1 June 524 A pointer on a simple instrument showed him any deviation from the landing beam.
1954 V. F. Lenzen Causality Natural Sci. iii. 38 One may read the position of a pointer on a scale.
2004 Evening Gaz. (Middlesbrough) (Nexis) 7 Feb. 12 It's hoped a team of clock experts will turn up and put the pointers right again.
c. A rod used (esp. by a teacher or lecturer) to point to something on a blackboard, map, diagram, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > teaching > means of teaching > [noun] > teaching aids > specific
abacusa1387
fescue1513
wand1589
feasetraw1595
pointer1658
sandboard1817
letter card1819
object chart1866
teaching specimen1881
realia1894
filmstrip1896
visual aid1911
flash card1923
flannelgraph1944
teaching machine1958
manipulative1965
kit1968
1658 J. Spencer in C. H. Spurgeon Treasury of David (1886) VII. 177 God's rod is as the schoolmaster's pointer to the child, pointing out the letter.
1874 Times 10 Sept. 5/6 A pupil teacher..was seen..to strike deceased on the left side of the head, some said with a pointer, others with a cane, and others with his fist.
1909 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Avonlea iv. 39 I shall never have a switch in my school, Mr. Harrison. Of course, I shall have to have a pointer, but I shall use it for pointing only.
1934 S. Tretiakov Chinese Test. 29 The teacher's pointer marked the first hieroglyphic.
1991 High Life (Brit. Airways) May 46/3 After dropping his notes, his glasses and his pointer he delivered a presentation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > earth sciences > geography > map-making > surveying > [noun] > surveying instruments > for finding observer's position
station pointer1774
station finder1853
pointer1875
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 1758/2 Pointer, a graduated circle with one fixed and two adjustable radial legs.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > whaling and seal-hunting > whaling > whaling equipment > [noun] > device to check progress of whale
drogue1726
pointer1877
1877 W. H. Macy There she Blows! 143 The extended ‘pointer’ (a light pole with a black ball on the end of it, to be used at the masthead, when the boats are down) told us that the whale was off the ship's lee bow.
1887 G. B. Goode Fisheries U.S.: Hist. & Methods II. 258 (note) In right whaling, a pointer..is often used. The pointer is a large basket or frame of wood covered with canvas and painted black, placed at the end of a 12 foot pole, used at mast-head and pointed in the direction of the whale.
f. Computing. A numerical representation of the address in memory of a piece of data, esp. as part of a composite data type.
ΘΚΠ
society > computing and information technology > programming language > program or code > [noun] > address > type of
absolute address1951
relative address1951
symbolic address1953
base address1958
indirect address1959
pointer1963
direct address1964
immediate address1964
vector address1975
referrer1995
1963 P. M. Sherman Programming & coding Digital Computers viii. 152 These index registers point to the locations in memory; hence they are called pointers when so used.
1973 C. W. Gear Introd. Computer Sci. vii. 278 It is assumed that the first word can be used to store..a pointer if the doublet is used for an access table entry.
1980 C. S. French Computer Sci. x. 53 We regard each word in our sentence as a data-item or datum which is linked to the next datum by a pointer.
1993 Byte Dec. 213/1 The autoincrement..operator advances the virtual pointer from the current to the next directory entry.
2000 W. Hopmann in R. Rojas & U. Hashagen First Computers iii. 313 It was the first computer to have a hardware stack pointer and stack registers.
g. Computing. Esp. in a graphical user interface: an arrow or other symbol on a screen display which can be moved (using an appropriate input device) to select a graphical object on which an operation is to be performed. Also more fully mouse pointer (when the input device is a mouse). Cf. pointing device n. at pointing n.1 Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1971 I. W. Cotton Request for Comments (Network Working Group) (Electronic text) No. 7118. 7 Pointing devices such as light pens and tablets may be simulated by associating particular keys with screen directions (up, down, right, left) and using them to position a pointer on the screen face.
1984 PC (Nexis) 12 June 264 You ‘pick up’ the icon with the mouse pointer and transport into the main screen area above the other icons.
1990 Micro Decision Feb. 66/3 Instead of selecting a command from a menu, the user can position a mouse pointer over an ‘icon’, and press the mouse button to start the relevant process.
2000 Daily Tel. 23 Mar. (Connected section) 19/1 To switch it off right-click into an empty area of the desktop, move the mouse pointer to Arrange Icons and then click to deselect Auto Arrange.
3. In plural. The two stars α and β in Ursa Major, which are nearly in a straight line with the Pole Star; (also) the two stars α and β Centauri which are nearly in a line with the shorter arm of the Southern Cross (Crux). Hence more generally: any pair of conspicuous stars used to indicate the position of something in the sky. Occasionally in singular: either of such a pair of stars.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > constellation > Northern constellations > [noun] > Ursa Major > pointers
pointers1567
guard1574
watcher1588
the world > the universe > constellation > Southern constellations > [noun] > Crux Australis > part of
pointers1892
1567 W. Bourne Almanacke & Prognostication sig. Eviiv The Twoo starres that stand vpon the foreshoulder of the great beare, called of the Mariners the pointers by caues that they doe alwayes pointe to the north starre.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. ii. x. 76 The lower of the Pointers. The White or North Pointer.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. 19/2 The South pointer, or South hinder Wheel, is distant 31 deg. 40 min.
1719 J. Harris Astron. Dialogues vi. 57 These two Stars of the 7, that are nearest to the Pole Star,..do always point up pretty nearly to the Pole Star; and are therefore sometimes called the Pointers.
1792 S. Dunn Astron. Fixed Stars i. 10 The South Pointer in the Gr. Bear, known by being south from the North Pointer.
1864 J. Bonwick Astron. for Young Australians 63 Look at the two bright ones pointing toward the Cross... They are the Pointers to the Cross.
1867 D. Lardner & E. Dumkin Handbk. Astron. (ed. 3) xix. 395 Those who desire to obtain an acquaintance with the stars, will find much advantage in practising the method of pointers, by which the position of conspicuous stars with which the observer is well acquainted, is used to ascertain the places of others which are less well known and less easily identified.
1892 E. Reeves Homeward Bound 34 High overhead..the noble Southern Cross and its pointers gleam like a piece of jewelry in a deep blue setting.
1976 P. Moore Naked-Eye Astron. v. 38 The apparent distance between Polaris and Dubhe is about five times that between the Pointers, Dubhe and Merak.
1985 D. Burch Emergency Navigation v. 63 The south-pole pointers are the two stars that form the upright member, or long axis, of the Southern Cross.
2004 Houston Chron. (Nexis) 6 July a12 The tip of the tail [of Draco] is one of the minor stars between the pointers of the Big Dipper and Polaris.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > [noun] > member of > parts of > antenna
fore-yard1658
sailyard1658
pointers1664
antenna1668
palpus1803
palp1835
1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. i. 2 The Flea..hath..two pointers before which grow out of the forehead, by which he tryes and feels all objects.
1746 G. Adams Micrographia Illustrata xxii. 91 It [sc. a woodlouse] hath also two Pointers before like a Pair of Pincers.
5. Any of several breeds of large gun dog which on scenting game, esp. birds, adopt a distinctive pose, standing rigid with the muzzle pointed towards the game, often with one foot raised; a dog of one of these breeds.In quot. 1717 used as the proper name of a dog.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > other types of dog > [noun] > pointer
pointer1717
pointing dog1750
1717 M. Prior Alma i. 319 The sport and race no more he minds; Neglected Tray and Pointer lie: And covies unmolested fly.
1720 J. Gay Rural Sports ii. 337, in Poems Several Occasions I. 20 See how the well-taught pointer leads the way.
1765 H. Brooke Fool of Quality (Dublin ed.) I. i. 38 Spying a large Spanish Pointer that, just then came from under the Table, he sprung at him like Lightning, seized him by the Collar, and vaulted on his Back.
1803 G. Ellis Let. to Scott 3 Oct. We possess a vulgar dog (a pointer), to whom it is intended to commit the charge of our house during our absence.
1859 C. Darwin Origin of Species i. 35 The English pointer has been greatly changed within the last century.
1947 J. Stevenson-Hamilton Wild Life S. Afr. xxi. 165 The two best dogs..I ever possessed..were a first-cross between a pointer and a bull-terrier.
1995 New Yorker 6 Mar. 115/1 The passenger jets, dog-nosed.., waited in line behind them like rigid pointers cocked for the hunt.
6. Nautical. A piece of timber fixed diagonally across the hold of a ship as a brace (see also quot. 1750). Now rare (historical in later use).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > [noun] > timbers of hull > other timbers supporting beams
pointer1750
shelf-piece1830
shelf1845
beam-arm1850
fork-beam1850
hold-stanchion1867
1750 T. R. Blanckley Naval Expositor 121 Pointers, are Pillars in an oblique Position from the floor Rider-heads on each Side, (pointing) or meeting each other at the Middle of the Gun-deck Beams.
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine sig. H3 The pointers, if any, are..fixed across the hold diagonally to support the beams.
1830 Encycl. Brit. XIX. 219/2 In the plates of a Dutch work of the date of 1697, there are diagonal pointers in an athwartship direction.
1876 Times 18 May 6/4 Extra beams have been inserted below to resist a ‘squeeze’ in the ice, and heavy pointers to protect the bow inside against the effect of violent concussion in striking the ice.
1997 W. Crothers Amer.-built Clipper Ship xv. 256 The pointers, which were long, diagonally installed timbers in the forward and after holds, were an integral part of clipper ship construction.
7. A person who or thing which sharpens or puts a point on something. Now chiefly U.S.Frequently with preceding modifying word, as pencil pointer, etc.; for more established compounds see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > worker performing process or spec. task > [noun] > who sharpens
whetter1553
sharper1567
sharpener1640
pointer1839
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 956 The intermediate portions are handed over to the pointer.
1862 Internat. Exhib.: Illustr. Catal. Industr. Dept. II. xxxii. §6443 The ‘fan’, by which this has been overcome, and by which the dangerous particles of steel formerly inhaled are drawn away from the ‘pointer’.
?1881 Census Eng. & Wales: Instr. Clerks classifying Occupations & Ages (?1885) 91 Nail manufacture... Pointer.
1898 Daily Republican (Decatur, Illinois) 4 Apr. Your committee..recommend payment of the following..P. F. Pettibone & Co., pencil pointer, $3.50.
1955 Herald-Press (St. Joseph, Mich.) 5 Dec. 3/3 (advt.) Slide rules..drawing sets..lettering sets..lead pointers.
2003 School Arts (Nexis) 1 May 18 Included in the set are a sandpaper pointer, kneadable eraser, erasing shield, paper stump, [etc.].
8.
a. Either of the two draught animals next to the pole in a team.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > bull > [noun] > castrated or bullock > working
pack-bullock1820
pole bullock1844
pointer1866
1866 in Nebraska Hist. Mag. (1932) 13 149 After awhile I get my last pointer yoked, drive the whole team around and hitch it on the wagon tongue.
1872 C. H. Eden My Wife & I in Queensland 36 Twelve bullocks is the usual number in a team, the two polers and the leaders being steady old stagers; the pair next to the pole are called the ‘pointers’.
1941 S. J. Baker Pop. Dict. Austral. Slang 55 Pointers, two of the bullocks in a team, placed next to the ‘polers’.
1976 More Tales 158 This rope..ran from the left side of the lead wagon through the hame ring of all the left, or near, horses except the ‘pointer’.
b. U.S. A person who rides at the head of a herd of cattle; = point man n. 1a. Now chiefly historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping of cattle > [noun] > herding of cattle > cowherd
cowherda1000
oxherd1281
geldherd1284
nowtherd1296
neatherd1301
drover1384
catcherc1400
caller?a1500
ox-boy1580
neatress1586
harrier1591
cowherdess1611
spurn-cow1614
neatherdess1648
cowgirl1753
herds-woman1818
oxman1820
ranchero1825
topsman1825
vaquero1826
herdsmaiden1829
overlander1841
cattle-herd1845
cowboy1849
buckaroo1852
stock-rider1862
pointer1869
night-herder1870
puncher1870
bull-puncher1872
outrider1872
cowpuncher1873
range man1875
cow-puncher1878
herd-boy1878
cow-girl1884
trail-herd1885
trail boss1890
nighthawk1903
point man1903
swing man1903
top hand1912
charro1926
waddy1927
cattle-puncher1928
cowpoke1928
paniolo1947
1869 Overland Monthly Aug. 126/2 On the march the mighty herd sometimes strings out miles in length, and then it has ‘pointers’, who ride abreast of the head of the column.
1908 Pacific Monthly Mar. 324/2 The pointer is the herdsman who rides at the head of a straggling herd of cattle on the march, a sort of Cowboy John the Baptist.
1943 L. V. Hamner Short Grass 50 Two men, his best, were put near the front of the line... These were the pointers.
2003 J. Stanley Cowboys & Longhorns iv. 35 The two most experienced hands took positions at the front of the herd... They were called ‘pointers’ or ‘point men’, and they watched out for trouble.
9. A pointed chisel or similar tool used for boring, cutting, engraving, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > cutting tool > chisel > [noun] > other chisels
grooping-ironc1440
grubbing-ironc1440
grubbling iron1530
ripping-chisel1659
paring chisel1675
ripping-chisel1679
flat chisel1688
burr1794
tan-spud1828
spud1846
dogleg1855
jagger1875
pointer1875
spade-chisel1895
claw-chisel1933
burr-chisel-
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 1758/2 Pointer,..a stone-mason's chisel with a sharp point, used in spawling off the face of a stone in the rough.
1907 N.E.D. (at cited word) A name of particular pointed tools used in various trades, for boring, cutting, graving, etc. e.g. a pointed chisel used by stonemasons, a silversmith's pointer.
1910 G. S. Davies Renascence 278 It [sc. the monument] shows a young figure in a long mantle lined with ermine (represented by cuneiform cuts with a pointer).
2005 Valdosta (Georgia) Daily Times (Electronic ed.) 9 June A stonecutter uses a hammer, pointer, and chisel to achieve the desired rustic finish.
10. A tool for clearing out old mortar between courses of bricks in a wall. Cf. point v.1 1a. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > [noun] > masons' and bricklayers' tools > for raking out joints
raker1815
pointer1875
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 1758/2 Pointer,..a tool for clearing out to a given depth the old mortar between the courses of bricks in a wall, to be replaced by a fresh body of mortar.
11. U.S. A lever used to switch a set of points on a railway. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > lever or crowbar > [noun] > other levers or crowbars
looder1545
gablock?1746
pig's foot1790
lewder tree1808
monkey tail1822
fold-pitcher1832
pointer1875
Lord Mayor1877
tire-iron1952
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 1758/2 Pointer,..(Railway) the adjusting lever of a switch.
1911 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Pointer,..Railroads. A switch lever.]
12. Either of two sharks of the family Lamnidae, (in full blue pointer) the mako, Isurus oxyrinchus, and (in full white pointer) the great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias.In parts of South Africa, blue pointer is used for the great white shark: see quot. 1963.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > subclass Elasmobranchii > order Pleurotremata > [noun] > family Isuridae > member of genus Carcharodon (man-eater)
whiteOE
requiem1666
man-eater1829
pointer1881
the world > animals > fish > subclass Elasmobranchii > order Pleurotremata > [noun] > family Isuridae > member of genus Isurus (pointer)
mako1848
pointer1881
1881 Proc. Linn. Soc. New S. Wales 6 358 Carcharodon rondeletii... ‘The White Pointer’ of Sydney Fishermen.
1882 J. E. Tenison-Woods Fish & Fisheries New S. Wales iv. 95 On the appearance of a ‘blue pointer’ among boats fishing for schnapper..the general cry is raised.
1896 F. G. Aflalo Sketches Nat. Hist. Austral. iii. 222 The Blue-Pointer..is the favourite shark of that particular form of fiction which passes for popular natural history.
1917 Chambers's Jrnl. Sept. 588/1 Those that the Sydney fisherman knows best,..and destroy human life, are the tiger shark, the blue pointer [etc.].
1953 J. L. B. Smith Sea Fishes S. Afr. 50 Isurus glaucus..Blue Pointer, Mako Shark... A famous angling fish, abundant in Australasian waters, very swift and powerful.
1963 H. W. McCormick et al. Shadows in Sea iv. 101 The Blue Pointer, in turn, is a name given by some South African Fishermen to the shark elsewhere known as the Great White, called in Australia the White Death or White Pointer.
2005 Sunday Times (Perth, Austral.) (Nexis) 20 Mar. A 26-year-old man was killed by a 6m white pointer at the Abrolhos Islands yesterday.
13. A person whose occupation involves pointing (in various senses).
a. Sculpture. A person who prepares a block of stone or marble for a sculptor by cutting points (see point n.1 3f, point v.1 2b).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > plastic art > sculpture or carving > [noun] > sculptor or carver > in or by medium > specific
pointer?1881
?1881 Census Eng. & Wales: Instr. Clerks classifying Occupations & Ages (?1885) 52 Sculptor's pointer.
1882 Times 30 Nov. 3/6 I saw Schots, Harrison, Walter Thompson, and several men under the pointer at work in Belt's studio. Schots was carving a bust of Vice-Chancellor Gibbs.
1911 A. Toft Modelling & Sculpture 254 A good pointer will keep all his ‘points’ a little ‘full’, by never allowing the needle to go quite home.
1939 M. Hoffman Sculpture Inside & Out 158 Very often the work is prepared by the..‘marble pointer’, who takes off the surplus material to within an eighth of an inch or less of the finished surface.
b. A person who does ornamental needlework on gloves. Cf. pointing n.1 13. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > tailoring or making clothes > making other clothing > [noun] > making gloves > one who > one who carries out specific process
pointer?1881
sewing-clerk1884
?1881 Census Eng. & Wales: Instr. Clerks classifying Occupations & Ages (?1885) 76 Cloth, &c., gloves:..Pointer.
1903 Sci. Amer. Suppl. 24 Jan. 22629/3 Some make the gloves,..others, called ‘pointers’, work the ornamental lines on the back.
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §411 Pointer, glove.
c. U.S. Military. A gunner responsible for adjusting the elevation of a gun.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > armed man > [noun] > one armed with or using firearm > artilleryman > gun-layer
layer1896
gun-layer1901
gun-pointer1904
pointer1904
1904 Sci. Amer. 18 June 475 The turrets are trained by one man, the trainer; and each gun is pointed by another man, the pointer, who fires the gun.
1999 Sarasota (Florida) Herald-Tribune (Nexis) 4 Feb. 8 b Webb's 0800-1200 watch that day consisted of a crew that had two fire director officers, an assistant officer, a pointer, a trainer, a range finder, and a radar operator.
d. Fur Trade. A person who points furs (see point v.1 4).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > workers with specific materials > worker with skins or hides > [noun] > worker with furs > involved in specific process
beaver-cutter1725
Northman1793
fur-puller1886
puller1890
pointer1929
1929 Fur Trade Directory (N.Y.) 73 James Feuerlicht, Inc. ‘The Old Reliable Fur Pointer’.
1930 M. Bachrach Fur xxiii. 431 The other use of the Badger is by a separate branch of the Industry known as the Pointers. These people furnish new hairs for a peltry by a method known as pointing.
1953 Fur Trade Directory (N.Y.) 66 Artistic Fur Pointers. Lydia Silver Fox Pointing Co.
14. Printing. A person who secures the register of the reverse side of a sheet by aligning points on the tympan with point-holes made in the sheet; see point n.1 21f. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > printer > [noun] > layer of sheets in press
layer-on1849
pointer1882
stroker-in1888
1882 J. Southward Pract. Printing ii. xxiii. 543 The word ‘pointer’ has lately come into use to describe a man who can do work requiring exact register, with points.
1888 C. T. Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 102 Pointer, the layer-on on a machine who ‘points’ the second side of a sheet in printing.
1973 Clarendonian 27 i. 16 Mr. Thomas started his career in print as a pointer on red and black Bible work on India paper.
15. With prefixed numeral. See also three-pointer n. at three-point adj. Derivatives.
a. A stag with antlers bearing the specified number of points. Cf. point n.1 21i.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > male > [noun] > body and parts > antler > branch > stag with horns having specific number branches
hart of ten1598
deer of ten1632
eleven-pointer1803
royal1848
pointer1883
ten-pointer1883
1883 Longman's Mag. Nov. 72 We had..stalked and slain a fine ten-pointer upon the Caenlochan marches.
1893 Westm. Gaz. 18 Sept. 6/3 The magnificent 20-pointer shot..in Glenquoich is said to be the only stag of the kind ever killed in a Scottish forest.
1976 Field 30 Dec. 1281/1 One magnificent 17-pointer and a younger stag companion were loafing around in a field by the post office.
1998 C. Chidgey In Fishbone Church (2000) 249 ‘We got a twelve-pointer,’ he says. ‘Three shots.’
b. Chiefly Sport. A game, try, hand, etc., having the specified value as expressed in points.
ΚΠ
1928 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald 30 Oct. The officials..disallowed the three pointer.
1947 Sun (Baltimore) 8 Nov. 10/3 Jones booted wide of the goal posts following the final six pointer.
1989 Chicago Tribune (Nexis) 12 Dec. (Sports section) 3 The Packers have won a record four one-point games. The Bears have lost two one-pointers and one five-pointer after leading all three until the final minutes.
2003 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 1 Aug. 30 Despite holding a balanced seven-pointer, it was South who led from the front.
16. Originally U.S. A suggestion, a tip; a hint; a piece of information; an indication of what is likely to happen in the future.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > [noun] > special or useful
hint1777
wrinkle1818
tip1845
hunch1849
the straight tip1871
kinklea1873
speech1874
quiff1881
pointer1884
griffin1889
griff1891
tip-off1901
rumble1905
wheeze1906
drum1915
1884 Lisbon (Dakota Territory) Star 10 Oct. 5/2 There's a pointer for you!
1887 J. Bulloch Pynours v. 41 In this fact there seems to be another pointer to the fishing population.
1891 Internat. Ann. Anthonys Photogr. Bull. 247 Let me give any equestrian photographer a pointer. Don't tie your instrument to yourself, tie it to your horse.
1913 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 22 Feb. 43/2 (advt.) ‘How to Buy at Rock Bottom’..And other priceless pointers on purchasing.
1957 V. Brittain Testament of Experience i. iii. 104 I liked the sound of the Bill not better than she; it was another ‘pointer’ towards the impending shadow of war and its threat to human liberty.
1977 J. F. Fixx Compl. Bk. Running vii. 82 An experienced runner may occasionally offer some pointers to a friend, but most of the time we coach ourselves.
2003 Lancashire Life Mar. 50/2 Tooth..stopped off at Stoke-in-Trent to pick up a few pointers about the pottery trade.
17. Canadian. A rowing boat, pointed at both ends and having a shallow draught, used by loggers.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessels propelled by oars or poles > [noun] > rowing boat > other types of rowing boat
coblec950
row barge1466
bark1477
rowing barge1548
galley1570
caïque1625
catur1653
dory1726
skiff1793
dinghy1810
panga1811
dinghy1818
randan1838
dragon boat1846
guinea-boat1867
drive boat1879
pea pod1884
in-rigger1893
pointer1901
sandolo1928
1901 ‘R. Connor’ Man from Glengarry 13 Swiftly the pointer shot down the current.
1947 J. J. Rowlands Cache Lake Country 96 And all the while men in pointers..big boats with high pointed ends, move about picking up drivers, working logs off rocks.
1961 Mrs. C. Price & C. C. Kennedy Notes Hist. Renfrew County 156 At the suggestion of J. R. Booth,..John Cockburn in 1883 designed the ‘pointer’, a sharp-pointed boat that is still widely used in the lumbering business.
1995 Canad. Geographic May 62 (caption) The pointer—strong, flat-bottomed and with a draft small enough to float on the shallowest waters.
Compounds
C1. (Sense 5.)
pointer dog n.
ΚΠ
1797 J. Woodforde Diary 15 Jan. (1931) V. 5 One of his Pointer Dogs..was gone mad.
1849 J. W. Audubon Western Jrnl. (1906) 46 Some of the men had stolen a valuable pointer dog.
1993 S. J. Ettinger Pocket Compan. Textbk. Vet. Internal Med. lxi. 237 GM2 type 1 (Tay–Sachs disease)..has been reported in German shorthaired pointer dogs.
pointer puppy n.
ΚΠ
1771 Answers J. Stevenson 6 Some years ago, he got a present from one of the defender's sisters at Lochrig, of an unbroke pointer puppy.
1811 J. Austen Sense & Sensibility III. viii. 181 He reminded me of an old promise about a pointer puppy . View more context for this quotation
2003 People (Nexis) 24 Mar. 41 A new pooch, a pointer puppy to replace his late beloved Pearl.
C2.
pointer finger n. the index finger.
ΚΠ
a1867 C. J. Andersson Notes Trav. S.-W. Afr. (1875) vii. 99 I was simultaneously struck by five balls—one grazing my left arm and elbow, a second carrying off the knuckle of the pointer finger on the right hand, [etc.].
1930 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 31 May 24/4 Patsy clasps around our pointer-finger her own four fat, dimpled baby fingers and one squat, wee thumb.
2004 T. Grout in A. Vona Bad Girl 228 Milieu treatment note: Patient continues to sit and attempt to suck her thumb and wrap her pointer finger around her nose.
pointer-reading n. the action of reading an instrument by noting the position of the pointer; a reading taken in this way; also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measuring instrument > [noun] > graduated instruments > indication on a measuring instrument
indication1742
reading1772
registration1837
pointer-reading1867
1867 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 157 146 The following pointer-readings are not precisely comparable with the foregoing.
1928 A. S. Eddington Nature Physical World xii. 255 This connectivity of pointer readings, expressed by physical laws,..supplies the continuous background.
1961 Listener 17 Aug. 245/2 There are no public pointer-readings in religion.
1997 Brit. Jrnl. Philos. Sci. 48 607 The report of an experiment necessarily involves interpretation and not just simple numerical pointer-reading.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
<
n.1500