What is "pointing"

Point \Point\ (point), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pointed; p. pr. & vb. n. Pointing.] [Cf. F. pointer. See Point, n.]

1. To give a point to; to sharpen; to cut, forge, grind, or file to an acute end; as, to point a dart, or a pencil. Used also figuratively; as, to point a moral.

2. To direct toward an abject; to aim; as, to point a gun at a wolf, or a cannon at a fort.

3. Hence, to direct the attention or notice of.

   Whosoever should be guided through his battles by Minerva, and pointed to every scene of them.
   --Pope.

4. To supply with punctuation marks; to punctuate; as, to point a composition.

5. To mark (a text, as in Arabic or Hebrew) with vowel points; -- also called vocalize.

   Syn: vocalize. [1913 Webster + RP]

6. To give particular prominence to; to designate in a special manner; to indicate, as if by pointing; as, the error was pointed out.
   --Pope.

   He points it, however, by no deviation from his straightforward manner of speech.
   --Dickens.

7. To indicate or discover by a fixed look, as game.

8. (Masonry) To fill up and finish the joints of (a wall), by introducing additional cement or mortar, and bringing it to a smooth surface.

9. (Stone Cutting) To cut, as a surface, with a pointed tool.

   To point a rope (Naut.), to taper and neatly finish off the end by interweaving the nettles.

   To point a sail (Naut.), to affix points through the eyelet holes of the reefs.

   To point off, to divide into periods or groups, or to separate, by pointing, as figures.

   To point the yards (of a vessel) (Naut.), to brace them so that the wind shall strike the sails obliquely.
   --Totten.

Pointing \Point"ing\, n.

1. The act of sharpening.

2. The act of designating, as a position or direction, by means of something pointed, as a finger or a rod.

3. The act or art of punctuating; punctuation.

4. The act of filling and finishing the joints in masonry with mortar, cement, etc.; also, the material so used.

5. The rubbing off of the point of the wheat grain in the first process of high milling.

6. (Sculpt.) The act or process of measuring, at the various distances from the surface of a block of marble, the surface of a future piece of statuary; also, a process used in cutting the statue from the artist's model.

"the filling up of exterior faces of joints in brickwork," late 15c., verbal noun from point (v.). Meaning "action of indicating with the finger, etc." is from 1550s.

n. 1 The action of the verb '''to point'''. 2 (context usually singular or collective English) mortar that has been placed between bricks to hold them together. This is not strictly speaking correct word to use in this context, mortar would be the correct word, or joint filling. (or perhaps applies in the US only) This term is often misused as meaning mortar or joint filling, as 'repointing' is the action of making good and repairing of joints between stone. 3 The act or art of punctuating; punctuation. 4 The rubbing off of the point of the wheat grain in the first process of high milling. 5 (context art English) The act or process of measuring, at the various distances from the surface of a block of marble, the surface of a future piece of statuary; also, a process used in cutting the statue from the artist's model. vb. (present participle of point English)

adj. that points

Pointing may refer to:

• Pointing, the hand gesture (see List of gestures)
  • Ostensive definition
• Pointing, the external part of the mortar between bricks in walling (see repointing)
• Pointing, the characteristic stance of pointing breeds of dogs used for hunting
• The position accuracy of the optical axis (boresight) of a directional antenna
• The process of adding vowel points to an abjad consonantal alphabet, called niqqud in Hebrew and harakat in Arabic
• The process of distinguishing consonants with points, called dagesh in Hebrew and i'jam in Arabic