pointer (n.)
mid-14c., "a tiler" (early 13c. as a surname), agent noun from point (v.). From c. 1500 as "maker of needlepoint lace." From 1570s as "thing that points;" meaning "dog that stands rigid in the presence of game, facing the quarry" is recorded from 1717. Meaning "item of advice" is recorded by 1883.
Entries linking to pointer
late 14c., "indicate with the finger;" c. 1400, "wound by stabbing; make pauses in reading a text; seal or fill openings or joints or between tiles," partly from Old French pointoier "to prick, stab, jab, mark," and also from point (n.).
From mid-15c. as "to stitch, mend." From late 15c. as "furnish (a garment) with tags or laces for fastening;" from late 15c. as "aim (something), direct toward an object." Related: Pointed; pointing. To point up "emphasize" is from 1934; to point out "indicate, show, make manifest" is from 1570s.
Dictionary entries near pointer
point man
point of view
point-blank
pointe
pointed
pointer
pointillism
pointing
pointless
point-to-point
pointy
