French

Verb

poindre

1. (transitive, obsolete) to prick, sting
2. (transitive, literary) to sting, afflict (of pain, love etc.)
3. (intransitive) to come up (of a plant), peep through
4. (intransitive, literary) to break, dawn (of day); to break (of dawn)

Conjugation

This verb is conjugated like peindre. It uses the same endings as rendre or vendre, but its -nd- becomes -gn- before a vowel, and its past participle ends in ‘t’ instead of a vowel.

Old French

Alternative forms

• puindre

Etymology 1

From Latin pungere, present active infinitive of pungō.

Verb

poindre

1. to puncture; to pierce (rupture a membrane, etc.)
2. to sting; to prick

Descendants

• French: poindre

Noun

poindre m ‎(oblique plural poindres, nominative singular poindres, nominative plural poindre)

1. attack; assault
   • circa 1176, Chrétien de Troyes, Cligès:

     si fiert un Sesne et puis un autre
     si qu'anbedeus a un seul poindre

     He struck a Saxon then another
     both in the same attack

Related terms

• point

Etymology 2

See peindre.

Verb

poindre

1. Alternative form of peindre

Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. This verb ends in a palatal stem, so there is an extra i before the e of some endings. This verb has irregularities in its conjugation. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.