punctum meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

punctum

noun

Etymology From Latin pūnctum. Doublet of point, pointe, ponto, puncto, punt, and punto.

Anatomy, Medicine, Sciences A sharp tip of any part of the anatomy; a point or other small area.

Thus, from what has been stated, we see that neither the white puncta nor the minute white branchwork of lines were ever tubular.1861, The Annals and Magazine of Natural History: Zoology, Botany, and Geology:

Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music A neume representing a single tone.

Derived terms: lacrimal punctum, punctum caecum, punctum delens, punctum proximum, punctum remotum, punctum saliens, punctum stans, punctum vasculosum, punctum vegetationis
Related terms: punctal

punctum

noun

Etymology Coined in 1980 by French literary theorist Roland Barthes in his book Camera Lucida.

Arts, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Photography A detail in a photograph that captures the viewer's attention and evokes an emotional response or personal connection beyond the intended subject.

[…]the punctum is something that is seen by the viewer, without it being shown to them by the photographer. As such, it functions, according to Fried, as an “ontological guarantee” (553) of a given photograph’s nontheatricality.2007, Photography theory, page 87:
Barthes describes the punctum (the nonconnotative or denotative meaning) of the photograph (or movie still) in such a manner; the detail relevant or not relevant to the image's overall meaning becomes the focus of an otherwise forgettable picture […]2012, Jeff Rice, Digital Detroit: Rhetoric and Space in the Age of the Network, page 160: