Interpunct
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The punctuation mark ⟨·⟩.
"As is to be expected in every good inscription of the period, the interpunct is used regularly and systematically throughout to divide words from one another. As is usual, the interpunct is frequently omitted between a monosyllabic preposition and the noun that it governs, thus presumably indicating that the preposition was treated as a proclitic. [...] I feel certain that the interpunct used within compound verbs on the Ancyran text does not differ in any way from the interpunct normally used between words ; [...]."
- 1 To place points between clauses, words or some letters. transitive
"The three brass jetons (Nos. 5-7) are all of the early anonymous ‘orb/rose’ types minted between 1550 and 1585. They all bear meaningless legends interpuncted with rosettes and dots, signifying the initials of the jeton-master who produced them."
Example
More examples"As is to be expected in every good inscription of the period, the interpunct is used regularly and systematically throughout to divide words from one another. As is usual, the interpunct is frequently omitted between a monosyllabic preposition and the noun that it governs, thus presumably indicating that the preposition was treated as a proclitic. [...] I feel certain that the interpunct used within compound verbs on the Ancyran text does not differ in any way from the interpunct normally used between words ; [...]."
Etymology
From Latin interpunctus, from inter- (“between, mid-”) + punctus (“point”).
Related phrases
More for "interpunct"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.