DCHP-1 Online

point

• 1a n. a wedge or tongue of land projecting into a river or lake, especially at a bend.

  • 1784  (1790)  . . . a passage opens between a high sandy bank and the point of an islet. . . .
  • 1825  (1950)  . . . we passed two Small Rivers & encamped in a fine point of woods.
  • 1863  The alluvial flats . . . are often well timbered, but from the manner in which the river winds from side to side, the "points," as they are termed, are seldom more than two or three miles in extent.

• 1b n. a similar projection into the prairie (def. 2c).

  See also: prairie (def. 2c)  

  • 1800  (1897)  The small wood and brush are entirely destroyed [by rubbing buffalo], and even the grass is not permitted to grow in the points of wood.
  • 1857  (1863)  . . . the bends of the river are marked by clumps of wood, which are known in the country by the name of "points," which applies also to any projecting angle of wood whether it be caused by the bend of a river or not.
  • 1871  As for going into the points for shelter, it was too big an operation for the party to attempt, and so they had to camp by the road side.

• 2 n. one of the markings woven into Hudson's Bay blankets (def. la). See quotes.

  See also: point blanket  

  • 1780  (1935)  [They] had misunderstood him about the price of the pointed plankets as the points were known to every Indian to be the price to be paid for each as 2 1/2 points, 2 1/2 beaver, 3 points, 3 beaver, etc.
  • 1935  The "point" on the blanket in its present standardized form is comparatively modern, being introduced in 1850. Prior to that date blankets for the Hudson's Bay Company were made with the bar only by individuals in their own homes, each maker putting a distinctive mark, a "point" on his product to show the size and weight. These "points" were usually in coloured wools and usually about one inch long.
  • 1944  To sum up the actual facts: 1. All Hudson's Bay "Point" Blankets are one hundred percent wool. 2. Back in 1779, the points signified the exchange value in terms of beaver--one beaver per points. 3. Nowadays the points refer to the size (not the weight per square foot) and the only sizes sold are 3 1/2 point (63 x 81 ins.) and 4-point (72 x 90 ins.).
  • 1954  Originally the points and staves of the blankets were blue, but the colour was changed to red in 1786.

• 3a n. Hist. Lacrosse one of the players playing out in front of the goalie; a defenceman.

  See also: cover-point  

  • 1967  Actually, the goaltender led a charmed life. Most of the danger was involved with the fellow who played between point and cover-point

• 3b n. Hist. Hockey one of the defencemen on a seven-man team.

  See also: cover-point  

  • 1895  Each team is composed of seven players, namely: goal-keeper, point, cover-point, and four forwards.
  • 1900  The puck was in the vicinity of the Boundary goal for most of the first half of the game, and the Rossland team shot time and again but could not get the puck past MacPherson, the Boundary's clever point.
  • 1965  The team lined up in a T-formation with the two defencemen (called "point" and "cover-point") in single file in front of the goal, then the rover, then the centre, with wing-men to right and left.

• 4 n. Hockey See 1964 quote.

  • 1963  Kent Douglas shot the puck from the point.
  • 1964  The change was Armstrong for Bathgate on the point, that quaint hockey designation meaning a station just inside the enemy blue-line when a penalty has reduced the enemy's personnel.
  • 1966  He kills penalties, plays the point on the power play and when all our other defensemen got hurt, he hung in there, holding our blueline together.

• 5 n. Placer Mining See 1913 quote.

  • 1913  Steam at a pressure of about forty pounds to the inch was carried in flexible hose, and applied through "points," that is, a section of half-inch iron pipe five or six feet long, into one end of which a steel plug is inserted. In this are bored two or three holes one-eighth of an inch in diameter, through which the steam issues against the frozen gravel, and thaws it at an astonishing rate.
  • 1936  These steel pipes or points were about five or six feet in length and when they had been driven in the full distance, they were allowed to "sweat" for seven or eight hours, by means of which several tons of gravel was thawed.