Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A fine point of etiquette.
  • noun Precise observance of formalities.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A small point.
  • noun A nice point, especially in conduct, ceremony, or proceeding; also, particularity or exactness in the observance of forms.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A nice point of exactness in conduct, ceremony, or proceeding; particularity or exactness in forms.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A fine point in exactness of conduct, ceremony or procedure. Strictness in observance of formalities.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a fine point of etiquette or petty formality
  • noun strict observance of formalities

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Obsolete Italian punctiglio, from Spanish puntillo, diminutive of punto, point, from Latin pūnctum, from neuter past participle of pungere, to prick; see peuk- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Italian puntiglio, or Spanish puntillo, diminutive from Latin punctum point.

Support

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Examples

  • I was also influenced by religious motives that suggested to me the necessity of living to atone, by my sufferings and sorrow, for the guilt I had incurred in complying with a savage punctilio, which is, I fear, displeasing in the sight of Heaven.

    The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom 2004

  • A short run or attempt at running after the idea, ended in pain to his head near the spot where the haunting word punctilio caught at any excuse for clamouring.

    One of Our Conquerors — Volume 1 George Meredith 1868

  • In connection with this ritualistic form of punctilio, which is noticed in the religious practices of other peoples and lands, the established formal invocation of and prayer to the divinity may be mentioned.

    Eighth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1886-1887, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891 Various 1868

  • A short run or attempt at running after the idea, ended in pain to his head near the spot where the haunting word punctilio caught at any excuse for clamouring.

    Complete Project Gutenberg Works of George Meredith George Meredith 1868

  • A short run or attempt at running after the idea, ended in pain to his head near the spot where the haunting word punctilio caught at any excuse for clamouring.

    One of Our Conquerors — Complete George Meredith 1868

  • I was also influenced by religious motives that suggested to me the necessity of living to atone, by my sufferings and sorrow, for the guilt I had incurred in complying with a savage punctilio, which is, I fear, displeasing in the sight of Heaven.

    The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom — Volume 01 Tobias George Smollett 1746

  • I was also influenced by religious motives that suggested to me the necessity of living to atone, by my sufferings and sorrow, for the guilt I had incurred in complying with a savage punctilio, which is, I fear, displeasing in the sight of Heaven.

    The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom — Complete Tobias George Smollett 1746

  • It has some slow bits, and some prolonged bouts of humor Tom's lovesickness, his punctilio about make-believe that have to have felt at least a little labored even back in 1876, when it often took weeks or even months for a punchline to arrive.

    Michael Chabon On The N-Word In 'Huckleberry Finn' The Atlantic 2011

  • All that those words imply, including a disregard for military tradition and punctilio, the objective of dismantling an enemy and not merely defeating him, and downright ruthlessness, can be found in the battles of the Great Warpath.

    America's Distinctive Way of War Eliot Cohen 2011

  • In jail after an unwise decision, he contemplates "the Miocene logic and cruel outcomes afflicting all those with pluck but no punctilio."

    The Style of a Wild Man William Giraldi 2011

Comments

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  • Funny... I told my S.O. about this site and the first thing he said was, "You should add punctilio."

    And *I* said, "Guess you need to log on and start a list."

    February 2, 2007

  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Punctilio

    Daily Punctilio, anyone?

    August 31, 2007

  • Is this chained_bear's first comment?

    October 11, 2008

  • No, but it might be near the first.

    I should delete it.

    October 12, 2008

  • Somebody called for the Wordie Historian? Here is c_b's first comment. Clearly, I don't want to do work. :P In the future, just change the numbers in the URL to match the person's comment count. Takes 2 seconds. :) Oh, and c_b don't delete it! It's part of wordieternity!

    October 22, 2008

  • Oh, and then you click the arrow to see the previous hundred comments. Here is my first comment. I like seeing what I was talking about back then. :)

    October 22, 2008

  • psst... jennarenn... I think you meant to link to this page. Your link gives an app. error.

    October 22, 2008

  • Crud. Thanks c_b. I feel like my slip is showing.

    October 22, 2008

  • But why does it do that? http://wordie.org/people/comments/chained_bear?o=10865, for example, currently works for me, so why are certain values of o breaking?

    October 22, 2008