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- The term point-blank dates to the 1570s and is probably of French origin, deriving from pointé à blanc, "pointed at white". It is thought the word blanc may be used to describe a small white aiming spot formerly at the center of shooting targets.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point-blank_range
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Oct 15, 2017 · PROBABLE ORIGIN OF POINT-BLANK. It is likely that point-blank is from the obsolete French phrase de pointe en blanc, used in ballistics. According to the French lexicographer Émile Littré (1801-81) in Dictionnaire de la langue française (Paris, 1873), in de pointe en blanc, de pointe means from the firing point, and blanc means blank in the ...
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origin of the word ‘point-blank’ meaning and origin of...
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What's the origin of the phrase 'Point-blank range'? In the Late Middle Ages, when ‘point-blank’ was coined, archery and artillery targets were usually white. ‘Blank’ derives from the French ‘blanc’, which of course means white.
Jul 24, 2020 · point-blank. (n.) 1570s, in gunnery, "having a horizontal direction," said to be from point (v.) + blank (n.), here meaning the white center of a target. The notion would be of standing close enough to aim ( point) at the blank without allowance for curve, windage, or gravity.
Where does the word point-blank come from? Earliest known use. mid 1500s. The earliest known use of the word point-blank is in the mid 1500s. OED's earliest evidence for point-blank is from before 1560, in the writing of Leonard Digges, mathematician.
saying something very clearly in very few words, without trying to be polite or pleasant: He asked me to work at the weekend, but I refused point-blank. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Blunt and direct in speech & behaviour. abruptly.
Oct 19, 2023 · Point blank range is that distance where you don't have to adjust your aim to factor in the effect of Earth’s gravity or other factors to hit the target precisely; at point blank range, you can simply aim your firearm at the target and strike it with 100% accuracy.
Point-blank range means very close, so close in fact that one is hardly likely to miss the target. The phrase dates from the 16th century and the ‘blank’ part derives from the French word, blanc, meaning white, because the centre of archery and firearm targets were commonly painted white.
