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Where did the phrase 'point blank' come from?
What does point and blank mean in English?
Where does the word point-blank come from?
What is point blank range?
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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George IV shilling – 1826 photograph: The Royal Mint Museum...
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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.
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.
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.
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.
If you say something point-blank, you say it very directly or rudely, without explaining or apologizing. The army apparently refused point blank to do what was required of them. Mr Patterson was asked point blank if he would resign.
