Punctum
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Part of speech noun
Quick meaning: Punctum is a noun meaning (anatomy) A sharp tip of any part of the anatomy; a point or other small area.
Meaning
(anatomy) A sharp tip of any part of the anatomy; a point or other small area.
More Meanings
- (music) A neume representing a single tone.
- (photography) A detail in a photograph that captures the viewer's attention and evokes an emotional response or personal connection beyond the intended subject.
Example Sentences
Thus, from what has been stated, we see that neither the white puncta nor the minute white branchwork of lines were ever tubular.
[…]the punctum is something that is seen by the viewer, without it being shown to them by the photographer. As such, it functions, according to Fried, as an “ontological guarantee” (553) of a given photograph’s nontheatricality.
Barthes describes the punctum (the nonconnotative or denotative meaning) of the photograph (or movie still) in such a manner; the detail relevant or not relevant to the image's overall meaning becomes the focus of an otherwise forgettable picture […]
Word Forms
- punctums
- puncta
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include punctule, puncturation, puncto, point, punction, punctate.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.