pintn.

Etymology: < Middle French pinte a liquid measure (1294 in Old French; c1200 denoting the contents of such a measure), a vessel holding that measure (1353; French pinte), of uncertain origin (see note below). Compare Old Occitan, Occitan pinta (1380), Catalan pinta (1575), Spanish pinta (14th cent., rare), Portuguese pinta (1430), Italian pinta (13th cent.), probably all or mostly < French; also Old Frisian pint jug, Middle Dutch pinte, pint liquid measure (Dutch pint liquid measure, vessel holding that measure), Middle Low German pint, pinte liquid measure, Middle High German pinte liquid measure (German Pinte liquid measure, vessel holding that measure; now obsolete in these senses). French pinte is probably ultimately < post-classical Latin pincta (also pinca , pinta ) liquid measure (mid 13th cent. in British and continental sources), use as noun (originally qualifying a feminine noun denoting a calibrated measure of capacity, e.g. canna , hemina , quarta ) of post-classical Latin pincta , variant of classical Latin picta , feminine of pictus painted, in sense ‘having marks’ (see pictogram n.). However, the form of the French word is unexpected (the expected French representation of Latin pincta being *peinte , as in the feminine of the past participle of peindre paint v.¹); for discussion and summary see Französisches etymol. Wörterbuch at pĭngĕre. It is also possible that the post-classical Latin word was borrowed from a vernacular language and re-interpreted after classical Latin picta . A further suggestion that the French word was borrowed from a Germanic language (perhaps < the base of pintle n., apparently with reference to a peg used as a marker) poses phonological and semantic problems. The form punct probably arose from confusion, via forms in -oi- , with point n.¹ (compare punct n.). The form pinct is probably after post-classical Latin.