Etymology: < Anglo-Norman poigné, poignee, poiné, poinee, puignee, puinnie, punyé small group of soldiers, platoon (late 13th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman; this sense is apparently not paralleled in Middle French until later, end of the 14th cent. as poignée , puignie ; French poignée handful, small number of people), transferred use of poignee , poinee , puignee , etc. fistful, handful (c1170) < poing fist (see poigne n.) + -ée (see -y suffix⁵).

Etymology: < poign-, stem of Anglo-Norman and Middle French poindre to pierce, prick (see poignant adj.). Compare earlier poin v., of which the word is in formal terms a doublet, showing retention of the French palatalized consonant. Compare also later punge v.In later use revived as an archaism by Tennant. N.E.D. (1909) gives the pronunciation as (pü·n^ye) /ˈpʏnje/.