punctilio
Americannoun
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punctilios
plural
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a fine point, particular, or detail, as of conduct, ceremony, or procedure.
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strictness or exactness in the observance of formalities or amenities.
noun
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strict attention to minute points of etiquette
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a petty formality or fine point of etiquette
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of punctilio
First recorded in 1590–1600; alteration of Italian puntiglio, from Spanish puntillo, diminutive of punto, from Latin pūnctum point
Explanation
Any custom of etiquette can be called a punctilio, especially if it seems a bit silly. Your grandfather's punctilio of announcing his name when he answers the phone might seem silly to you. Men holding doors open for women seems pretty old fashioned to many young people — and a little bit sexist, too. Some older men, however, will stick to this punctilio because they feel it would be rude not to do it. Punctilio comes from the Spanish puntillo, or "little point."
Vocabulary lists containing punctilio
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
They combined, then as now, a wild bureaucratic adherence to punctilio and procedure with entanglements of cohort and clan that could shortcut the procedure in a moment.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 8, 2017
There lingers, even in our mercantile age, an admiration for the aristocratic ethos, the punctilio, of the duel.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 8, 2015
Protocol, punctilio, politesse suddenly drop, leaving Tennyson’s “Nature, red in tooth and claw.”
From BusinessWeek ● Sep. 29, 2011
With im peccable punctilio, he asked permission to show his orders from the British Ad miralty "to escort the ship of the Argentine minister while it is navigating in the waters of Her Majesty."
From Time Magazine Archive
Joined to his indifference is a faculty for staking his all on some absurd punctilio: his interest in ideas is greater than in many parts of Italy, his ambitions and pleasures more materialist.
From Rome by Hope Malleson
Communist party congresses are usu ally thoroughly predictable, ritualistic affairs, and for a time last week the Twelfth Congress of the Italian party in Bologna observed the punctilios.
From Time Magazine Archive
He gave it up from punctilios of honour; lost, at least possibly, the opportunity of great political power.
From The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism. Volume 1 by Frederick Whymper
Suit is the word for the performance, so full was it of elaborate punctilios.
From The Half-Hearted by John Buchan
He has indeed been always very complaisant and friendly, though embarrassed with his punctilios of etiquette.
From The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution (Volume VI) by Various
All these punctilios observed, the boat was shoved off from the vessel's side, the eight oars dropped, as one, and the party moved towards the shore.
From The Two Admirals by James Fenimore Cooper
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
