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punt1

[puhnt]
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noun
  1. Football. a kick in which the ball is dropped and then kicked before it touches the ground.Compare drop kick, place kick.
  2. a small, shallow boat having a flat bottom and square ends, usually used for short outings on rivers or lakes and propelled by poling.
  3. Glassmaking. kick(def 23b).
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verb (used with object)
  1. Football. to kick (a dropped ball) before it touches the ground.
  2. to propel (a small boat) by thrusting against the bottom of a lake or stream, especially with a pole.
  3. to convey in or as if in a punt.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to punt a football.
  2. to propel a boat by thrusting a pole against the bottom of a river, stream, or lake.
  3. to travel or have an outing in a punt.
  4. Informal. to equivocate or delay: If they ask you for exact sales figures, you'll have to punt.
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Origin of punt1

before 1000; 1835–45 for def 1; Old English: flat-bottomed boat (not attested in Middle English) < Latin pontō punt, pontoon1; sense “to kick a dropped ball” perhaps via sense “to propel (a boat) by shoving”
Related formspunt·er, noun

punt2

[puhnt]
verb (used without object)
  1. Cards. to lay a stake against the bank, as at faro.
  2. Slang. to gamble, especially to bet on horse races or other sporting events.
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noun
  1. Cards. a person who lays a stake against the bank.
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Origin of punt2

1705–15; < French ponter, derivative of ponte punter, point in faro < Spanish punto point
Related formspunt·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for punter

punter1

noun
  1. a person who punts a boat
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punter2

noun
  1. a person who kicks a ball
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punter3

noun
  1. a person who places a bet
  2. informal any member of the public, esp when a customerthe punters flock into the sales
  3. slang a prostitute's client
  4. slang a victim of a con man
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punt1

noun
  1. an open flat-bottomed boat with square ends, propelled by a poleSee quant 1
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verb
  1. to propel (a boat, esp a punt) by pushing with a pole on the bottom of a river, etc
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Word Origin

Old English punt shallow boat, from Latin pontō punt, pontoon 1

punt2

noun
  1. a kick in certain sports, such as rugby, in which the ball is released and kicked before it hits the ground
  2. any long high kick
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verb
  1. to kick (a ball, etc) using a punt
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Word Origin

C19: perhaps a variant of English dialect bunt to push, perhaps a nasalized variant of butt ³

punt3

verb
  1. (intr) to gamble; bet
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noun
  1. a gamble or bet, esp against the bank, as in roulette, or on horses
  2. Also called: punter a person who bets
  3. take a punt at Australian and NZ informal to have an attempt or try at (something)
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Word Origin

C18: from French ponter to punt, from ponte bet laid against the banker, from Spanish punto point, from Latin punctum

punt4

noun
  1. (formerly) the Irish pound
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Word Origin

Irish Gaelic: pound
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for punter

n.

1888 in football, agent noun from punt (v.).

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punt

n.1

"kick," 1845; see punt (v.).

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punt

n.2

"flat-bottomed river boat," late Old English punt, perhaps an ancient survival of British Latin ponto "flat-bottomed boat" (see OED), a kind of Gallic transport (Caesar), also "floating bridge" (Gellius), from Latin pontem (nominative pons) "bridge" (see pontoon). Or from or influenced by Old French cognate pont "large, flat boat."

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punt

v.

"to kick a ball dropped from the hands before it hits the ground," 1845, first in a Rugby list of football rules, perhaps from dialectal punt "to push, strike," alteration of Midlands dialect bunt "to push, butt with the head," of unknown origin, perhaps echoic. Student slang meaning "give up, drop a course so as not to fail," 1970s, is because a U.S. football team punts when it cannot advance the ball. Related: Punted; punting.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper