# punctum saliens

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. The primordial heart in an embryo, appearing as a throbbing point.
2. Starting point, source; gist.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Latin punctum saliēns (“leaping point”), attributed to Volcher Coiter or Ulysses Aldrovandi, after a Latin translation of Aristotle's History of Animals (book 6, part 3).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-09-03.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/punctum-saliens