in poynt to

Middle English

Phrase

in poynt to

1. (with infinitive verb) on the brink of, on the verge of, about to
   • c. 1368, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Book of the Duchess, as recorded c. 1440–1450 in Bodleian Library MS. Fairfax 16, folio 130r:

     Al is ylyche goode to me / Ioy or sorowe wherso hyt be / For I haue felynge in no thynge / But as it were a mased thynge / Alway in poynt to falle a down

     Everything is equally good to me— / Joy or sorrow, however it might be— / For I feel nothing about anything, / But am like some dazed thing, / Always on the brink of falling down.

References

• “pointe, n., 5b.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2023-11-14.
• “in_poynt_to”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2024-07-20.