punkturinn

punkturinn is the Icelandic term for the punctuation mark known in English as the full stop or period. It marks the end of a declarative sentence, and it is also used in abbreviations. In numerals, the dot serves as a decimal separator in many languages, while in English it is typically called the period when used as a decimal point and the full stop when ending a sentence.

Usage and function: The dot appears at the end of most sentences in Latin-script texts. It is sometimes used after abbreviations, though style guides vary on which abbreviations require it. In numbers, the dot can denote the decimal point or, in some conventions, separate thousands. In digital contexts, the dot also forms part of domain names, email addresses, and file paths, where it serves as a delimiter between segments.

Origin and history: Punctuation marks to indicate sentence boundaries emerged in medieval manuscripts and were gradually standardized through the early modern period. The modern full stop crystallized as printers and authors settled on a small rounded dot to signal conclusion, a convention that spread across many languages and continues in use today.

Typography and encoding: The character is encoded in Unicode as U+002E and in ASCII as 46. In fonts, the appearance of the dot can vary slightly in size and shape, but its function remains the same. Distinct terminology exists in various languages, with “full stop,” “period,” and “dot” used in different contexts.

See also: decimal point, interpunct, ellipsis, full stop, period.