Assigning someone to a position or office, typically in an official capacity. Designating or establishing something for a specific purpose or time.
From Old French 'apointer', derived from 'a-' (to) and 'point' (point), literally meaning 'to bring to a point' or 'to arrange'. The sense evolved from arranging meetings to designating people for positions.
The connection between 'appointing' and 'pointing' reflects medieval practices where authority was literally demonstrated by pointing—kings would point to designate knights, and officials would point to locations on maps! This physical gesture of selection became formalized into the bureaucratic process we know today.
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