means The system of marks—commas, periods, question marks and the rest—used to separate written words into sentences and clauses and to clarify meaning.

from From Latin 'punctuationem,' a noun built on 'punctus,' meaning 'a point' or 'a pricked dot' (from 'pungere,' to prick or pierce—the same root that gives us 'puncture' and 'point'). The image is literal: early scribes marked pauses and stops by pricking little dots into the text. So the word still carries its origin in its body—every period is a tiny puncture in the line.