Is 'punctum' English, or is it actually Latin?

'Punctum' is a word borrowed from Latin 'punctum'.

punctum

(details not available)
Meaning: Photographic detail that poignantly affects an individual viewer.

Etymology: Latin punctum means point or prick; Barthes used it metaphorically.

Topics: Arts:Visual.

Origin: From Latin to English.

note: Punctum (Latin for point or prick) primarily refers to a poignant personal detail in a photograph that pierces the viewer emotionally creating a unique connection beyond the image's general meaning (studium). It's an accidental subjective element — like a fleeting expression or a specific object — that resonates with an individual's feelings often disrupting the photo's intended message and making it linger in memory. The term also refers to tiny openings in eyelids (lacrimal puncta) for tear drainage a genus of small snails (Punctidae) and other specific scientific/historical uses.

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