adjective
- sharp or pungent to the smell or, formerly, the taste
- keenly affecting the other senses: poignant beauty
- sharply painful to the feelings; piercing
- evoking pity, compassion, etc.; emotionally touching or moving
- sharp, biting, penetrating, pointed, etc.: poignant wit
Origin:
ME poynant < MFr poignant, prp. of poindre < L pungere, to prick: see point