'point-scorer' is a compound of 'point' + 'scorer'. 'Point' originates from Old French 'point', from Latin 'punctum', where 'pungere' meant 'to prick'; 'scorer' derives from the noun 'score' with the agent-forming suffix '-er'.

'score' originally meant 'a notch or cut used for tallying' (Old Norse/Old English origins) and developed into 'a record of points'; 'scorer' (one who records or gains a score) and the compound 'point-scorer' arose in modern English usage around the late 19th to early 20th century with the rise of organized sport.

Initially 'score' referred to a physical notch or tally; over time it came to mean the number of points achieved in a contest, and 'point-scorer' came to mean 'one who gains those points'.