'pointed-nosed' is a modern English compound formed from 'pointed' + 'nose'. 'pointed' derives from 'point' (Old French 'point', from Latin 'punctum') where 'point' originally meant 'a sharp or pricking tip', and 'nose' originates from Old English 'nosu' meaning 'nose'.

'point' came into English via Old French 'point' from Latin 'punctum'; 'nose' comes from Old English 'nosu' → Middle English 'nose'. The compound 'pointed-nosed' developed in Modern English by combining the adjective 'pointed' with 'nosed' to describe the shape of the nose.

Initially, 'point' referred generally to a sharp tip and 'nose' simply to the facial organ; over time the compound came to specifically mean 'having a nose that is pointed' (i.e., 'having a pointed snout or beak').