The ball of the foot, the padded front part of the sole behind the tip of the toes; hence, a ballet position executed with the dancer up on the balls of one or both feet, the heels raised up off the floor.
Origin
demi- + pointe, via Old French demi from Latin dīmidius, combined with French pointe from Late Latin pūnctum; in this sense short for pointedes pieds; cf. French sur la pointe des pieds.
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