acuteness
/əˈkjuːtnəs/uh-KYOOT-nuhs
/əˈkjutnəs/uh-KYOOT-nuhs
Meaningthe quality of being acute
Common meaning: sharpness
Other meanings: intensity
- acusharp; to sharpen; a needleLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 20 · scan
- teverb or noun ending (part of the Latin stem)
- nessnoun ending: the state of being
Journey through time
- Latinācer; acuō; acus‘sharp’
- Englishacute‘sharp’
- Englishformed in English from acuteacuteness‘sharpness’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from acute + -ness.
Dictionary: Skeat (1898), ACUTE, p.7 · scan
Roots
- ācer; acuō; acus Latin “sharp; to sharpen; a needle”
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