Wordwyrt

sharpness

/ˈʃɑːpnəs/SHAHRP-nuhs
/ˈʃɑɹpnəs/SHAHRP-nuhs

Meaningthe quality of being sharp

Common meaning: keenness of edge

Other meanings: clarity

Journey through time

  1. Old EnglishscearpsourceB&T
  2. Middle Englishsharpsource
  3. Englishsharp‘having a fine edge or point’
  4. Englishformed in English from sharpsharpness‘keenness of edge’ · 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 sharp + -ness.

Dictionary: Skeat (1898), SHARP, p.545 · scan

Source words

  • scearp Old English · source word “having a fine edge or point”

Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app