English
acute
Acute comes from Latin acūtus ‘sharp, sharpened’, and goes back to acuō.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEacuō‘to make pointed, sharpen, whet’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEacūtus‘sharp, sharpened’perfect passive participle of acuō
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEacūta
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500acute‘of a disease or fever: starting suddenly and lasting for a short time’
- Englishearliest quotation 1696acute
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEacuō‘to make pointed, sharpen, whet’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEacūtus‘sharp, sharpened’perfect passive participle of acuō
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEacūta
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500acute‘of a disease or fever: starting suddenly and lasting for a short time’
- Englishearliest quotation 1696acute
Earliest quotation: 1696, William Lily, Prosodia Examin’d and Explain’d by Question and Answer: “Polyſyllables having their Penultima long by poſition are acuted;…”
The story
The word is cognate to ague (‘acute, intermittent fever’). As regards the noun, which is derived from the verb, compare Middle English acūte (‘severe but short-lived fever; of blood: corrosiveness, sharpness; musical note of high pitch’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- ‘sharp’
hear, edge, egg, ear, hammer, acid, eager, axe, oxide, vinegar, mediocre, acne, mediocrity, paragon, hark, acacia, acetate, exacerbate, acme, acumen, roselle, acyl, acrimony, rosacea, exacerbation, acerbic, acrid, 72 more
through Latin acus ‘needle, pin’
through Latin acuō ‘to make pointed, sharpen, whet’
Today it means
adj Brief, quick, short.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin acuō / acute