astute

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin astūtus (“crafty, cunning, shrewd”),^[2][3][4][5] perhaps through Middle French astut.^[2][4][6] The Latin adjective is formed from astus (“craft, cunning”),^[2][3][7][8] which is of uncertain origin.^[3][4][7] Etymonline says the Romans thought it came from Ancient Greek ἄστυ (ástu, “town”), implying city sophistication,^[3] and Partridge takes the same view;^[9] the American Heritage Dictionary refers it to Proto-Indo-European *wes-.^[5] The rare synonym astucious (1823) is from French astucieux, from astūtia (“astuteness”).^[3][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Keen in discernment, especially about one's own interests; shrewd, wily: 1611, in Cotgrave's French–English dictionary.^[2][4][3] Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1565.^[10]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word covered both shrewd discernment and craftiness.^[2][3] Modern dictionaries put the favourable sense, perceptive and quick to judge a situation, first, and give "crafty, cunning, wily" as a second sense.^[10][11][8] In law, be astute to do is said of a court that takes pains to do something.^[12]

Timeline

• 1611 – shrewd, discerning, wily, in Cotgrave.^[2][4][3] Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1565.^[10]
• 1823 – the synonym astucious.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Quick to see and understand what matters; shrewd and perceptive: an astute judge of character.^[11][10][2]
2. Crafty or cunning, especially in serving one's own interests.^[10][8][2]

Word family

• astutely
• astuteness

Related words

• astucious
• asteism

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
9. ^ a b Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
10. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
11. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
12. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press