sharp

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ʃɑːp/, US /ʃɑːrp/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English scharp, inherited from Old English sċearp (“cutting, keen, pointed; shrewd; bitter”),^[2][3] from Proto-Germanic *skarpaz, literally “cutting”,^[2][3] the source also of Dutch scherp, German scharf and Old Norse skarpr.^[2][3] It is from Proto-Indo-European *sker- (“to cut”),^[2][4] the source also of Middle Irish cerb and Latvian skarbs “sharp”;^[2][3] it is related to shear and scrape.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Having a keen cutting edge, or a fine point: about 825 in the OED.^[6] In Old English it also meant mentally acute, keen of the senses, severe, and bitter in taste.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Of words, cutting or sarcastic, is from the early 13th century,^[2] and shrill from the 14th century.^[5] The noun was a sharp weapon from before 1200.^[3] In music, a half step above a given note is from the 1570s (1576 in Barnhart),^[2][3] and the sign for it by the 1650s.^[2] Distinct in outline is from the 1670s.^[2] Quick to take advantage is from the 1690s,^[2] and a cheat at games, short for sharper (1680s), from 1797.^[2] The adverb sharp, punctually, is from 1840.^[6][3] Sharp as a tack is from 1912,^[2] and stylish, in jazz slang, from 1944.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 825 – having a cutting edge.^[6]
• early 13th century – cutting, of words.^[2]
• 1576 – a note raised a semitone.^[3]
• 1690s – quick to take advantage.^[2]
• 1797 – a cheat.^[2]
• 1840 – adverb, punctually.^[6][3]
• 1944 – stylish.^[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Having a thin edge or fine point that can cut or pierce.
2. Sudden and great: a sharp rise.
3. Clear and distinct in outline.
4. Quick to understand; intelligent.
5. Strong and slightly sour in taste.
6. Severe or angry: a sharp reply.
7. (music) Higher by a semitone, or slightly too high.

Adverb

1. Exactly at a time: at six o'clock sharp.
2. Suddenly: turn sharp left.

Noun

1. (music) A note a semitone higher, or the sign ♯ for it.

Word family

• sharply
• sharpness
• sharp-sighted
• sharp-nosed
• oversharp
• sharpbill
• sharpshooting

Related words

• shear
• scrape
• sharpen
• sharper

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press