Etymologically
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sharp

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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
  • 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