acumen

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [aˈkuː.mɛn]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [aˈkuː.men]^[1]

Forms

acūmen n (genitive acūminis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin acuō (“to sharpen”) + -men.^[2][1] Acuō is related to acus “needle”.^[1] Douglas Q. Adams has compared it with Tocharian B akwam, which he derives from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ-u-mn-.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ennius, in the Annals, has the point of iron whistling as shields resound.^[3] Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant a sharp point, of a weapon, a stylus or the nose of a dying man in Lucretius, and the sting of insects.^[2][3] Döderlein distinguishes acumen, a point made for piercing, from acies, a sharp edge made for cutting.^[5] Pliny uses it in the plural of sharpness of flavour.^[2]

Its most lasting sense was mental sharpness, with or without ingenii, as in Cicero, and in the plural clever tricks.^[2] In music theory it was the high pitch of a sound, opposed to depth.^[6] Medieval writers also used it of urgency, subtlety and a summit.^[4] English acumen “keen insight” was borrowed in the 1530s.^[7]

Timeline

• 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of the point of a weapon.^[3][4]
• 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of the tip of the nose.^[2][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of mental acuteness.^[2][4]
• 1530s – English acumen is recorded.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A sharp point, tip.^[2][1]
2. A sting of an insect.^[2]
3. (plural) Sharpness of flavour.^[2]
4. Mental acuteness, shrewdness, (plural) clever tricks.^[2]
5. (music) High pitch.^[6]

Word family

• acūminō

Related words

• English acumen

Usage notes

Döderlein contrasts it with acies “edge”: the acies mentis sifts what is confused, the acumen penetrates what is hidden.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
6. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com