acute English · revision 10586

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1398|origins=la acutus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /əˈkjuːt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|acūtus|t=sharp-pointed]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) the past participle of acuere, to sharpen,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) related to acus, needle,^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) from a root meaning “sharp” (see [[acid]] and [[edge]]).^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988) The acute accent translates Greek oxeîa, sharp.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of a disease, brief and severe, coming quickly to a crisis, as opposed to chronic: before 1398, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomew.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ After the Middle English period acute developed figurative and other meanings:^(Barnhart 1988) sharp-pointed (by 1570, with the acute angle),^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) penetrating or sharp-witted (by 1588, in Love's Labour's Lost),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and of sounds shrill or high (1609).^(OED 1989) Of feelings or pain, intense, is from 1727, in Swift.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The acute accent is from about 1600 as a noun,^(Etymonline) and an acute ward, for patients needing short-term treatment, from 1958.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1398 – of a disease, acute.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1570 – sharp-pointed; acute angle.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1588 – sharp-witted.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1600 – acute accent.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1727 – intense (of pain).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of a disease, severe and coming quickly to a crisis; opposed to [[chronic]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Sharp or severe; [[intense]]: ''acute pain''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Keenly perceptive or discerning; [[shrewd]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of great importance; critical: ''an acute shortage''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of an [[angle]], less than 90 degrees.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of an accent mark (´), placed over a letter.^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[acutely]]

+ * [[acuteness]]

+ * [[hyperacute]]

+ * [[nonacute]]

+ * [[superacute]]

+ * [[acuity]]

+ * [[acutance]]

+ * [[cute]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ague]]

+ * [[acid]]

+ * [[acumen]]

+ * [[edge]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}