cute English · revision 4044

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=clipping|attested=1731|origins=la acutus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kjuːt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a clipping of [[acute]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) in its sense “keenly perceptive, shrewd”.^(AHD 2000)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “Clever, sharp, shrewd”: 1731, in Bailey's dictionary.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The informal sense “attractive, pleasing” is first recorded in 1834,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) in American students' slang,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) used of things in the same way as cunning;^(OED 1989) the American Heritage finds it of “gals” in 1838.^(AHD 2000) The American Heritage suggests it was first praise for things that showed acuteness and then came to mean “attractive, fetching”, losing its link to the longer word.^(AHD 2000) Barnhart suggests it was the model for the same sense of [[cunning]], from 1844.^(Barnhart 1988) ''Cutesy'', “cute in a sickly or sentimental way”, is American, from 1914.^(Cresswell 2021) In Scottish, Irish and English dialect, cute kept the sense sharp, keen, shrewd, sometimes cunning or shy.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1731 – clever, shrewd.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1834 – attractive, pretty.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1914 – ''cutesy''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Delightfully pretty or dainty: ''a cute puppy''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Attractive in a youthful or [[sexy]] way.^(MW Collegiate)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Obviously meant to charm; affected or [[precious]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Clever, [[shrewd]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cutely]]

+ * [[cuteness]]

+ * [[cutesy]]

+ * [[cutey]]

+ * [[cutie]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[acute]]

+ * [[acumen]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}