acuity (n.)

"sharpness, acuteness," early 15c., from Old French acuite (14c.) or directly from Medieval Latin acuitatem (nominative acuitas) "sharpness," noun of state from Latin acuere "to sharpen," literal and figurative (of intellect, emotion, etc.), related to acus "a needle" (from PIE root *ak- "be sharp, rise (out) to a point, pierce").

Entries linking to acuity

*ak-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "be sharp, rise (out) to a point, pierce."

It forms all or part of: acacia; acanthus; accipiter; acer; acerbic; acerbity; acervate; acervulus; acescent; acetic; acid; acicular; acme; acne; acrid; acridity; acrimony; acro-; acrobat; acromegaly; acronym; acrophobia; acropolis; acrostic; acrylic; acuity; aculeate; acumen; acupressure; acupuncture; acute; aglet; ague; Akron; anoxic; awn; coelacanth; dioxin; deoxy-; eager; ear (n.2) "grain part of corn;" edge (n.); egg (v.) "to goad on, incite;" eglantine; epoxy; ester; exacerbation; hammer; hypoxia; mediocre; oxalic; oxide; oxy-; oxygen; oxymoron; paragon; pyracanth; paroxysm; selvage; vinegar.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Greek akros "at the end, at the top, outermost; consummate, excellent," akis "sharp point," akros "at the farthest point, highest, outermost," akantha "thorn," akme "summit, edge," oxys "sharp, bitter;" Sanskrit acri- "corner, edge," acani- "point of an arrow," asrih "edge;" Oscan akrid (ablative singular) "sharply;" Latin acer (fem. acris) "sharp to the senses, pungent, bitter, eager, fierce," acutus "sharp, pointed," acuere "to sharpen," acerbus "harsh, bitter," acere "be sharp, be bitter," acus "a needle, pin," ocris "jagged mountain;" Lithuanian ašmuo "sharpness," akstis "sharp stick;" Old Lithuanian aštras, Lithuanian aštrus "sharp;" Old Church Slavonic ostru, Russian óstryj "sharp;" Old Irish er "high;" Welsh ochr "edge, corner, border;" Old Norse eggja "goad;" Old English ecg "sword;" German Eck "corner."

Others are reading

Share acuity

‘cite’

Page URL:

https://www.etymonline.com/word/acuity

HTML Link:

<a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/acuity">Etymology of acuity by etymonline</a>

APA style:

Harper, D. (n.d.). Etymology of acuity. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved $(datetime), from https://www.etymonline.com/word/acuity

Chicago style:

Harper Douglas, “Etymology of acuity,” Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed $(datetime), https://www.etymonline.com/word/acuity.

MLA style:

Harper, Douglas. “Etymology of acuity.” Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/acuity. Accessed $(datetimeMla).

IEEE style:

D. Harper. “Etymology of acuity.” Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/word/acuity (accessed $(datetime)).

Definitions of acuity

acuity (n.)

sharpness of vision; the visual ability to resolve fine detail (usually measured by a Snellen chart);

Synonyms: visual acuity / sharp-sightedness

acuity (n.)

a quick and penetrating intelligence;

Synonyms: acuteness / sharpness / keenness

From wordnet.princeton.edu

Dictionary entries near acuity

actually

actuarial

actuary

actuate

actuation

acuity

aculeate

acumen

acuminate

acupressure

acupuncture