acumen

== English == === Etymology === Borrowed from Latin acūmen (“sharp point”). === Pronunciation === (UK) IPA(key): /ˈækjʊmən/, /əˈkjuːmən/ (US) IPA(key): /əˈkjumən/, /ˈækjəmən/ (US, rare) IPA(key): /æˈkjumən/, /ˈækjəˌmɛn/ === Noun === acumen (usually uncountable, plural acumens or acumina) Quickness of perception or discernment; penetration of mind; the faculty of nice discrimination; acuity of mind. Synonyms: sharpness, penetration, keenness, shrewdness, acuteness, acuity, wits, foxiness, intelligence, canniness (botany) A sharp, tapering point extending from a plant. (anatomy) A bony, often sharp, protuberance, especially that of the ischium. ==== Related terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Further reading === acumen on Wikipedia.Wikipedia == Latin == === Etymology === By surface analysis, acuō (“make sharp or pointed, sharpen”) +‎ -men (noun-forming suffix), from acus (“a needle, a pin”). The linguist Douglas Q. Adams suggests that the form is comparable to Tocharian B akwam, which Adams argues could be a descendant of Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ-u-mn-. However, the Latin form—if inherited directly from Proto-Indo-European—would more likely derive from a term of the shape *h₂eḱu-h₂-m-n-. === Pronunciation === (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [aˈkuː.mɛn] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [aˈkuː.men] === Noun === acūmen n (genitive acūminis); third declension a sharpened point ==== Declension ==== Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem). ==== Derived terms ==== acūminārius acūminō ==== Related terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== Asturian: cume Galician: gume Old French: agun Portuguese: gume → English: acumen → Italian: acume → Portuguese: acume, acúmen → Spanish: acumen === References === “acumen”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press “acumen”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers “acumen”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette. Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎[7], London: Macmillan and Co. == Spanish == === Etymology === Borrowed from Latin acūmen. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /aˈkumen/ [aˈku.mẽn] Rhymes: -umen Syllabification: a‧cu‧men === Noun === acumen m (plural acúmenes) acumen (botany) acumen === Further reading === “acumen”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025