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acme - 8 dictionary results

ac⋅me

[ak-mee]
–noun
the highest point; summit; peak: The empire was at the acme of its power.

Origin:
1610–20; < Gk akm point, highest point, extremity


ac⋅mic [ak-mik] , ac⋅mat⋅ic [ak-mat-ik] , adjective
ac·me   (āk'mē)   
n.  The highest point, as of achievement or development: reached the acme of her career. See Synonyms at summit.

[Greek akmē; see ak- in Indo-European roots.]

Acme

Ac"me\, n. [Gr. ? point, top.]

1. The top or highest point; the culmination.

The very acme and pitch of life for epic poetry. --Pope.

The moment when a certain power reaches the acme of its supremacy. --I. Taylor.

2. (Med.) The crisis or height of a disease.

3. Mature age; full bloom of life. --B. Jonson.
Language Translation for : acme
Spanish: apogeo, colmo,
German: der Höhepunkt,
Japanese: 絶頂

Acme

n. The canonical supplier of bizarre, elaborate, and non-functional gadgetry - where Rube Goldberg and Heath Robinson (two cartoonists who specialized in elaborate contraptions) shop. The name has been humorously expanded as A (or American) Company Making Everything. (In fact, Acme was a real brand sold from Sears Roebuck catalogs in the early 1900s.) Describing some X as an "Acme X" either means "This is insanely great", or, more likely, "This looks insanely great on paper, but in practice it's really easy to shoot yourself in the foot with it." Compare pistol.

This term, specially cherished by American hackers and explained here for the benefit of our overseas brethren, comes from the Warner Brothers' series of "Roadrunner" cartoons. In these cartoons, the famished Wile E. Coyote was forever attempting to catch up with, trap, and eat the Roadrunner. His attempts usually involved one or more high-technology Rube Goldberg devices - rocket jetpacks, catapults, magnetic traps, high-powered slingshots, etc. These were usually delivered in large cardboard boxes, labeled prominently with the Acme name. These devices invariably malfunctioned in improbable and violent ways.

acme 
1570, from Gk. akme "(highest) point," from PIE base *ak- "sharp" (see acrid). Written in Gk. letters until c.1620.

Main Entry: ac·me
Pronunciation: 'ak-mE
Function: noun
: the highest or most critical point or stage (as of growth or development)

ACME company, jargon
/ak'mee/ 1. A Company that Makes Everything. The canonical imaginary business. Possibly also derived from the word "acme" meaning "highest point".
2. A program for MS-DOS.
[What does it do?]
(1994-11-08)

ACME
Advisory Committee on the Marine Environment
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