8 results for: acumen
a·cu·men
Audio Help [uh-kyoo-muh
n, ak-yuh-] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
Audio Help [uh-kyoo-muh
n, ak-yuh-] Pronunciation Key –noun
| keen insight; shrewdness: remarkable acumen in business matters. |
[Origin: 1525–35; < L acūmen sharpness, equiv. to acū- (s. of acuere to sharpen; see acute) + -men n. suffix
]
] —Related forms
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
acumen
To learn more about acumen visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| ac·u·men
Audio Help (āk'yə-mən, ə-kyōō'-) Pronunciation Key
n. Quickness, accuracy, and keenness of judgment or insight. [Latin acūmen, from acuere, to sharpen, from acus, needle; see ak- in Indo-European roots.] Usage Note: The pronunciation (ə-kyōō'mən), with stress on the second syllable, is an older, traditional pronunciation reflecting the word's Latin origin. In recent years it has been supplanted as the most common pronunciation of the word by an Anglicized variant with stress on the first syllable, (āk'yə-mən). In a recent survey, 68 percent of the Usage Panel chose this as their pronunciation, while 29 percent preferred the pronunciation with stress on the second syllable. The remaining 3 percent of the Panelists said they use both pronunciations. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
acumen
1531, from L. acumen "a point, sting," hence "sharpness, shrewdness," from acuere "to sharpen" (see acuity).
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| acumen | |
noun | |
| 1. | a tapering point |
| 2. | shrewdness shown by keen insight [syn: insightfulness] |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
Acumen
A*cu"men\, n. [L. acumen, fr. acuere to sharpen. Cf. Acute.] Quickness of perception or discernment; penetration of mind; the faculty of nice discrimination. --Selden. Syn: Sharpness; sagacity; keenness; shrewdness; acuteness.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Acumen
A*cu"mi*nate\, a. [L. acuminatus, p. p. of acuminare to sharpen, fr. acumen. See Acumen.] Tapering to a point; pointed; as, acuminate leaves, teeth, etc.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
acumen
acumen was Word of the Day on June 25, 1999.
| Dictionary.com Word of the Day |
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