acuteadj.n.
/əˈkjuːt/, U.S. /əˈkjut/ A. adj.
1. Medicine.
a. Of a disease, symptom, etc.: coming quickly to a crisis or conclusion; of rapid onset and short duration; of recent or sudden onset; contrasted with chronic adj. 2a; cf. subacute adj. 2. In similar contexts: severe; critical. Also in figurative context.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > characteristics > [adjective] > violent or severe
grimc900
strongeOE
grievousc1290
burning1393
acutea1398
maliciousa1398
peracutea1398
sorea1400
wicked14..
malign?a1425
vehement?a1425
malignousc1475
angrya1500
cacoethe?1541
eager?1543
virulent1563
malignant1568
raging1590
roaring1590
furious1597
grassant1601
hearty1601
sharp1607
main1627
generous1632
perperacute1647
serious1655
ferine1666
bad1705
severe1725
unfavourable1782
grave1888
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. v. xiii. 194 Þe nose wexith scharpe..in scharpe feueres and acute.
c1425 tr. J. Arderne Treat. Fistula (Sloane 277) (1910) 21 (MED) In þe fourtened day, which is endyng of acutez sekenez and begynnyng of cronicez.
1583 P. Barrough Methode of Phisicke i. xv. 17 Aetius saith that it is an inflammacion of the filmes of the braine with an acute feuer, causing raging and vexation of the mind.
1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια vi. 399 Phrenitis or the phrensie, which is a continuall abalienation or distemper of the minde, ioyned with an acute feuer and want of rest or sleep.
1667 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 2 546 She had every year an acute disease or two.
1712 J. Arbuthnot John Bull Still in Senses viii. 38 It is plainly an accute Distemper, and she cannot hold out three Days.
1774 W. Buchan Domest. Med. (ed. 3) liv. 680 Convulsion-fits often constitute the last scene of acute or chronic disorders.
1813 J. Thomson Lect. Inflammation 129 The change from active to passive, or from acute to chronic inflammation, is frequently seen in the progress of ophthalmia.
1844 T. J. Graham Mod. Domest. Med. (ed. 9) 752 In very acute attacks of yellow fever..we resort to the use of purgatives, and the cold affusion.
1886 Times 13 Mar. 10/3 Inflammation might be re-incited by a patient taking heavy meals after the acute symptoms of the disease had subsided.
1904 T. C. Janeway Clin. Study Blood-pressure vi. 153 Typhoid fever is more frequently hypotensive in the average case than the other acute diseases.
1952 P. F. Russell Malaria 33 Acute falciparum malaria sometimes imitates other abdominal conditions such as pancreatitis..and acute appendicitis.
1981 A. Fraser in K. Thear & A. Fraser Compl. Bk. Livestock & Poultry (1988) viii. 212/1 In acute laminitis the fore feet suddenly become very hot and painful.
2007 New Yorker 6 Aug. 55/3 Attempting to preach his first sermon, he came down with an acute case of what might be called rector's block, and was unable to speak.
b. Also acute-care. Of a hospital or hospital ward, bed, etc.: reserved for patients with acute diseases. Also: suffering from an acute disease.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > art or science of medicine > practice of healing art > [adjective] > relating to care of acutely ill patients
acute-care1803
the world > health and disease > healing > places for the sick or injured > [adjective] > hospital > type of ward
acute-care1803
terminal1854
secure1976
1803 R. Jackson Remarks Constit. Med. Dept. Brit. Army ii. 81 The diet of the acute wards was prepared separately in its own vessels, and after its own rule.
1871 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 2 273/1 Patients in an acute ward..have been provided with a totally inadequate supply of milk and beef-tea for their use during the night.
1902 Jrnl. Hygiene 2 288 Children under three years of age are not usually transferred to the convalescent hospitals, in which the incidence of this complication is considerably higher than at the acute hospitals.
1947 N.Y. Times 9 Dec. 37/7 A rise in number of acute care centers from 317 in 1938 to about 700 in 1947.
1977 Lancet 9 July 99/2 The hospital..is planned as an integrated teaching hospital and medical school with 746 acute beds.
1985 Times 21 Mar. 37/4 (advt.) Greenslopes is an acute-care teaching hospital of 417 beds.
2005 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 10 Dec. 1415/1 I can refer patients for consultant opinion or even admit them as acute patients to hospital.
c. Of a problem, crisis, etc.: severe, intense; pressing, urgent. Of a situation: critically bad, grave; serious, desperate.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > urgent
urgent1496
instant1585
pressing1609
rash1609
pressive1619
imperative1621
imperious1623
exigent1624
urging1647
emergent1706
high pressure1834
acute1846
the mind > will > necessity > condition of being necessary > need or want > [adjective] > urgent
urgent1496
thronga1525
crying1608
pressing1609
rash1609
pressive1619
urging1647
immergent1655
emergent1706
acute1846
1846 Examiner 13 June 1/2 The chronic crisis is now rapidly coming to an acute crisis, and advancing to a catastrophe.
1879 Times 31 Mar. 5/2 They will probably refuse to adopt an idea which would render the situation more acute.
1932 ‘E. Price’ Enter—Jane i. 11 Jane Turpin's financial position..might well be described as acute.
1942 Punch 4 Feb. 83/2 (heading) Housing shortage grows acute.
1979 D. Mallett Greatest Collector ix. 84 Richard Wallace..bought no furniture, not wishing, perhaps, to add to the already acute problems of storage space.
2007 Q. Jrnl. Business & Econ. 46 25 Unemployment has been particularly acute in countries such as France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
2.
a. Of a sound: sharp or shrill in tone; high. Opposed to grave or low. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > shrill quality > [adjective]
shillOE
brightOE
shrillc1386
sharp1390
keena1400
shirl1418
piercingc1425
acute1504
shrillish1583
shrilly1594
ear-piercinga1616
sonable1623
oxytonous1653
argute1719
snellc1730
chanticleering1786
criard1840
squealing1879
shrilled1880
bird-high1920
bleaty1925
stainless steel1963
1504 W. Cornishe in J. Skelton Pithy Pleasaunt & Profitable Wks. (1568) sig. Zviiiv Informacion wil teche a doctor his game From superacute to the noble dyapason I a sayd to acute and when I came Enformacion was mete for a doble dyatessaron.
1656 tr. T. Hobbes Elements Philos. v. xxix. 363 Bodies when they are stricken do yeild some a more Grave, others a more Acute Sound.
1664 J. Wallis Let. 14 May in H. Oldenburg Corr. (1965) II. 192 In what Proportion one Sound is more Acute or more Grave, then another compared with it.
1740 J. Grassineau tr. S. De Brossard Musical Dict. 182 Posaune, by us called a sackbut. 'Tis a sort of large Trumpet, fit only to play the bass or tenor to a Trumpet; it must be lengthned and shortned according as the sounds are required to be either grave or acute.
1787 Berwick Museum III. 159/1 An acute small voice denotes timidity and cowardice, and more particularly so, the acute remiss voice.
1855 A. Bain Senses & Intellect i. ii. 206 The cry of a bat is so acute as to pass out of the hearing of many persons.
1875 F. A. G. Ouseley Treat. Harmony (ed. 2) i. 3 The most acute [stave] is called the soprano.
2000 J. Dyer in J. Potter Cambr. Compan. Singing xiv. 171 The author's [of the Summa musice] terminology for the vocal ranges was borrowed from the three segments of the medieval gamut: grave, acute and superacute: he has no use for pitches higher or lower than these.
b. Linguistics. Of accent or tone: having a relatively high note. Hence (of a syllable in a stress-governed language) bearing the main stress. Opposed to grave. Now chiefly historical.
ΚΠ
1669 W. Holder Elem. Speech 99 The Acute accent raising the Voice in some certain Syllables, to a higher, i.e. more acute Pitch or Tone, and the Grave depressing it lower.
1779 J. Steele Prosodia Rationalis ii. 30 The meaning of a sentence may often be entirely altered, by changing the accent from acute to grave, or vice versâ.
1779 S. Johnson Dryden in Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets III. 307 The English heroick admits of acute or grave syllables variously disposed.
1847 Proc. Philol. Soc. (1848) 3 101 The stress-syllable may be made the more acute, or the more grave, at the discretion of the speaker.
1913 Trans. & Proc. Amer. Philol. Assoc. 44 25 In the Dionysos-hymn of the women of Elis,..we have a tripudic word-count by twos and threes and fours, with the long syllable instead of the acute stress to signalize the main count or ictus in each word-foot.
1920 E. H. Sturtevant tr. Dionysius Halicarnaseus in Pronunc. Greek & Lat. iv. 194 The entire utterance during one word is not delivered at the same pitch of the voice throughout, but one part of it at the acute pitch [Gk. ἐπὶ τῆς ὀξείας], another at the grave, another at both.
1965 Amer. Jrnl. Philol. 86 144 Quintilian..when calling a syllable ‘acute’ points clearly to his dependence on Greek models.
c. Usually as postmodifier. Of a vowel letter: marked with an acute accent, as e acute (é; originally in French indicating a close sound of e). Hence of a vowel: having a close sound.
ΚΠ
1730 C. Arnoux Parallels of Sounds French & Eng. Langs. p. vj Sometimes, that e has the sound of the é acute, tho' it has no accent.
1750 L. Chambaud Gram. French Tongue i. 21 é acute. This e that has the sound of a in fate, should always be marked over with an acute.
1769 L. Chambaud Gram. French Tongue (ed. 5) 38 o. This vowel receives two sounds..; the one acute, slender, and commonly short; and the other grave, broad, and always long.
1874 A. J. Ellis On Early Eng. Pronunc. IV. iv. x. 1048/1 He says that others use the circumflex â, employing the grave for his á acute or short accent.
1887 W. D. Whitney Pract. Fr. Gram. i. 3 In spelling, the accent should always be mentioned along with the vowel to which it belongs: thus, été is ‘e acute, t, e acute’.
1892 tr. R. P. Mansion Man. Pronunc in A. Dufour Fr. Gram. ii. 137 Au is sounded as o acute: In cauchemar.., mauvais.
1922 J. S. Galland Fr. Composition & Gram. Rev. iii. 109 Here the é (acute e) is always retained in spelling, but the pronunciation in regularly è (grave e).
2001 G. Nelson Inform Designer's Man. (ed. 4) v. 260 In the case of French, we might write: Zcharacter ’@’e’ ; ! E-acute.
3.
a. Geometry. Of a plane angle: less than 90 degrees; (also, in non-technical use) considerably less than 90 degrees, sharp. Frequently in acute angle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > angularity > [noun] > angle or corner > acute angle
acute angle?a1560
acute1636
the world > relative properties > number > geometry > angle > [adjective] > acute-angled
sharp?1537
acute?a1560
acutangular1658
?a1560 L. Digges Geom. Pract.: Pantometria (1571) i. Defs. sig. B j v Of straight lined angles there are three kindes, the Orthogonall, the Obtuse and the Acute Angle.
1570 H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. i. f. 3 An acute angle is that, which is lesse then a right angle.
1636 W. Bedwell tr. P. de la Ramée Via Regia ad Geometriam v. 65 The alterne angles are made acute and obtuse.
1790 Nat. Hist. in J. White Jrnl. Voy. New S. Wales App. 283 Their base is a triangle of the scalenus kind, or having one angle obtuse and two acute.
1831 T. Walker Elements Geom. (ed. 3) i. 36 The two acute angles of a right triangle are complements of each other.
1879 H. Northcott in Cassell's Techn. Educator IV. 2/2 The softer the material the more acute should be the angle of the cutting tool.
1924 A. J. Allmand & H. J. T. Ellingham Princ. Appl. Electrochem. (ed. 2) xxiv. 626 The acute angle at the apex of the V.
2003 Yoga Jrnl. Mar.–Apr. 143/3 If you have rather short hamstrings,..your left leg will form an acute angle (less than 90 degrees).
b. Chiefly Botany. Sharp at the end, coming to a sharp point, pointed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > fact or condition of tapering > condition of tapering to a point > [adjective]
piked1269
pointedc1325
sharp1340
peakedc1350
pricked?a1425
sharp-pointed1530
acuatea1550
piquant1549
picked1552
corned?c1562
arrow-headed1567
acuminated1578
pointing1578
acute1598
exasperated1608
spitted1626
pointy1644
sagittal1656
pecked1662
piqued1689
spired1694
piky1741
spiky1743
spiry1777
apexed1813
beak-shaped1830
peaky1832
apiculated1839
cusped1888
sagittiform1895
cuspate1896
1598 A. M. tr. J. Guillemeau Frenche Chirurg. sig. biij.v/1 A little croockede knife which is verye acute, & sharpe conveniente to inscide the Heade, and bellye of a deade Childe, internally in the Wombe.
1599 A. M. tr. O. Gaebelkhover Bk. Physicke 29/1 Take the extreamest acute toppes of sage.
1668 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) iv. ii. 162 Growing smaller by little and little, it terminates with an acute end.
1785 T. Martyn tr. J.-J. Rousseau Lett. Elements Bot. xvi. 181 The stigma, which was obtuse in that, is acute in this.
1838 J. C. Loudon Arboretum IV. 2490 Leaves narrow, awl-shaped, ending in acute points, placed by threes round the branches.
1872 Gardener May 221 Tufts of acute spines..are dotted at regular intervals over the surface [of the prickly pear].
1904 Gardeners' Chron. 30 Jan. 74/2 The leaves are opposite and decussate, cordate, acute, with serrate margins and vary in size considerably.
2008 M. Irish Trees & Shrubs for Southwest 152/2 The leaf margins are entire but serrate in the middle, and the leaf tip may be either rounded or acute.
c. Geometry. Esp. of a triangle: having only acute angles.
ΚΠ
1636 W. Bedwell tr. P. de la Ramée Via Regia ad Geometriam xiii. 169 The base of an acute triangle is of lesse power than the shankes are.
1747 J. Ward Young Mathematician's Guide (ed. 8) iii. 288 All Triangles that have not a Right Angle, whether they are Acute, or Obtuse, are in general Terms, called Oblique Triangles.
1847 London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 31 396 One of the wires is bent into the form of an acute triangle.
1912 W. Betz & H. E. Webb Plane Geom. i. 30 A triangle, each of whose angles is an acute angle, is called an acute triangle.
1971 J. M. Moser Mod. Elem. Geom. v. 91 A triangle is called acute if and only if all three of its angles are acute angles.
1985 Nature 24 Jan. 263/1 Space can be packed by acute and obtuse rhombohedra.
1998 J. L. Heilbron Geom. Civilized iv. 163 In any acute triangle ABC, such as Fig. 4.3.6, there rules a law of sines.
4. Of the intellect or a product of it: having subtle or quick discernment; penetrating, keen, sharp-witted, shrewd, clever. Opposed to dull, stupid, obtuse. Cf. cute adj. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > sharpness, shrewdness, insight > [adjective]
sharpc888
yepec1000
spacka1200
yare-witelc1275
fellc1300
yap13..
seeinga1382
far-castinga1387
sightya1400
perceivinga1425
snellc1425
politic?a1439
quickc1449
pregnant?a1475
pert1484
quick-wittedc1525
apt1535
intelligentc1540
queemc1540
ready-witted1576
political1577
of (a) great, deep, etc., reach1579
conceited1583
perspicuous1584
sharp-witteda1586
shrewd1589
inseeing1590
conceived1596
acute1598
pregnate1598
agile1599
nimble-headed1601
insighted1602
nimble1604
nimble-witted1604
penetrant1605
penetrating1606
spraga1616
acuminous1619
discoursing1625
smart1639
penetrativea1641
sagacious1650
nasute1653
acuminate1654
blunt-sharpa1661
long-headed1665
smoky1688
rapid1693
keen1704
gash1706
snack1710
cute1731
mobile1778
wide awake1785
acuminated1786
quick-minded1789
kicky1790
snap1790
downy1803
snacky1806
unbaffleable1827
varmint1829
needle-sharp1836
nimble-brained1836
incisivea1850
spry1849
fast1850
snappy1871
hard-boiled1884
on the spot1903
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost iii. i. 64 A most acute Iuuenall, volable and free of grace. View more context for this quotation
1600 B. Jonson Every Man out of his Humor iii. i. sig. Hiv The most Diuine and Acute Ladie of the Court.
1679 I. Newton Let. 13 Dec. in Corr. (1960) II. 308 Your acute Letter having put me upon considering thus for ye species of this curve, I might add something about its description by points quam proximè.
1709 J. Strype Ann. Reformation li. 515 That she [i.e. Queen Elizabeth] would allow Honorary Salaries to the acute and hopeful Youth, for their Maintenance in their Studies there.
1755 E. Young Centaur i, in Wks. (1757) IV. 125 Acutest understandings in religious debates often lose their edge.
1788 T. Reid Aristotle's Logic vi. §1. 128 Chillingworth was the acutest logician as well as the best reasoner of his age.
1813 H. Davy Elements Agric. Chem. iii. 58 Such a circumstance could not be lost upon so acute an observer.
1863 J. H. Burton Book-hunter (ed. 2) 102 Bargains may be obtained off the counters of the most acute.
1920 Punch 25 Feb. 150/3 Keen sighted and swift of motion as a bird, sharp-scented as a greyhound, faithful and acute as a dog, and full of sentient wisdom as an elephant.
1958 J. Barth End of Road x. 156 I felt acute, tuned-up, razor-sharp, simply because in my grammar class that morning I'd explained the rules governing the case forms of English pronouns.
1984 C. Trillin in New Yorker 17 Dec. 130 Judge Gillenwater..had stories about Buck Williams, an unschooled but remarkably acute black man.
2003 O. Phillips Astral Projection Plain & Simple xvii. 145 A number of leaders in the world of commerce owe their success to a blend of acute intelligence and very distinct psychic perceptions.
5. Of pain, pleasure, etc.: acting keenly on the senses or emotions; keen, poignant, intense.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > [adjective] > of or relating to physical sensation > acute (of sensation)
acute1615
the world > health and disease > ill health > pain > types of pain > [adjective] > relating to agony or torment > causing agony or torment
sharpc1000
grievousc1290
smartc1300
fellc1330
unsufferablea1340
keena1375
poignantc1390
rending?c1400
furiousc1405
stoutc1425
unbearablec1449
agonizing1570
tormenting1575
cruciable1578
raging1590
tormentuous1597
pungent1598
racking1598
acute1615
wrenching1618
excruciating1664
grinding1681
excruciate1773
discruciating1788
unendurable1801
of bare sufferance1823
perialgic1893
1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 190 Both these make the paine somwhat acute or stinging.
1675 R. Allestree Art Contentm. xi. 201 Men who amidst the acutest torments, have still preserv'd a serenity of mind, and have frustrated contemts and reproches by disregarding them.
1716 A. Pope Full Acct. E. Curll 3 The Symptoms encreas'd violently, with acute Pains in the lower Belly.
1792 W. Bartram Trav. N. & S. Carolina (new ed.) iii. v. 383 The sting of this last is intolerable, no less acute than a prick from a redhot needle, or a spark of fire on the skin; these are called the burning flies.
1806 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 15 381 The pain in her head became so acute, as to produce at times, actions of violence.
1864 A. Bain Senses & Intellect (ed. 2) i. i. 97 The pleasure is not what would be called acute, or of great intensity.
1876 G. Grote Fragm. Ethical Subj. i. 10 A man may feel sympathy in the most acute degree.
1928 A. Waugh Nor Many Waters vi. 231 He pictures with a sense of nostalgia, too acute almost to be endured, all that marriage to Marian would have meant.
1991 G. Slovo Betrayal xxxi. 290 He pushed himself up from his chair, and in doing so he experienced a stab of pain more acute then ever before.
6. Of a taste or smell, or a thing embodying it: sharp, pungent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > taste and flavour > sourness or acidity > [adjective] > pungent
sharpc1000
hotc1175
poignantc1387
keen1398
angryc1400
eager?c1400
tartc1405
argutec1420
mordicative?a1425
mordificative?a1425
piperinea1425
pungitive?a1425
pikea1475
vehement1490
oversharpa1500
over-stronga1500
penetrating?1576
penetrative1578
quick1578
piercing1593
exalted1594
mordicant1603
acute1620
toothed1628
pungent1644
piquant1645
tartarous1655
mordacious1657
piperate1683
peppery1684
tartish1712
hyperoxide1816
snell1835
mordanta1845
shrill1864
piperitious1890
the world > physical sensation > smell and odour > fetor > [adjective] > of a smell: bad
sourc1340
sourish1398
unclean?1440
rankish1495
rank1570
penetrating?1576
quick1578
musk cat1609
acute1620
loud1641
nauseous1649
loud-flavoured1866
1620 T. Venner Via Recta viii. 186 It..offendeth the head with acute vapours.
1638 T. Whitaker Blood of Grape 24 Let us take a taste, and principally pierce these four vessels, sweet, acute, austere, and mild.
1699 J. Evelyn Acetaria 51 The Limon is somewhat more acute, cooling and extinguishing Thirst.
1721 W. Gibson Farriers Dispensatory i. i. 26/1 Sagapan, This is brought to us chiefly from Alexandria. It is of a pungent Taste, and acute smell.
1789 W. Radcliffe tr. K. I. Hablitz Nat. Hist. E. Tartary ii. 123 Both the flowers and leaves have an acute scent, resembling that of mint.
1886 tr. E. Zola His Masterpiece? xi. 332 The drawing-room..was filled with the undefinable smell of a chemist's shop, relieved by an acute odour of musk.
1922 W. Gerhardie Futility iii. 175 There was an acute scent of eau-de-Cologne in the room.
2009 Business Line (Nexis) 4 Sept. The softness of the gnocchi complements the acute flavour of the gorgonzola cheese that is made from un-skimmed cow milk.
7. Of the senses or nervous system: keen, sharp, quick in catching or responding to impressions. Hence, of the emotions: sensitive to impressions, delicate, finely strung.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > acuteness of physical senses > [adjective]
sharpc1000
quick?1526
subtile1565
acute1641
quick-set1653
keenc1720
the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > capacity for emotion > sensitiveness or tenderness > [adjective] > sensitive (of the feelings)
acute1814
1641 Earl of Monmouth tr. G. F. Biondi Hist. Civil Warres Eng. I. 9 Strong and acute sights suffer more by looking on the Sunne, then those which are obtuce and weake.
1645 J. Bastwick Just Def. 39 They have very accute senses, that can out of the Americans and out of the Low-Countries smell the good cheere and plum-pottage into England.
1762 Ld. Kames Elements Crit. II. xvi. 153 The acutest and most lively of our external senses.
1768 J. Johnston in Philos. Trans. 1767 (Royal Soc.) 57 125 The feelings are by no means acute, but blunt and confused.
1814 J. Austen Mansfield Park I. ii. 24 Her feelings were very acute, and too little understood to be properly attended to. View more context for this quotation
1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. v. v. 528 The jealousy of the Admiral was acute.
1878 G. MacDonald Ann. Quiet Neighb. xix. 365 His hearing is acute at all times.
1931 E. Ferber Amer. Beauty ix. 193 Jude's hearing, always painfully acute, now amounted to a sixth sense.
1993 R. Marler in V. Bell Sel. Lett. 151 VB herself did not use perfume, although—or perhaps because—she had an acute sense of smell.
B. n.
1. Medicine. An acute illness; an acute case; a person suffering from an acute condition. Frequently in plural.
ΚΠ
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 69 In fracture of þe heued, þe perilez & þe yuel accidentez are abiden..to 4 [?c1425 Paris fourty] daiez, for sich is þe laste terme of acutez [Paris agewes], And to 15, which is the comon terme of acutez [Paris agewes].
1714 J. Bellers Ess. towards Improvem. Physick 11 There are the same Reasons for Classing of Diseases, Medicine and Physicians; especially Chronicks and Acutes, as there was formerly to distinguish between Physicians, Chirugeons and Apothecaries.
1740 T. Short Ess. Hist. Princ. Mineral Waters 190 Mineral Waters..have not only been inexrpessibly more succesful than Medicines, but even more advantageous in Chronics than Medicines in general are often found in acutes.
1824 Lit. Magnet 1 331 Speedy and skilful remedies, upon a subject naturally sound,..have been known to baffle chronics a surprising length of time; to wrest from the gripe of the acutes; and restore the patient to the dinner table again and again.
1895 Documents City Boston 1894 VI. 2898 His reasoning is fallacious, as you, of course, at once saw, for the proportion of acutes to chronics is the same each day.
1900 Boston Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 7 June 612/2 At the women's games on the grounds of the Manhattan State Hospital for the Insane..a spirited basket-ball match was played by a team of ‘chronics’, dressed in brown, and one of ‘acutes’, in blue.
1962 K. Kesey One flew over Cuckoo's Nest i. 14 But there are some of us Chronics that the staff made a couple of mistakes on years back, some of us who were Acutes when we came in, and got changed over.
1996 W. J. Edmunds et al. in V. Isham & G. Medley Models Infectious Human Dis. i. 84 We sub-divide the population into 5 epidemiological classes: susceptibles, latents, acutes (the initial highly infectious stage of infection), carriers and immunes.
2. Linguistics. An acute accent.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > written character > [noun] > written character not a letter > diacritic > types of
prickOE
tittlec1384
acute accent1555
windabout1589
cerilla1591
cedilla1599
acute1609
circumflex1609
grave1609
diaeresis1611
dialysis1665
dot1693
short accent, mark1704
long mark1729
síneadh fada1768
macron1851
macrotone1880
tilde1915
umlaut1938
fada1981
ogonek1981
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > intonation, pitch, or stress > [noun] > accent > pitch accent > acute
acute accent1555
acute1609
1609 J. Dowland tr. A. Ornithoparchus Micrologus 70 The circumflex is..contrary to the acute, for it begins with the acute, and ends with the grave [L. est enim..contrarius acuto circumflexus, ab acuto namque incipit, & in gravem desinit.].
1693 tr. N. Knatchbull Annot. New Test. 246 But if it be accented with an Acute in the third from the end..then is the Imperative Aorist of the middle voice.
1728 R. North Mem. Musick (1846) 28 A right downe singing, with acutes and graves.
1794 Brit. Critic Feb. 136 He gives a circumflex and two acutes, though other editors would have been contented with accenting the penult only.
1824 J. Johnson Typographia II. iii. 34 The five vowels marked with acutes over them.
1881 H. W. Chandler Greek Accent. (ed. 2) 2 A word with the acute on the last syllable is called Oxytone; on the penultimate, Paroxytone.
1901 A. A. Macdonnell Sanskrit Gram. for Beginners App. III, 227 The anudātta preceding the acute is marked with a horizontal stroke below, and the svarita following it, with a vertical stroke above.
1949 W. J. Entwistle & W. A. Morison Russ. & Slavonic Langs. iv. 74 The process by which acutes change to circumflexes and vice versa is known as metatony.
2003 M. Belson On the Press i. 19 Mr Bolton and Sam Coates would spend their days reading through every typescript looking for accents such as acutes, graves, longs, shorts, [etc.].
3. An acute angle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > angularity > [noun] > angle or corner > acute angle
acute angle?a1560
acute1636
1636 W. Bedwell tr. P. de la Ramée Via Regia ad Geometriam v. 65 Therefore alternly, As the acute unto the acute: so is the obtuse, unto the obtuse.
1651 J. F. tr. H. C. Agrippa Three Bks. Occult Philos. ii. xxiii. 253 By its lineature, by which it hath within five obtuse angles, and without five acutes.
1759 New Universal Hist. Arts & Sci. II. 8/2 In the equilateral triangle GHI, the three angles are equal between them, because opposed to equal sides. They are also all acutes.
1849 J. Weale Rudim. Dict. Terms Archit. i. 10/1 The opposite sides meet in an acute at the vertex.
1905 J. E. W. Wallin Optical Illusions of Reversible Perspective xiv. 301 The over-judging of acutes foreshortens the connecting line.
2008 Oxf. Stud. Anc. Philos. 35 216 An acute is defined as an angle which is less than a right one.
Compounds
C1. Parasynthetic, as acute-eyed, acute-leaved, acute-sighted, etc.
ΚΠ
1642 J. Gauden 3 Serm. 61 Justice must bee..most eagle-ey'd, and acute-sighted in searching out a matter.
1751 J. Wesley Wks. (1872) XIV. 80 Acute-toned words of the First and Second Declensions circumflex all their Genitives and Datives.
1784 J. Abercrombie Propagation & Bot. Arrangem. Plants & Trees II. 800 Acute-leaved Rondeletia—leaves footstalked, sub-ovate, obtuse.
1808 S. E. Brydges Biogr. Peerage II. 369 When this virtuous and acute-minded man descends to the grave.
1875 Encycl. Brit. III. 495/2 The swarm..soars again in the air,..giving out..a loud and acute-toned hum.
1916 Pop. Astron. 24 425 To show what these photographs reveal to an acute-eyed observer not otherwise connected with them, there is here presented a drawing of the markings visible on the latest of them.
2004 R. V. Teschner & M. S. Whitley Pronouncing Eng. i. 3 Pay close attention to the acute-accented syllables and make sure that you are strong-stressing them.
C2.
acute abdomen n. Medicine and Surgery the condition of having sudden severe pain in the abdomen, often with rigidity of the abdominal wall, vomiting, and shock, frequently indicative of a pathological process such as perforation or obstruction of a viscus which may require emergency surgery; an instance of this.
ΚΠ
1903 Jrnl. Compar. Pathol. & Therapeutics 16 228 Though of immense importance in man, the ‘acute abdomen’ is not nearly so important in animals.
1906 W. H. Battle in Lancet 27 Jan. 201/1 (title) Three clinical lectures on the ‘acute abdomen’.
1954 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 22 May 1211/2 Many of us feel that carcinoma of the lung..should be treated with almost the same priority as an acute abdomen.
2009 K. Sritharan et al. 300 Essent. SBAs Surg. i. 28 A pregnancy test should be performed in all pre-menopausal women with an acute abdomen.
acute accent n. (also †accent acute) [after classical Latin accentus acūtus] (a) a raised pitch or stress on a particular syllable; (b) the mark ´ placed over letters in some languages, originally to indicate raised pitch, and subsequently stress, vowel quality, vowel length, or any of various other phonetic distinctions.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > written character > [noun] > written character not a letter > diacritic > types of
prickOE
tittlec1384
acute accent1555
windabout1589
cerilla1591
cedilla1599
acute1609
circumflex1609
grave1609
diaeresis1611
dialysis1665
dot1693
short accent, mark1704
long mark1729
síneadh fada1768
macron1851
macrotone1880
tilde1915
umlaut1938
fada1981
ogonek1981
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > intonation, pitch, or stress > [noun] > accent > pitch accent > acute
acute accent1555
acute1609
1555 R. Sherry Treat. Figures Gram. & Rhetorike f. vv The Grammarians haue made good prouision, which to euery syllable haue assigned their accent, wherby it is eyther lift vp, put downe, or strayned: calling the first an accente acute, the seconde graue, the thyrde circumflecte.
1609 J. Dowland tr. A. Ornithoparchus Micrologus 70 An acute accent..musically..is the regular eleuation of the finall words or syllables according to the custome of the Church.
1669 W. Holder Elem. Speech 99 The Acute accent raising the Voice in some certain Syllables,..and the Grave depressing it lower.
1768 A. Vieyra New Portuguese Gram. 218 A before e must be accentuated with the acute accent, and pronounced accordingly.
1874 R. Cleasby & G. Vigfusson Icelandic-Eng. Dict. (new ed.) 1/1 About 1770 the Icelanders resumed the spelling of Thorodd, marking diphthongal vowels by an acute accent.
1888 C. T. Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 121 Seconds mark, a double acute accent is used for this purpose, thus ˝.
1960 W. K. Matthews Russ. Hist. Gram. ii. 42 The Russian form voróna..illustrates a shift of stress forward in the word, which is known as progressive metatony and is the outcome here of the greater energy of the acute accent as compared with that of the circumflex.
1994 A. M. Devine & L. D. Stephens Prosody of Greek Speech iii. 102 Recession of the Greek acute accent is constrained by the weight of the final syllable of the word.
acute mountain sickness n. altitude sickness, typically in a mild form with headache, nausea, and fatigue, occurring in persons who ascend too quickly to high altitude (over 2,400 metres or 8,000 feet); abbreviated AMS; cf. altitude sickness n. at altitude n. Compounds, mountain sickness n. at mountain n. and adj. Compounds 2a.
ΚΠ
1903 Wide World Mag. July 345/1 At these altitudes the rarity of the atmosphere makes breathing extremely difficult, and in many cases causes acute mountain-sickness.
1967 Mil. Med. 132 585 (title) Influence of elevation of origin, rate of ascent and a physical conditioning program on symptoms of acute mountain sickness.
2004 Global Nov. 64/2 The Kilimanjaro National Park authorities are understandably cagey about the death toll on the mountain, but it is likely that between 10–15 people die every year. The most serious threat is from acute mountain sickness.
acute myeloid leukaemia n. a type of leukaemia characterized by the abnormal proliferation in the bone marrow of white blood cells of granulocytic lineage and having a short duration of time between onset and death if untreated.
ΚΠ
1904 Progressive Med. June 214 A specially interesting case of acute myeloid leukæmia is reported..in which there was a green coloration of the bone-marrow.
1939 San Antonio (Texas) Light 1 Dec. b7/4 Stricken November 22 with acute myeloid leukemia, a rare malady which causes white corpuscles in the blood to multiply.., the chubby, rosy-cheeked youngster could still play weakly today.
2005 Woman & Home July 38/2 A friend took me to hospital where I was admitted immediately and later told I had acute myeloid leukaemia, a rare form of cancer that prevents your white blood cells from maturing properly and fighting infection.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
acutev.
/əˈkjuːt/, U.S. /əˈkjut/ΚΠ
1504 Treat. Enformacione & Musyke in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1908) 120 425 Enformacione will steteche a doctor hys game, from superacute to the doble diaspason. I assayde to acute; and when I came, Enformacione was mete for a doble diatessaron.
2. transitive. To pronounce or mark with an acute accent. Cf. circumflex v. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > written character > represent by written character [verb (transitive)] > diacritic > type of diacritic
circumflex1565
acute1609
circumflect1751
dagesh1751
dash1836
umlaut1976
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > intonation, pitch, or stress > [verb (transitive)] > acute accent
acute1609
penacute1764
1609 J. Dowland tr. A. Ornithoparchus Micrologus iii. iii. 71 Greeke and Hebrew words hauing not the Latine Declension, are acuted [L. acuuntur], as Chryson, Argyrion, Ephraim, Hierusalem.
1696 W. T. Lily, Improved 150 Acute, which acutes a syllable and lifts it up, and the Acute Accent is mark'd with a little oblique, or overthwart stroke.
1751 J. Wesley Short Greek Gram. in Wks. (1872) XIV. 80 Monosyllables, unless contracted, are acuted.
1775 T. Sheridan Lect. Art of Reading I. ii. 115 Whereas every last syllable in the Scotch is acuted.
1837 Amer. Biblical Repository Apr. 460 An objection advanced by many against a line in Homer,..is removed simply by acuting the penult, in place of the antepenult, of the word διδομεν.
1874 J. S. Blackie Horæ Hellenicæ 347 If any person objects that the modern Greek not only acutes the last syllables of these words, but makes their quantity long, this is all in favour of my argument.
1896 Mod. Lang. Notes 11 263/1 If cultured circles in Paris pronounce the monosyllables ces, des, les, etc., as if acuted, so should poetry.
1924 Mod. Lang. Rev. 19 172 The two syllables..are both acuted (i.e., they are spoken with rising pitch).
2008 R. D. Fulk et al. Klaeber's Beowulf (ed. 4) Introd. p. xxxi Twice the verb prefix ā- is acuted.
3. transitive. To sharpen, quicken (a quality). rare after 17th cent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > carry on vigorously [verb (transitive)] > make vigorous or energetic > make more active or intense
sharpa1100
sharpenc1450
acuate1542
whetten1582
keen1599
vigorate1613
edgea1616
exacuatea1637
acute1637
acuminate1784
1637 T. Nabbes Microcosmus v. sig. G5v As it acut's Sloth often into Diligence, Despaire May be Hopes cause.
1638 T. Nabbes Totenham Court v. i. 57 Witty luxury, How it acutes invention, and makes pregnant Even barren faculties to beget new issues Of rare conceipt.
1678 R. Burthogge Organum Vetus & Novum 43 Artificial is the Logick of Schools, of which the chiefest is Aristotle's: and is useful many waies, but among others, mainly (as a Whetstone) to acute and sharpen the Wit.
1786 Derham's Physico & Astro Theol. (new ed.) II. Index 401/2 Sight, its accuracy in some..acuted by disease.
1816 Encycl. Perthensis (ed. 2) VI. 147/2 Watery menstrua take up only the yellow, and leave the red, which may afterwards be extracted by rectified spirit of wine, or by water acuted by fixed alkaline salt.
1913 Proc. Amer. Soc. Psychical Res. 11 Nov. (1914) 8 679 The flower is the perception through an animal—a physical sense acuted by ages of evolution, the ages of seeking for food and for protection of life itself.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.n.a1398
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