A WORD A DAY.
ACUMEN. This word came to us directly from the Latin acumen, which meant ‘sharpness,” from acuere, “to sharpen.” With this before us we can better understand our use of the word in the sense of “penetration of mind, acuteness of perception, keen discernment, sharp and quick discrimination.” The Latin word had its origin in the Indogermanic root ak, “to be sharp, pierce,” which is observed also in the Greek akros, “pointed,” the Latin acus, “needle,” the Anglo-Saxon ecg, “edge/’ etc. This same root is also seen in our “acid,” “acute,” “acrid,” “eager,” etc. A-cu-men is accented on the second syllable; sound a as in sofa, c as k, u as in use, e as in end. “He displayed marked acumen in financial matters. 1 '
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Bibliographic details
Southland Times, Issue 21193, 20 September 1930, Page 8
Word Count
128A WORD A DAY. Southland Times, Issue 21193, 20 September 1930, Page 8
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