acumen

English

Wikipedia ^en

Etymology

From Latin acūmen (“sharp point”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA: IPA: /ˈæk.jə.mən/. Obsolete IPA: /ə.kjuˈmən/

Noun

acumen (plural acumens)

1. quickness of perception or discernment; penetration of mind; the faculty of nice discrimination
   • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter

     No, no, my dear Watson! With all respect for your natural acumen, I do not think that you are quite a match for the worthy doctor.

   • 1991, Silence Of The Lambs

     Hannibal Lecter: Why do you think he removes their skins, Agent Starling? Thrill me with your acumen.

Synonyms

• sharpness, penetration, keenness, shrewdness, acuteness, acuity, wit, foxiness, intelligence, canniness

Translations

quickness of perception or discernment

• Bulgarian: проницателност (bg) (pronicatelnost), прозорливост (bg) (prozorlivost)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 慧眼 (cmn) (huìyǎn), 精明 (cmn) (jīngmíng), 敏銳 (cmn), 敏锐 (cmn) (mǐnruì)

• Dutch: scherpzinnigheid (nl)
• Esperanto: sagaceco (eo)
• Finnish: terävä-älyisyys (fi), äly (fi), terävyys (fi)
• French: sagacité (fr) f
• German: Scharfsinn (de) m

• Icelandic: skerpa (is) f, skarpskyggni (is) f, skarpur skilningur (is) m, skörp greind (is) f, (business acument) viðskiptavit (is) n
• Japanese: 聡明さ (ja) (そうめいさ, sōmei-sa), 洞察力 (ja) (どうさつりょく, dōsatsuryoku)
• Polish: przenikliwość (pl) f, bystrość (pl) f
• Portuguese: perspicácia (pt) f, sagacidade (pt) f, agudeza (pt) f
• Russian: проницательность (ru) (pronicátel'nost') f , сообразительность (ru) (soobrazítel'nost') f , прозорливость (ru) (prozorlívost') f 
• Spanish: perspicacia (es) f

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Latin

Etymology

From acuō (“make sharp or pointed, sharpen”), from acus (“a needle, a pin”).

Noun

acūmen (genitive acūminis); n, third declension

1. a sharpened point

Inflection

Number	Singular	Plural
nominative	acūmen	acūmina
genitive	acūminis	acūminum
dative	acūminī	acūminibus
accusative	acūmen	acūmina
ablative	acūmine	acūminibus
vocative	acūmen	acūmina

Derived terms

• acūminārius
• acūminō

Related terms

Related terms

acuō acūtālis acūtārus acūtātus acūtē

acūtor acūtulus acūtum acūtus cacumen

Descendants

• Italian: acume
• Portuguese: gume, acume (borrowing)
• Spanish: acumen