English
acerb
Acerb comes from Latin acerbus ‘sharp, severe, bitter’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eḱ-1‘sharp’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eḱrós2‘sharp’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*akris2‘sharp’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEācer3‘sharp’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEacerbus3‘sharp, severe, bitter’
- Englishearliest quotation 1732acerb3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱrós
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin acer
- 3 Wiktionary, English acerb
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1732, Edward Strother: “If you put Spirit of Sulphur to the Peruvian…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eḱ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱrós‘sharp’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eḱrósWiktionary, Latin acer‘sharp’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*akrisWiktionary, Latin acer‘sharp’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEācerWiktionary, English acerb‘sharp’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEacerbusWiktionary, English acerb‘sharp, severe, bitter’
- Englishearliest quotation 1732acerbWiktionary, English acerb. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1732, Edward Strother: “If you put Spirit of Sulphur to the Peruvian…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- ‘sharp’
hear, edge, egg, ear, acid, hammer, axe, acute, oxide, acne, paragon, acupuncture, hark, acacia, acetate, acumen, acme, acuity, roselle, acyl, rosacea, 72 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱrós ‘sharp’
through Latin ācer ‘sharp’
eager, vinegar, acrimony, acrid, 6 more
through Latin acerbus ‘sharp, severe, bitter’
Today it means
adj Sour, bitter, and harsh to the taste, such as unripe fruit.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “acerb”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱrós, Latin acer. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- / acerb