Etymograph

English

acuity

Acuity comes from Medieval Latin acuitas, from Latin acuō ‘sharpen’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eḱ-1‘sharp’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEacuō1‘sharpen’
  3. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500acuitas1
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600acuité1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500acuite1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2011acuity1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English acuity
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2011, John Cassidy, Mastering the Machine: “And yet [Ray] Dalio’s acuity prompts an awkward question:…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eḱ-Wiktionary, English acuity‘sharp’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEacuōWiktionary, English acuity‘sharpen’
  3. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500acuitasWiktionary, English acuity
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600acuitéWiktionary, English acuity
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500acuiteWiktionary, English acuity
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2011acuityWiktionary, English acuity. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2011, John Cassidy, Mastering the Machine: “And yet [Ray] Dalio’s acuity prompts an awkward question:…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- ‘sharp’

hear, edge, egg, ear, hammer, acid, eager, axe, oxide, vinegar, mediocre, acne, paragon, acetate, hark, mediocrity, exacerbate, acacia, acupuncture, acme, acumen, acyl, roselle, rosacea, acrimony, exacerbation, acrid, acerbic, 72 more

through Latin acuō ‘sharpen’

acute, 2 more

Today it means

noun Sharpness or acuteness, as of a needle, wit, etc.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “acuity”. 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- / acuity

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