different between shrewd vs acumen

English

Alternative forms

• shrewde (obsolete)

Etymology

c. 1300, Middle English schrewed (“depraved; wicked”, literally “accursed”), from schrewen (“to curse; beshrew”), from schrewe, schrowe, screwe (“evil or wicked person/thing”), from Old English scr?awa (“wicked person”, literally “biter”). Equivalent to shrew +? -ed. More at shrew.

The sense of "cunning" developed in early 16^th c., gradually gaining a positive connotation by 17^th c.

Pronunciation

• enPR: shro?od, IPA^(key): /??u?d/

• Rhymes: -u?d

Adjective

shrewd (comparative shrewder, superlative shrewdest)

1. Showing clever resourcefulness in practical matters.
2. Artful, tricky or cunning.
3. (informal) Streetwise, street-smart.
4. Knowledgeable, intelligent, keen.
5. Nigh accurate.

6. Severe, intense, hard.

7. Sharp, snithy, piercing.

8. (archaic) Bad, evil, threatening.
   • 1596-97, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act III Scene ii:

     Portia:

     There are some shrewd contents in yon same paper,

     That steals the colours from Bassanio's cheek:

     Some dear friend dead; else nothing in the world

     Could turn so much the constitution

     Of any constant man. What, worse and worse!— […]

9. (obsolete) Portending, boding.
10. (archaic) Noxious, scatheful, mischievous.
11. (obsolete) Abusive, shrewish.
12. (archaic) Scolding, satirical, sharp.
    • 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act II Scene i:

      Leonato: By my troth, niece, thou wilt never get thee a husband, if thou be so shrewd of thy tongue.

Derived terms

• shrewdly
• shrewdness

Translations

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ac?men (“sharp point”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?ækj?m?n/, /??kju?m?n/
• (US) IPA^(key): /??kjum?n/, /?ækj?m?n/
• (US, rare) IPA^(key): /æ?kjum?n/, /?ækj??m?n/

Noun

acumen (usually uncountable, plural acumens)

1. Quickness of perception or discernment; penetration of mind; the faculty of nice discrimination.

   Synonyms: sharpness, penetration, keenness, shrewdness, acuteness, acuity, wit, foxiness, intelligence, canniness
2. (botany) A sharp, tapering point extending from a plant.
3. (anatomy) A bony, often sharp, protuberance, especially that of the ischium.

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

• acumen on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Latin

Etymology

From acu? (“make sharp or pointed, sharpen”) +? -men (noun-forming suffix), from acus (“a needle, a pin”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /a?ku?.men/, [ä?ku?m?n]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /a?ku.men/, [??ku?m?n]

Noun

ac?men n (genitive ac?minis); third declension

1. a sharpened point

Declension

Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem).

Derived terms

• ac?min?rius
• ac?min?

Related terms

Descendants

• Galician: gume
• Portuguese: gume

• ? English: acumen
• ? Italian: acume
• ? Portuguese: acume, acúmen
• ? Spanish: acumen

References

• acumen in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• acumen in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• acumen in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book?^[7], London: Macmillan and Co.