Acuta

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having a sharp or pointed form ; characterized by keen perception or insight ; describing something intense or severe in nature
2. Exhibiting an acute shape or angle ; possessing sharp mental abilities or heightened awareness ; relating to conditions or sensations of sudden or intense onset
3. Marked by a pointed or precise contour ; demonstrating sharpness of mind or understanding ; pertaining to severe or pronounced experiences or symptoms

Etymology: "Acuta" is the feminine form of the Latin adjective "acutus," which agreed with feminine nouns such as "vox" (voice) or "pinna" (feather). In Latin, "acutus" meant "sharpened" or "pointed," and it came from the verb "acuere," "to sharpen." Its relatives include "acus," "needle," and the Greek "akme," "point" or "peak," which is the source of "acme." The sense of "pointed" carried over into abstract uses. Greek grammarians described a rising pitch in speech as "oxeia," meaning "sharp," and Latin writers rendered this as "acutus." That is why the mark over a vowel in modern French and Spanish, and in English writing about pronunciation, is called an "acute accent." Medical writers later borrowed the adjective for diseases with a sudden, sharp onset, as opposed to slow ones.