Obtusus

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Characterized by dullness or bluntness, either in terms of sharpness or in a metaphorical sense, indicating a lack of acuity or sensitivity
2. Describing an object or aspect that is not sharp or pointed, reflecting a quality of being rounded or softened rather than incisive
3. Referring to a state or condition marked by a reduced capacity for perception or quickness, suggesting a feeling of dullness in thought or sensation

Etymology: "Obtusus" is the Latin past participle of "obtundere," meaning "to beat against" or "to blunt." The verb is built from "ob-" ("against") and "tundere" ("to beat, strike"), so the original image is of something battered until its edge is dulled. Latin writers applied it literally to blades and tools, and then to anything dulled or blunted in the same way. The sense then shifted from the physical to the mental. Roman authors used "obtusus" of dull wits and slow perception, and that figurative meaning carried into later Latin and into English, where "obtuse" has long described a person who is slow to understand. Geometry gives the word a second, very precise life: an obtuse angle is one greater than a right angle, so it is "blunter" than a square corner.

Synonyms: blunt, dull, rounded

Antonyms: acute, sharp, pointed