acuo

Latin

Etymology

From acus (“a needle, a pin”), derived at a time when it was still a u-stem (or -ui-?) adjective.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈa.ku.oː/, [ˈäkuoː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈa.ku.o/, [ˈäːkuo]

Verb

1. I make pointed, sharpen, whet
2. I exercise, practice, improve
3. I spur, stimulate, arouse
4. (grammar) I put an acute accent on

References

• “acuo”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• acuo in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • (ambiguous) to sharpen the wits: ingenium acuere
    
  • (ambiguous) to cultivate one's powers of criticism: iudicium acuere
    
• acuo in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[2], pre-publication website, 2005-2016