From Latin 'acūtus' (sharpened), from 'acus' (needle), from PIE *h₂eḱ- (sharp). One of the most productive roots in Indo-European: the same 'sharpness' gives us acid, acrid, acme, acropolis, acrobat, acupuncture, edge, and vinegar.
Present or experienced to a severe or intense degree; (of a disease or its symptoms) severe but of short duration; having a sharp end or point; (of an angle) less than 90 degrees; keenly perceptive or intellectually sharp.
From Latin 'acūtus' (sharpened, pointed, keen), past participle of 'acuere' (to sharpen), from 'acus' (needle), from PIE *h₂eḱ- (sharp, pointed). This single PIE root is one of the most productive in the Indo-European family, generating words across an astonishing range of meanings — all connected by the primal concept of sharpness. It gave Latin 'acidus' (sour = sharp-tasting → acid), 'acies' (edge of a sword
The PIE root *h₂eḱ- (sharp) may be the single most versatile root in the Indo-European family. From one concept of 'sharpness' it produced: acid (sharp taste), acrid (sharp smell), acerbic (sharp words), acute (sharp pain), acme (the sharp peak), acropolis (the high sharp city), acrobat (one who walks on the sharp tips — tiptoe), acupuncture (sharp needle), edge (the sharp side of a blade), and even vinegar (French vin aigre = sharp wine). Every sense of 'sharp' — physical, gustatory, olfactory, intellectual, emotional — descends from the same