A clipped form of 'acute' (sharp, clever), shifting from 'shrewd' to 'attractive' — a dramatic American English meaning change.
Attractive in an endearing or pretty way.
A shortening of 'acute,' meaning 'shrewd, clever.' The sense shifted from 'clever' to 'attractively clever' to simply 'attractive' during the 18th and 19th centuries. An American English development. Key roots: acūtus (Latin