acumen
pronunciation
How to pronounce acumen in British English:
UK [ˈækjəmən]
How to pronounce acumen in American English:
US [ˈækjəmən]
-
- Noun:
- a tapering point
- shrewdness shown by keen insight
Word Origin
- acumen
- acumen: [16] Acumen is a direct borrowing from Latin acūmen, which meant both literally ‘point’ and figuratively ‘sharpness’. It derived from the verb acuere ‘sharpen’, which was also the source of English acute. The original pronunciation of acumen in English was /ə_kjūmen/, with the stress on the second syllable, very much on the pattern of the Latin original; it is only relatively recently that a pronunciation with the stress on the first syllable has become general.=> acute
- acumen (n.)
- 1530s, from Latin acumen "a point, sting," hence "mental sharpness, shrewdness," from acuere "to sharpen" (see acuity).
Example
- 1. That ought to cast doubt on the financial acumen of the executives concerned .
- 2. Unfortunately , lord wardington died just before the market endorsed his collecting acumen .
- 3. Education is not just about going to school and college and piling up the degrees behind your name ; it 's the learning process which augments our knowledge and provides us with enhanced skills , acumen and wisdom .
- 4. The dissidents like to boast of their acumen , but would-be helpful foreign governments as well as protesters inside syria are tiring of a council that has proved opaque , indecisive and politically naive .
- 5. His answer is that previously , ngos had tried to tackle it , when what was needed was business acumen .