LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neuterthird declension

acūmen

acūmen n (genitive acūminis)
Classical[aˈkuː.mɛn]Ecclesiastical[aˈkuː.men]

Meaning

  1. a sharpened point

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

mēns acūta
acūmen -inis (n) — in Epistulae, ch. 10

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Acies · Acumen · Cacumen · Mucro · Cuspis

1. Acies is the sharpness of a line adapted for cutting; acumen, of a tip or point adapted for sticking. Figuratively, the acies mentis is shown in the keen sifting of what is confused, in clear perception; the acumen mentis is the fathoming of that which is deeply hidden, in subtle discovery. 2. Acumen and cacumen mean a natural head or top; acumen, of a cone, beak, and so forth; cacumen, particularly that of a mountain: mucro and cuspis mean an artificial head, for the purpose of piercing and wounding; mucro, that of a sword, dagger, and so forth; cuspis, that of a spear, arrow, etc., like αἰχμή. (vi. 5.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeacūmenacūmina
genitiveacūminisacūminum
dativeacūminīacūminibus
accusativeacūmenacūmina
ablativeacūmineacūminibus
vocativeacūmenacūmina

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

ingenii acumen
penetration; sagacity.

ăcūmĕn, ĭnis, n. acuo,
I. a point to prick or sting with; diff. fr. cacumen, which designates merely the summit or extremity of a thing, Doed. Syn. 2, 108.
I. Lit.: tum clupei resonunt et ferri stridit acumen, Enn. ap. Prisc. p. 838 P. (Ann. v. 369 ed. Vahl.): coni, Lucr. 4, 431: nasi, id. 6, 1193 (i.e. the pointed contraction of the nose before death; cf. Bentl. ad Hor. S. 1, 3, 29): stili, Cic. de Or. 1, 33: ferrum Diana volanti abstulerat jaculo: lignum sine acumine venit, Ov. M. 8, 353; 3, 84.—Hence, also, the sting of an animal: scorpii, Cic. Arat. 685:—auspicium ex acuminibus, a military omen of victory, when the spears stuck in the ground suddenly begin to burn or shine at the points, Cic. Div. 2, 36, 77, and id. N. D. 2, 3; cf. Liv. 22, 1; 43, 13.—In Plin., of the taste: sharpness or pungency, 14, 20, 25.—
II. Fig., of the mind, like acies.
A. Acuteness, shrewdness, keenness, acumen: sermonis leporem, ingeniorum acumen, dicendi copiam, Cic. Fl. 4; so Nep. Alc. 11; Plin. 2, 27, 27, § 97.—Also without a gen.: ubi est acumen tuum? Cic. Tusc. 1, 6; so Lucr. ap. Cic. Fam. 5, 14, 2: Empedocles an Stertinium deliret acumen, Hor. Ep. 1, 12, 20.—Poet. also in plur.: serus Graecis admovit acumina chartis, Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 161.—
B. Cunning, subtlety: argutiae et acumen Hyperidis, Cic. Or. 31; so id. de Or. 2, 63.—Also in plur.: dialectici ipsi se compungunt suis acuminibus, id. de Or. 2, 38: meretricis acumina, Hor. Ep. 1, 17, 55. —Hence,

Origins

By surface analysis, acuō (“make sharp or pointed, sharpen”) + -men (noun-forming suffix), from acus (“a needle, a pin”). The linguist Douglas Q. Adams suggests that the form is comparable to Tocharian B akwam, which Adams argues could be a descendant of Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ-u-mn-. However, the Latin form—if inherited directly from Proto-Indo-European—would more likely derive from a term of the shape *h₂eḱu-h₂-m-n-.

Descendants
  • Portuguesegume
  • Englishacumen
  • Italianacume
  • Portugueseacume
  • Portugueseacúmen
  • Spanishacumen
  • Asturiancume
  • Galiciangume
  • Old Frenchagun

Quick answers

What does acūmen mean in Latin?
acūmen, a noun, means “a sharpened point”.
What is the genitive of acūmen?
The genitive singular is acūminis. acūmen is neuter, third declension.
How do you pronounce acūmen?
In classical Latin, [aˈkuː.mɛn]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [aˈkuː.men].