English → Latin
“sharpen” in Latin
acuōto make pointed, sharpen, whet; to exercise, practice, improve; to spur, stimulate, arouseexacuōto sharpen; to stimulate or aggravateacūminōto make pointed or sharp, sharpencuspidōto make pointedcuneōto wedge in, secure by wedging, force in like a wedge
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
sharpen
praeacuere (to make pointed at the end or in front): acuere: exacuere (to make sharp or pointed in general): acuminare: cuspidare (to put on a point at one end or in front, to fix a pointed head): cuneare (in the shape of a wedge). To sharpen on a whetstone, cote acuere aliquid.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for sharpen?
- The usual Latin words for “sharpen” are acuō, exacuō, acūminō; also cuspidō, cuneō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.