ăcŭo — Lewis & Short
ăcŭo, ui, ūtum, 3, v. a. (
I part. fut. acuturus, not used) [cf. 2. acer], to make sharp or pointed, to sharpen, whet.
I Lit.:
ne stridorem quidem serrae audiunt, cum acuitur,Cic. Tusc. 1, 40; so,
ferrum,Verg. A. 8, 386; Hor. C. 1, 2, 21:
enses,Ov. M. 15, 776:
gladium,Vulg. Deut. 32, 41:
sagittas,id. Jer. 51, 11.—Poet.:
fulmen,Lucr. 6, 278:
dentes,Hor. C. 3, 20, 10; cf. Tib. 4, 3, 3.—
II Trop.
A First, of the tongue, qs. to whet, i. e. to sharpen, exercise, improve:
acuere linguam exercitatione dicendi,Cic. Brut. 97:
linguam causis,Hor. Ep. 1, 3, 23; so Vulg. Psa. 139, 4; so in gen.: se, to exercise one's self, to make one's self ready:
acueram me ad exagitandam hanc ejus legationem,Cic. Att. 2, 7: mentem, ingenium, prudentiam, etc.; to sharpen:
multa, quae acuant mentem, multa quae obtundant,Cic. Tusc. 1, 33; so id. Brut. 33; id. Phil. 2, 17; id. de Or. 1, 20.—
B Acuere aliquem (with or without ad aliquid), to spur on, incite, stir up, arouse:
ad crudelitatem,Cic. Lig. 4; id. Fam. 15, 21:
illos sat aetas acuet,Ter. Ad. 5, 3, 49; Cic. Rosc. Am. 33, 110:
ita duae res, quae languorem afferunt ceteris, illum acuebant, otium et solitudo,id. Off. 3, 1; Liv. 28, 19:
curis acuens mortalia corda,Verg. G. 1, 123:
auditisque lupos acuunt balatibus agni,id. ib. 4, 435:
quam Juno his acuit verbis,id. A. 7, 330.—
C Aliquid, to rouse up, kindle, excite (mostly poet.):
saevus in armis Aeneas acuit Martem et se suscitat irā,Verg. A. 12, 108:
iram,Vulg. Sap. 5, 21:
studia,Val. Max. 2, 2, no. 3.—
D In gramm.: acuere syllabam, to give an acute accent to (opp. gravem ponere), Quint. 1, 5, 22; cf. Prisc. Op. Min. 159 Lind.: accentus acutus ideo inventus est, quod acuat sive elevet syllabam.—Hence, ăcūtus, a, um, P.a., sharpened, made pointed; hence,
A Lit., sharp, pointed (acer denotes natural sharpness, etc.: acutus, that produced by exertion, skill, etc.: sermo acer, impassioned, passionate; sermo acutus, pointed, acute discourse):
vide ut sit acutus culter probe,Plaut. Mil. 5, 4:
ferrum,Hor. A. P. 304:
cuspis,Verg. A. 5, 208:
gladius,Vulg. Psa. 56, 5:
carex,Verg. G. 3, 231; elementa, i. e. pointed, jagged atoms (opp. to perplexa, connected), Lucr. 2, 463:
nasus,Plaut. Cap. 3, 4, 114:
oculi,of a pointed shape, id. Ps. 4, 7, 121:
aures,pointed, Hor. C. 2, 19, 4:
saxa,id. ib. 3, 27, 61; so Verg. A. 1, 45.—
2 Transf.
a Of the senses themselves, sharp, keen:
oculos acrīs atque cicutos,Cic. Planc. 66:
nares,Hor. S. 1, 3, 29; Cels. 2, 6.—
b Of objects affecting the senses, sharp, acute; of the voice, soprano or treble: inde loci lituus sonitus effudit acutos, Enn. ap. Paul. ex Fest. p. 116 Müll. (Ann. v. 522 ed. Vahl.):
hinnitu,Verg. G. 3, 94:
voces,id. Cir. 107; Ov. M. 3, 224:
stridore,Hor. C. 1, 34, 15:
vocem ab acutissimo sono usque ad gravissimum sonum recipiunt,from the highest treble to the lowest base, Cic. de Or. 1, 59, 251; cf. ib. 3, 57, 216; Somn. Scip. 5; Rep. 6, 18.—
c In gen., of things affecting the body, of either heat or cold from their similar effects, keen, sharp, violent, severe:
sol,Hor. Ep. 1, 10, 17:
radii solis,Ov. H. 4, 159:
gelu,Hor. C. 1, 9, 4; cf. Lucr. 1, 495; Verg. G. 1, 93; so,
febris,Cels. 2, 4:
morbus,id. 3 (opp. longus), rapid.— Subst. with gen.:
acuta belli,violent, severe misfortunes of war, Hor. C. 4, 4, 76 (= graves belli molestias).—
B Fig.
1 Of intellectual qualities, acute, clear-sighted, intelligent, sagacious (very freq.):
Antisthenes homo acutus magis quam eruditus,Cic. Att. 12, 37; so id. de Or. 1, 51; id. N. D. 1, 16; Nep. Dion. 8, 1:
homo ingenio prudentiāque acutissimus,Cic. de Or. 1, 39:
acutae sententiae,id. Opt. Gen. Or. 2, 5:
motus animorum ad excogitandum acuti,id. Or. 1, 113:
studia,id. Gen. 50:
conclusiones,Quint. 2, 20, 5.—
2 In gramm.: accentus acutus, the acute accent (opp. gravis), Prisc. p. 159, ed. Lindem.—Comp. Plin. 13, 1, 2.—Adv.: ăcūte, sharply, keenly, acutely:. cernere, Lucr. 4, 804; ib. 811:
conlecta,Cic. Deiot. 33:
excogitat,Cic. Verr. 4, 147:
respondeo,id. Cael. 17:
scribo,Cic. Verr. 3, 20; so, ăcūtum:
cernis,Hor. S. 1, 3, 26:
resonarent,ib. 8, 41: and, ăcūta: canis ululat, Enn. ap. Fest. p. 9 Müll. (Ann. 346 Vahl.).—Comp., Cic. Inv. 2, 16.—Sup., Cic. Off. 1, 44; Cic. Verr. 3, 20.