DIMENSIONS: DENOTATION / Quality
The acute accent [ é ] is usually placed over vowels to indicate quality or length of the vowel or stress or pitch of the syllable - as differentiated from the grave accent [ è ] . . . .
R E F E R E N C E S
Acute adj. 1. sharp at the end; ending in a point. 2. severe in effect; intense; poignant; acute sorrow. 3. extremely severe; crucial: an acute shortage. 4. [of disease] brief and severe [opposed to chronic]; an acute attack of gout. 5. sharp or penetrating in intellect, insight, or perception. 6. highly sensitive even to slight details or impressions: acute eyeseight. 7. Geom. a. [of an angle] less than 90Á. See diag. at angle. b. [of a triangle] containing only acute angles. See diag. at triangle. 8. consisting of, indicated by , or bearing the mark [ ´ ], usually placed over vowels to indicate quality or length of the vowel or stress or pitch of the syllable [opposd to grave]. -n. 9. the acute accent. [< L acut(us) sharpened [ptp. of acuere) = acu- (ptp) s., akin to acus needle, ãcer sharp) + -tus ptp. suffix]
-Syn. 2. sudden, violent. 3. critical. 5. astute, perceptive. 6. keen.
[Urdang, Laurence, ed. Random House Dictionary of The English Language. New York: Random House, 1968.]
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