Meaning

noun a mark (') placed above a vowel to indicate pronunciation

adjective having or experiencing a rapid onset and short but severe course

adjective extremely sharp or intense

originFrom Late Middle English acute (“of a disease or fever: starting suddenly and lasting for a short time; of a humour: irritating, sharp”), from Latin acūta, from acūtus (“sharp, sharpened”), perfect passive participle of acuō (“to make pointed, sharpen, whet”), from acus (“needle, pin”). The word is cognate to ague (“acute, intermittent fever”). As regards the noun, which is derived from the verb,…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0