Plural of acumen; the ability to understand things quickly and make good decisions, especially in a particular area like business or strategy.
From Latin 'acumen,' derived from 'acuere' (to sharpen). The word literally means 'a sharpness' of mind—just as you sharpen a blade to make it keen, you sharpen your wits to make them keen. The suffix '-men' in Latin indicates the result or product of an action, so 'acumen' means 'the result of sharpening,' i.e., keen judgment.
The root word 'acuere' means to sharpen, so when we say someone has acumen, we're literally saying they have a sharp mind—like someone sharpened their brain to a fine point. It's why we also have 'acute' (sharp) and 'acupuncture' (sharp needle) from the same root.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.