sharp

Meanings

1. 1
   adv

   changing suddenly in direction and degree

   the road twists sharply after the light

2. 2
   adj

   (of something seen or heard) clearly defined

   a sharp photographic image

3. 3
   adj

   keenly and painfully felt

   as if caused by a sharp edge or point

4. 4
   adj

   quick and forceful

   a sharp blow

5. 5
   adj

   very sudden and in great amount or degree

   a sharp drop in the stock market

6. 6
   adj

   harsh

   sharp criticism

7. 7
   adj

   Terminating in a point or edge, especially one that can cut or pierce easily; not dull, obtuse, or rounded.

   I keep my knives sharp so that they don't slip unexpectedly while carving.

8. 8
   adj

   Intelligent.

   My nephew is a sharp lad; he can count to 100 in six languages, and he's only five years old.

Etymology

From Middle English scharp, from Old English sċearp, from Proto-West Germanic *skarp, from Proto-Germanic *skarpaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerb-, from *(s)ker- (“to cut”). Cognate with West Frisian skerp, Low German scherp, scharp, schaarp, Dutch scherp, German scharf, Danish skarp. Compare Irish cearb (“keen; cutting”), Latin acerbus (“tart, bitter”), Tocharian B kärpye (“rough”), Latvian skârbs (“sharp, rough”), Russian щерба (ščerba, “notch”), Polish szczerba (“gap, dent, jag, chip, nick, notch”), Albanian harb (“rudeness”). More at shear.