Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “astute” come from?

Astute comes from Latin astutus, derived from Latin astus, traced back to Proto-Indo-European h₂eḱ-.

astute (English): Quickly and critically discerning; Shrewd or...

Definitions

  1. Quickly and critically discerning; Shrewd or...

Ancestry of “astute”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinastūtus—
2Latin-tusForms the past participle of verbs; Forms...
3Proto-Italic-tus—
4Proto-Indo-European-tusDerives action nouns from verb roots

Words derived from “astute”

  • astutely
  • astuteness
  • unastute
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tus →