aigu

Etymology

From Middle French aigu, agu, from Old French agu, from Latin acūtus (“sharp”); related to English acute. The original Old French result was ëu (preserved in the toponym Montheu < Latin Mons acutus (“sharp mountain”)), which was likely modified into the form agu based on the Latin, and then influenced by words like aigre, or aiguiser, as with aiguille.

Doublet of acut, which was borrowed.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ.ɡy/, /e.ɡy/

• Audio

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Adjective

aigu (feminine singular aiguë or aigüe, masculine plural aigus, feminine plural aiguës or aigües)

1. sharp, pointy
2. (of intelligence) acute, keen, discerning
3. (of sound) sharp, loud and high-pitched
4. (medicine) acute
5. (mathematics, of an angle) acute
6. (linguistics, of an accent) acute

Further reading

• “aigu” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Noun

aigu

1. time

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *aika

Noun

aigu

1. time