perspicacity
UK /ˌpɜː.spɪˈkæs.ɪ.ti/ · US /ˌpɜːɹ.spɪˈkæs.ɪ.ti/ noun
Forms perspicacities
- noun Acute discernment or understanding; insight.
- noun The human faculty or power to mentally grasp or understand clearly.
- noun (obsolete) Keen eyesight.
Synonyms
shrewdness astuteness perspicaciousness judgment judgement sound judgment sound judgement
Etymology
From Middle French perspicacité (whence -acity) or directly from Latin perspicācitās (“sharpsightedness, discrimination”), from perspicāx (“sharp-sighted”), from perspicio, from per- + specio, "see through (something)".
Webster’s 1913
- noun The state of being perspicacious; acuteness of sight or of intelligence; acute discernment. Sir T. Browne.
Etymology [L. perspicacitas: cf. F. perspicacité. See Perspicacious.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “perspicacity”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details