sharp

Definition

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

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.

Example Sentences

• "I keep my knives sharp so that they don't slip unexpectedly while carving."
• "Ernest made the pencil too sharp and accidentally stabbed himself with it."
• "A face with sharp features"