sharp: [OE] Sharp, together with its close relatives German scharf, Dutch scherp, and Swedish and Danish skarp, goes back to a prehistoric Germanic *skarpaz. This was probably descended from an extension of the Indo-European base *sker- ‘cut’ (source of English score, share, shear, etc). Welsh has borrowed sharp as siarp. => shear
sharp (adj.)
Old English scearp "having a cutting edge; pointed; intellectually acute, active, shrewd; keen (of senses); severe; biting, bitter (of tastes)," from Proto-Germanic *skarpaz, literally "cutting" (cognates: Old Saxon scarp, Old Norse skarpr, Old Frisian skerp, Dutch scherp, German scharf "sharp"), from PIE *(s)ker- (1) "to cut" (cognates: Lettish skarbs "sharp," Middle Irish cerb "cutting;" see shear (v.)).
The figurative meaning "acute or penetrating in intellect or perception" was in Old English; hence "keenly alive to one's own interests, quick to take advantage" (1690s). Of words or talk, "cutting, sarcastic," from early 13c. Meaning "distinct in contour" is from 1670s. The adverbial meaning "abruptly" is from 1836; that of "promptly" is first attested 1840. The musical meaning "half step above (a given tone)" is from 1570s. Meaning "stylish" is from 1944, hepster slang, from earlier general slang sense of "excellent" (1940). Phrase sharp as a tack first recorded 1912 (sharp as a needle has been around since Old English). Sharp-shinned attested from 1704 of persons, 1813 of hawks.
sharp (n.)
"a cheat at games," 1797, short for sharper (1680s) in this sense. Meaning "expert, connoisseur" is attested from 1840, and likely is from sharp (adj.). Music sense is from 1570s. The noun was used 14c. as "a sharp weapon, edge of a sword."
雙語例句
1. I felt a sharp pain in my lower back.
我感覺到后腰一陣劇痛。
來自柯林斯例句
2. Futures prices recovered from sharp early declines to end with moderate losses.
期貨價格在早盤深幅下跌后出現反彈，收盤時未見嚴重損失。
來自柯林斯例句
3. There was a sharp fall in the value of the pound.
英鎊大幅貶值。
來自柯林斯例句
4. These issues were brought into sharp focus by the Gulf crisis.
海灣危機讓這些問題備受關注。
來自柯林斯例句
5. Now politics is all about the right haircut and a sharp suit.