acer

English

Etymology 1

From the genus name.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈeɪsə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈeɪsɚ/, /ˈɑkɛɚ/

Noun

acer (plural acers)

1. A plant of the genus Acer; a maple.
   • 1842, The Gardener's Magazine, page 611:

     In the plantations to which we allude, there were also some American acers and the Norway maple, exhibiting dark reds and rich yellows.

References

• “acer”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “acer”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Etymology 2

Noun

acer (plural acers)

1. Obsolete spelling of acre

Anagrams

• -care, Acre, CERA, Care, Cera, Crea, Race, acre, care, e-car, race, race-

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Late Latin aciārium, from Latin aciēs, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp, pointed”). Compare French acier, Galician aceiro, Italian acciaio, Occitan acièr, Portuguese aço, Spanish acero.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic)
• IPA^(key): (Valencian)

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

acer m (uncountable)

1. steel

Derived terms

Related terms

• acerar

Further reading

• “acer” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “acer” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Latin

Etymology 1

From Proto-Italic *akris, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ḱrós (“sharp”). The change from o-stem to i-stem declension is irregular and not fully explained. Likewise, Latin has irregular lengthening of the vowel. Cognate with Ancient Greek ἄκρος (ákros).

Alternative forms

• ācrus (late, proscribed)

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈaː.ker/,
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈa.t͡ʃer/,

Adjective

ācer (feminine ācris, neuter ācre, comparative ācrior, superlative ācerrimus, adverb ācriter); third-declension three-termination adjective

1. sharp, sour, bitter, pungent

   Synonyms: asper, acerbus, frāctus

2. keen, sharp, acute, sagacious
3. energetic, active, vigorous

   Synonyms: strēnuus, impiger, vīvus, alacer, fortis

   Antonym: sēgnis

4. eager, zealous, spirited

   Synonyms: dēsīderōsus, studiōsus, sēdulus, intentus, libēns, cupidus, impiger, aspīrāns

5. subtle
6. severe, violent, cruel, hot

   Synonyms: violēns, trux, ferōx, immānis, efferus, ferus, crūdēlis, sevērus, acerbus

   Antonyms: misericors, mītis, tranquillus, placidus, quiētus, clēmēns

7. penetrating, piercing

Declension

Third-declension three-termination adjective.

Derived terms

Related terms

• acerbus
• acervus

Descendants

(See also acrus.)

• Ancient borrowings:
  • → Old Irish: aicher
    • Irish: aichear
• Later borrowings:
  • → Catalan: acre
  • →⇒ English: acrid, acrylic
  • → Esperanto: akra
  • → French: âcre
  • → Italian: acre
  • → Portuguese: acre
  • → Spanish: acre

Etymology 2

Same as Etymology 1, with reference to multi-pointed leaves.
Pokorny, Julius (1959) Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), Bern, München: Francke Verlag "ak̂er-"

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈa.ker/,
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈa.t͡ʃer/,

Noun

acer n (genitive aceris); third declension

1. maple tree

Declension

Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem).

Derived terms

• acernus

Descendants

• Catalan: auró
• Esperanto: acero
• French: érable
• Italian: acero
• Portuguese: ácer
• Romanian: arțar
• Spanish: ácere, arce
• Translingual: Acer

References

• “acer”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “acer”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• acer in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • the pain is very severe: acer morsus doloris est (Tusc. 2. 22. 53)
    
• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “acer”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volumes 24: Refonte A–Aorte, page 94

Northern Kurdish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑːˈd͡ʒɛɾ/

Adjective

acer (Arabic spelling ئاجەر)

1. Alternative form of ecer

References

• Chyet, Michael L. (2020) “acer”, in Ferhenga Birûskî: Kurmanji–English Dictionary (Language Series; 1), volume 1, London: Transnational Press, page 1

Old French

Etymology

See acier.

Noun

acer oblique singular, m (nominative singular acers)

1. Alternative form of acier

Welsh

Etymology

From Middle English aker.

Pronunciation

• (North Wales, standard, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ˈakɛr/
  • (North Wales, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ˈakar/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈakɛr/

Noun

acer f (plural aceri)

1. acre

   Synonyms: cyfair, erw

Mutation

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “acer”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies