acme

English

Alternative forms

• (obsolete) achma, akme, achme

Etymology

Directly borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀκμή (akmḗ, “point, high point”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈæk.mi/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

Noun

acme (plural acmes)

1. A high point: the highest point of any range, the most developed stage of any process, or the culmination of any field or historical period.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:apex

   • 1570, Roger Ascham, The Scholemaster, f. 31:

     The Latin tong, euen whan it was, as the Grecians say, in ακμη, that is, at the hiest pitch of all perfitenesse.

   • 1651, William Cartwright, “The Lady Errant”, in Comedies Tragi-comedies with Other Poems:

     Eum.: Our Loves what are they
     But howerly Sacrifices, only wanting
     The prease and tumult of Solemnity?
     If then i'th' heat and Achme of Devotion
     We drink a new fiame in, can it be ought
     But to increase the Worship?

   • 1891, George Edward Mannering, With Axe and Rope in the New Zealand Alps, Chapter VII, p. 71:

     Ah, what a sight burst upon our astonished eyes as we gained its summit!
     It seemed the very acme of mountain glory in all the glories around us.

   • 1832, [Isaac Taylor], Saturday Evening. , London: Holdsworth and Ball, →OCLC:

     The moment when a certain power reaches the acme of its supremacy.

2. A paragon: a person or thing representing such a high point.
   • 1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], “(please specify the page)”, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. , volume II, London: Henry Colburn, , →OCLC, pages 260–261:

     The few words of advice she gave him as to escaping political embarrassments, struck him as the acme of wisdom, and as indicating an interest in his well-being of the kindest description;...

3. (rare) Full bloom or reproductive maturity.
   • 1625 (first performance), Ben[jamin] Jonson, The Staple of Newes. , London: I B for Robert Allot , published 1631, →OCLC, (please specify the page), (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     He must be one that can instruct your youth,
     And keep your acme in the state of truth

   • 1728, [Alexander Pope], “(please specify the page)”, in The Dunciad. An Heroic Poem. , Dublin, London: A. Dodd, →OCLC:

     The very acme and pitch of life for epic poesy.

4. (medicine) Synonym of crisis, the decisive moment in the course of an illness.
5. Alternative letter-case form of Acme, particularly as a threading format.

Derived terms

Translations

References

• “acme, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2021.
• “acme”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “acme”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• ECMA, EMAC, Mace, Mače, came, eMac, mace

Italian

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀκμή (akmḗ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈak.me/
• Rhymes: -akme
• Hyphenation: àc‧me

Noun

acme f (invariable)

1. acme, apex

   Synonyms: apice, culmine, sommità

2. (medicine) acme

Further reading

• acme in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana