acribic

From German akribisch (“meticulous”) or its etymon Ancient Greek ἀκριβής (akribḗs, “exact, accurate, precise”).

acribic (comparative more acribic, superlative most acribic)

1. (rare) meticulous, painstaking, thorough
   • 1964 Jacques Nenquin, May–June "Note 99: Inventaria Archaeologica Africana" Man (Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland) Vol.64 p.89

     The plan of each card is as follows: 5. An acribic description of the discovered objects with measurements in mm. and cm., and references to the illustrations.

   • 2006 Louise Cyffka (tr. from German of Eugen End), Physiological Occlusion of Human Dentism: Diagnosis & Treatment (Neuer Merkur)

     The most acribic pantographic or computer-aided bite registration procedures of tooth-guided border movements do not necessarily result in a satisfactory occlusion.

2. (rare) (chemistry) (of a chemical name) systematic
   • 1997 Lynne Bowker, "You say "flatbed colour scanner", I say "colour flatbed scanner": A descriptive study of the influence of multidimensionality on term formation and use with special reference to the subject field of optical scanning technology." Terminology. International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Issues in Specialized Communication Vol.4 No.2 pp.275–302

     Furthermore, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) recommended that chemists should stop using imprecise terms such as systematic and trivial. It was suggested that they be replaced by the more precise terms acribic and anacribic, but these terms have never taken hold.

   • 1998 E. W. Godly, "The need for good nomenclature" in Chemical Nomenclature, edited by K. J. Thurlow (Springer) p.24:

     Doubtless finding it troublesome to name their product from scratch, they hijacked the RTM and came up with 'Texanol benzyl phthalate'. ... More legitimate and altogether more 'acribic' would have been benzyl 3-isobutyryloxy-1-isopropyl-2 2-dimethylpropyl phthalate.

Used primarily in translations from German texts.

• Cabiric