acmé

First attested in 1958. Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀκμή (akmḗ, “point, top”).

acmé f (plural acmés)

1. acme (the top or highest point)
2. climax

• (acme, climax): zénith

• “acmé”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

First attested in 1894. Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀκμή (akmḗ, “point, top”).

• IPA^(key): /aɡˈme/ [aɣ̞ˈme]
• Rhymes: -e
• Syllabification: ac‧mé

acmé m or f (plural acmés)

1. acme (moment of greatest height or peak)

   Synonyms: auge, apogeo

   Está en el/la acmé de su carrera literaria.

   He/she is at the acme of his/her literary career.

2. (medicine) climax, acme (of an illness)

   Synonym: clímax

   • 1980, Carlos Castilla de Pino, Introducción a la psiquiatría, 2. Psiquiatría general, page 395:

     El proceso cursa en unos días de acmé del síndrome antes descrito, tras los cuales, después de un sueño reparador y prolongado, el paciente recupera su integridad psicológica.

     The process unfolds over a few days of acme of the previously described syndrome, after which, following a prolonged and restorative sleep, the patient regains full psychological integrity.

• “acmé”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025