acme

Etymology

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

noun

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.
   The Latin tong, euen whan it was, as the Grecians say, in ακμη, that is, at the hiest pitch of all perfitenesse. 1570, Roger Ascham, The Scholemaster, f. 31
   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? 1651, William Cartwright, “The Lady Errant”, in Comedies Tragi-comedies with Other Poems
   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. 1891, George Edward Mannering, With Axe and Rope in the New Zealand Alps, Chapter VII, p. 71
2. A paragon: a person or thing representing such a high point.
3. (rare) Full bloom or reproductive maturity.
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.