stute

[O. Fr. astut; Sp., Port., & Ital. astuto; Lat. astutus, from astus = cleverne , craft, cunning (a single act, as distinguished from astutia = habitual craftine ).] [ASTUCE.] Penetrating, discerning, subtle; wily, cunning. "We terme those most astute which are most versute."-Sir M. Sandys: E ., p. 168. Neither astute nor any one of its compounds is in the last edition of Johnson's Dictionary .