From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
acme \ac"me\ ([a^]k"m[-e]), n. [Gr. 'akmh` point, top.]
1. The top or highest point; the culmination.
[1913 Webster]
The very acme and pitch of life for epic poetry.
--Pope.
[1913 Webster]
The moment when a certain power reaches the acme of
its supremacy. --I. Taylor.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Med.) The crisis or height of a disease. AS
[1913 Webster]
3. Mature age; full bloom of life. --B. Jonson.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
acme
n 1: the highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage
of development; "his landscapes were deemed the acme of
beauty"; "the artist's gifts are at their acme"; "at the
height of her career"; "the peak of perfection"; "summer
was at its peak"; "...catapulted Einstein to the pinnacle
of fame"; "the summit of his ambition"; "so many highest
superlatives achieved by man"; "at the top of his
profession" [syn: {acme}, {height}, {elevation}, {peak},
{pinnacle}, {summit}, {superlative}, {meridian}, {tiptop},
{top}]
2: the highest point (of something); "at the peak of the
pyramid" [syn: {vertex}, {peak}, {apex}, {acme}]
From The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003) [jargon]:
Acme
n.
[from Greek akme highest point of perfection or achievement] The canonical
supplier of bizarre, elaborate, and non-functional gadgetry ? where Rube
Goldberg and Heath Robinson (two cartoonists who specialized in elaborate
contraptions) shop. The name has been humorously expanded as A (or
American) Company Making Everything. (In fact, Acme was a real brand sold
from Sears Roebuck catalogs in the early 1900s.) Describing some X as an
?Acme X? either means ?This is {insanely great}?, or, more likely, ?This
looks {insanely great} on paper, but in practice it's really easy to shoot
yourself in the foot with it.? Compare {pistol}.
This term, specially cherished by American hackers and explained here for
the benefit of our overseas brethren, comes from the Warner Brothers'
series of ?Road-runner? cartoons. In these cartoons, the famished Wile E.
Coyote was forever attempting to catch up with, trap, and eat the
Road-runner. His attempts usually involved one or more high-technology Rube
Goldberg devices ? rocket jetpacks, catapults, magnetic traps, high-powered
slingshots, etc. These were usually delivered in large wooden crates
labeled prominently with the Acme name ? which, probably not by
coincidence, was the trade name of a peg bar system for superimposing
animation cels used by cartoonists since forever. Acme devices invariably
malfunctioned in improbable and violent ways.
From V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (June 2013) [vera]:
ACME
A Company that Makes Everything (slang)
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