delicate
adjective
- easily damaged
- fine, fragile, sensitive
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈdɛl.ɪ.kət/ / /ˈdɛl.ɪ.kɪt/ / /ˈdɛl.ə.kɪt/
adj
Etymology: From Middle English delicat, from Latin dēlicātus (“giving pleasure, delightful, soft, luxurious, delicate, (in Medieval Latin also) fine, slender”), from dēlicia + -ātus (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), usually in plural dēliciae (“pleasure, delight, luxury”), from dēliciō (“to allure, entice”), from dē- (“away”) + laciō (“to lure, to deceive”), from Proto-Italic *lakjō (“to draw, pull”), of unknown ultimate origin. Compare delight, delicious and Spanish delgado (“thin, skinny”). The noun is from a substantivization of the adjective (see -ate).
- Easily damaged or requiring careful handling.
“Those clothes are made from delicate lace.”
“The negotiations were very delicate.”
- Characterized by a fine structure or thin lines.
“Her face was delicate.”
“The spider wove a delicate web.”
- Intended for use with fragile items.
“Set the washing machine to the delicate cycle.”
- Refined; gentle; scrupulous not to trespass or offend; considerate; said of manners, conduct, or feelings.
“delicate behaviour”
“delicate attentions”
- Of weak health; easily sick; unable to endure hardship.
“a delicate child”
“delicate health”
- Unwell, especially because of having drunk too much alcohol.
“Please don't speak so loudly: I'm feeling a bit delicate this morning.”
- Addicted to pleasure; luxurious; voluptuous; alluring.
“This [Haarlem] is a very delicate towne, and hath one of the fairest Churches, of the Gotiq design, I had seene.”
- Pleasing to the senses; refined; adapted to please an elegant or cultivated taste.
“a delicate dish”
“delicate flavour”
- Slight and shapely; lovely; graceful.
“Caſ[ſio]. She is a moſt exquiſite Lady. […] Indeede ſhe is a moſt freſh and delicate creature.”
- Light, or softly tinted; said of a colour.
“a delicate shade of blue”
- Of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
- Highly discriminating or perceptive; refinedly critical; sensitive; exquisite.
“a delicate taste”
“a delicate ear for music”
- Affected by slight causes; showing slight changes.
“a delicate thermometer”
noun
Etymology: From Middle English delicat, from Latin dēlicātus (“giving pleasure, delightful, soft, luxurious, delicate, (in Medieval Latin also) fine, slender”), from dēlicia + -ātus (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), usually in plural dēliciae (“pleasure, delight, luxury”), from dēliciō (“to allure, entice”), from dē- (“away”) + laciō (“to lure, to deceive”), from Proto-Italic *lakjō (“to draw, pull”), of unknown ultimate origin. Compare delight, delicious and Spanish delgado (“thin, skinny”). The noun is from a substantivization of the adjective (see -ate).
- A delicate item of clothing, especially underwear or lingerie.
“Don't put that in with your jeans: it's a delicate!”
- A choice dainty; a delicacy.
“With Abstinence all Delicates he Sees, / And can regale himself with Toast and Cheese.”
- A delicate, luxurious, or effeminate person.
“A council of war was called, and the delicates met in the great cabin ; the platform was rigged up on the forecastle, the yard-rope rove, and the signal made for all boats to attend execution”
“If Lucullus were not a waster and a delicate given to belly-cheare.”
- A moth of the species Mythimna vitellina.