Delicate

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Delicate

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sun May 21, 2023 7:09 pm

• delicate •


Pronunciation: del-lê-kêt • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adjective

Meaning: 1. Fragile, fine, dainty, exquisite, not robust, as 'delicate tracery, lace'. 2. Sensitive, highly tactful, subtle, nuanced, as 'delicate speech'. 3. Making fine distinctions, as 'delicate scales'. 4. Touchy, requiring tact, as 'delicate negotiations'.

Notes: Now we have a lovely word referring to lovely qualities. It comes with a noun as lovely, delicacy, which may serve as a count or mass noun (with or without a plural). As a mass noun it refers to the quality of being delicate. As a count noun, it means a pleasant morsel, either rare or luxurious. The adverb is the expectable delicately. A delicatessen is a shop of delicacies.

In Play: The first sense of this word is "fine, dainty" as in this sentence: "His backyard was filled with young birch trees, their delicate white bark glowing in the midday sun." It also bears the sense of "touchy", as in this one: "They were there for highly delicate talks about disarmament."

Word History: Today's Good Word was snatched from Latin delicatus "alluring, dainty", an adjective made from delicia "pleasure, delight, luxury", itself created from the verb delicere "to allure, entice". This verb is also the ultimate source of the English Latinate borrowings delicious, delectable, and delight, plus Spanish and Portuguese delgado "thin, slender", a reduction of delicado "delicate, fragile". Delicere was made from de "(away) from" + licere, the combining form of lacere "to lure, deceive". De seems to have come from a PIE pronominal stem de-/do- "to; from", for etymologists have it related to English to, German zu "to", and Russian do "(up) to", seemingly antonyms. Where lacere came from remains a mystery. (Now a delicate "thank-you" to our bud in Birmingham, Anna Jung, for suggesting today's fine and dainty Good Word.)
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