▪ I. delicate, a. and n.
(ˈdɛlɪkət)
Forms: 4–6 delicat, 5 -caat, 5–6 de-, dylycate, 6 Sc. diligat, 4– delicate.
[ad. L. dēlicāt-us, -a, -um alluring, charming, voluptuous, soft, tender, dainty, effeminate, etc.; reinforced by later F. délicat (15th c. in Hatzfeld), ‘daintie, pleasing, prettie, delicious, tender, nice, effeminate, of a weake complexion’ (Cotgr.); in mod.F. ‘of exquisite fineness’ (Hatzf.): cf. Pr. and Cat. delicat, Sp. delicado, It. delicato. The native repr. of L. dēlicātus in OF. was delié ‘fine, slender, delicate’: see delie.
(The etymology of L. dēlicātus appears to be quite uncertain: several distinct suggestions are current. Even the primary sense is doubtful; but, if not originally connected with dēliciæ (delice), it seems to have been subsequently associated therewith. The word had undergone considerable development of meaning already in ancient Latin; in Romanic it received further extension in the line of meaning ‘dainty, tenderly fine, slender, slight, easily affected or hurt’; these Latin and Romanic senses have at various times been adopted in English, often as literal adaptations of the Latin word in the Vulgate, etc.; and the history of the word here is involved and difficult to trace. The following arrangement is more or less provisional.)]
A. adj. I. Senses more or less = various uses of dainty a.
1. Delightful, charming, pleasant, nice. † a. gen. Obs.
| 1382 Wyclif Isa. lviii. 13 If thou..clepist a delicat sabot [1388 clepist the sabat delicat, Vulg. vocaveris sabbatum delicatum, 1611 call the sabbath a delight]. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) v. 39 Anoynted with delicat thinges of swete smelle. 1513 Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 2560 The Worde of god was moost delycate seruyse. 1553 Eden Treat. Newe Ind. (Arb.) 15 Delicate thinges..that may encrease the pleasures of this lyfe. 1665 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 175 A spacious Garden, which was curious to the eye and delicate to the smell. 1683 Thoresby Diary 4 Apr., To Bigglesworth where is nothing observable but a delicate new Inn. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. I. xvi. 458 Which our Carpenters afterwards altered, and made a delicate Boat fit for any service. 1712 tr. Pomet's Hist. Drugs I. 152 A ravishing Smell..as strong as that of the Quince, but much more delicate. 1791 Cowper Retired Cat 60 Cried Puss ‘..Oh what a delicate retreat! I will resign myself to rest’. |
b. Of food, etc.: Pleasing to the palate, dainty.
| c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 13 Delicat metis and drynkis. 1514 Barclay Cyt. & Uplondyshm. (Percy Soc.) p. xlvi, Then cometh dishes moste swete & delicate. 1535 Coverdale Ecclus. xxix. 22 Better is it to haue a poore lyuynge in a mans owne house, then delicate fayre amonge the straunge. 1624 Bp. Hall Rem. Wks. (1660) 18 Let the drink be never so delicate and well-spiced. 1700 S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 21 A very good Dinner of Meat..and Cheese, and delicate Beer. 1760–72 tr. Juan & Ulloa's Voy. (ed. 3) I. 79 Some of them [dishes] are so delicate, that foreigners are no less pleased with them, than the gentlemen of the country. 1845 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 22 Not to take delight in delicate meats. 1853 J. H. Newman Hist. Sk. (1876) II. i. i. 40 Horseflesh was the most delicate of all the Tartar viands in the times we are now considering. |
† c. Said of the air, climate, or natural features.
| 1553 Brende Q. Curtius L iv, The river Hydaspis which is counted to be a verye delicate water. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary i. (1625) 26 A soile delicate..for the aire, and pleasant for the situation. 1605 Shakes. Macb. i. vi. 10 Where they much breed, and haunt: I have obseru'd The ayre is delicate. 1622 Drayton Poly-olb. xxi. (1748) 339 A purer stream, a delicater brook, Bright Phœbus in his course doth scarcely overlook. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. (1729) I. 485 Tabago..still lies wast (though a delicate fruitful Island). 1700 Congreve in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 299 We had a long passage, but delicate weather. 1756 Nugent Gr. Tour II. 141 There is a small arm of the sea, and another delicate country joining to it. 1789 G. White Selborne xxiii. (1853) 94 The sun broke out into a warm delicate day. |
† d. Delightful from its beauty; dainty to behold; lovely, graceful, elegant. Obs.
| 1583 Sempill Leg. Bp. St. Andrews 1023 Ane diligat [v.r. deligat] gowne..he send him. 1604 Shakes. Oth. ii. iii. 20 She's a most exquisite Lady..Indeed she's a most fresh and delicate creature. 1632 Lithgow Trav. vi. 282 Rare Alabaster Tombe..inclosed within a delicate Chappell under the ground. 1641 Evelyn Mem. (1857) I. 28 Haerlem is a very delicate town, and hath one of the fairest churches of the Gothic design I had ever seen. 1759 B. Martin Nat. Hist. Eng. I. 367 Oxford..is a most delicate and beautiful City. |
† 2. a. Characterized by pleasure or sensuous delight; luxurious, voluptuous, effeminate. Obs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Merch. T. 402, I shal lede now so myrie a lyf So delicat with-outen wo and stryf That I shal haue myn heuene in erthe heere. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. ix. 279 Diues for hus delicat lyf to þe deuel wente. 1542–3 Act 34–5 Hen. VIII, c. 4 Sundrie persons..consume the substance obteined by credite..for their own pleasure and delicate liuinge. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 410 You have your sweete and delicate sleepes in your comfortable chambers. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado i. i. 305 Come thronging soft and delicate desires, All prompting mee how faire yonge Hero is. 1737 Whiston Josephus' Antiq. xvii. xii. §2 Softness of body..derived from his delicate and generous education. |
† b. Of persons: Given to pleasure or luxury; luxurious; sumptuous. Obs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Monk's T. 393 Moore delicaat, moore pompous of array, Moore proud was neuere Emperour than he. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 34 He was eke so delicate Of his clothing, that every day Of purpure and bisse he made him gay. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 117 Delycate or lycorowse, delicatus (P. lautus). c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun 1538 Now glutterie is y{supt} vice y{supt} the feend first temptis man inne, ffor rathere a man delicat than abstynent fallis in synne. 1535 Coverdale Amos vi. (heading), He reproueth the welthy, ydyll and delicate people. 1613 R. C. Table Alph. (ed. 3), Delicate, daintie, giuen to pleasure. 1640 Habington Hist. Edw. IV 196 (Trench) The most delicate and voluptuous princes have ever been the heaviest oppressors of the people. |
† 3. Self-indulgent, loving ease, indolent. Obs.
| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. iv. vii. 149 O ȝe slowe and delicat men, whi fley ȝe aduersites and ne fyȝten nat aȝeins hem by vertue. 1413 Lydg. Pilgr. Sowle iii. ix. (1483) 56 Suche folke haue ben soo delycate and lothe to good werkes. 1533 More Debell. Salem Pref. Wks. 931/1 Many men are now a dayes so delicate in reading, and so lothe to laboure. 1579 Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 102/2 They which will be delicate, & persuade themselues y{supt} they shal not suffer much trouble in doing their dutie faithfully. 1601 Cornwallyes Ess. xii, He made choyse rather of a slow delicate people, then of spirits of more excellency. |
† 4. Tenderly or softly reared, not robust; dainty; effeminate. Obs. or arch.
| 1382 Wyclif Deut. xxviii. 56 A tendre womman and a delicate, the which vpon the erthe myȝte not go, ne fitch the stap of the foot, for softnes and moost tendrenes. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 204 b, The delycate persone that can suffre no payne in body. 1556 Aurelio & Isab. (1608) E viij, And well that [= bien que] the grete colde penetrethe youre delicat fleshes. [Of women]. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iv. iv. 48 Witness this army..Led by a delicate and tender prince. 1611 Bible Jer. vi. 2, I haue likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate [Coverd. fayre and tendre] woman. 1688 S. Penton Guardian's Instr. 56 This was the unhappiness of a delicate Youth, whose great misfortune it was to be worth Two Thousand A Year before he was One and Twenty. |
† 5. Fastidious, particular, nice, dainty. Obs.
| 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 88 He was more delicate and deyntie than became a person being so homely appareled. 1649 Bp. Reynolds Serm. Hosea Epist. 1, I speake with such plainess, as might commend the matter delivered rather to the Conscience of a Penitent, then to the fancy of a delicate hearer. 1673 Rules of Civility 109 Some people being so delicate, they will not eat after a man has eat with his Spoon and not wiped it. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 493 ¶7 You, who are delicate in the choice of your friends and domestics. 1773 Johnson Lett. Mrs. Thrale 21 Sept., The only things of which we, or travellers yet more delicate, could find any pretensions to complain. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. II. 561 They are delicate in no part of their dress but in their hair. |
II. Fine: not coarse, not robust, not rough, not gross.
6. a. Exquisitely or beautifully fine in texture, make, or finish; exquisitely soft, slender, or slight.
| 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iii. (1586) 140 Champion Feeldes and Downes, are best for the delicatest and finest woolled Sheepe. 1600 J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa ii. 237 Their women are white, having blacke haires and a most delicate skin. 1634 Sir. T. Herbert Trav. 190 The people..weare little clothing, save what is thin and delicate. 1756 Burke Subl. & B. iv. xvi, It is the delicate myrtle..it is the vine, which we look on as vegetable beauties. 1800 tr. Lagrange's Chem. II. 188 A salt..under the form of exceedingly delicate needles. 1825 J. Neal Bro. Jonathan III. 175 The delicate gauze over her bosom shook. 1870 Lowell Study Wind. (1886) 38 Delicatest sea-ferns. |
b. Fine or exquisite in quality or nature.
| a 1533 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) M vij b, Such as are of a delicate bloudde, haue not soo much sollicitude as the rustical people. 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 272 Thou wast a Spirit too delicate To act her earthy, and abhord commands. a 1631 Donne Paradoxes (1652) 47 Nor is it because the delicatest blood hath the best spirits. 1794 S. Williams Vermont 119 Like most of our delicate pleasures it is not to be enjoyed but in the cultivated state. 1858 Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. (1872) I. 9 All the dishes were very delicate. 1863 Geo. Eliot Romola ii. vi, The meats were likely to be delicate, the wines choice. 1886 Ruskin Præterita I. vi. 186 My father liked delicate cookery, just because he was one of the smallest and rarest eaters. |
c. Fine in workmanship; finely or exquisitely constructed.
| 1756 J. Warton Ess. Pope (1782) I. vi. 301 My chief reason for quoting these delicate lines. 1870 Emerson Soc. & Solit., Clubs Wks. (Bohn) III. 91 We are delicate machines, and require nice treatment to get from us the maximum of power and pleasure. |
d. Of colour: Of a shade which is not strong or glaring; soft, tender, or subdued.
| 1822 Praed Poems, Lillian i. 12 And wings of a warm and delicate hue, Like the glow of a deep carnation. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xi. 83 The hole..[in] the snow was filled with a delicate blue light. |
7. So fine or slight as to be little noticeable or difficult to appreciate; subtle in its fineness.
| 1692 Dryden St. Evremont's Ess. 120 He leaves to be discerned a delicate inclination for the Conspirators. 1700 ― Fables Pref. (Globe) 498 The French have a high value for them [turns of words]..they are often what they call delicate, when they are introduc'd with judgment. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 71 Catharine often told the king plainly what the Protestant lords of the council only dared to hint in the most delicate phrases. 1855 Bain Senses & Int. ii. i. §23 Discrimination of the most delicate differences is an indispensable qualification. |
8. a. So fine or tender as to be easily damaged; tender, fragile; easily injured or spoiled.
| 1568 Tilney Disc. Mariage E ij b, A good name..is so delicate a thing in a woman, that she must not onely be good, but likewise must apeere so. 1604 Shakes. Oth. i. ii. 74 Thou hast..Abus'd her delicate Youth, with Drugs or Minerals. 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 192 The Nectarine and like delicate mural-Fruit. 1834 Medwin Angler in Wales I. 75 But they [trout] are so delicate that they will not keep, and must be eaten the day they are killed. 1893 H. Dalziel Dis. Dogs (ed. 3) 104 It [cropping] is cruel..in exposing one of the most delicate organs to the effects of cold, wet, sand, and dirt. |
b. Tender or feeble in constitution; very susceptible to injury; liable to sickness or disease; weakly, not strong or robust. Also colloq. phr. in a delicate condition or state of health: pregnant.
| c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 291 If he be a delicat man or a feble drie hem with fumygaciouns maad of pulpa coloquintada. 1574 Hellowes Gueuara's Fam. Ep. (1577) 184 The old man is delicate and of small strength. 1665 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 164 The excess [in bathing] doubtless weakens the Body, by making it soft and delicate, and subject to colds. 1789 W. Buchan Dom. Med. (1790) 93 Robust persons are able to endure either cold or heat better than the delicate. 1850 Dickens Dav. Copp. xxvii. 287 Mrs. Micawber, being in a delicate state of health, was overcome by it. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 532 The Princess..was then in very delicate health. 1893 H. Dalziel Dis. Dogs (ed. 3) 73 Dogs of a delicate constitution and unused to rough it. 1908 G. Sanger 70 Yrs. a Showman xxx. 85, I was the more concerned as Mrs. Sanger was in a delicate condition. |
9. fig. Presenting points which require nice and skilful handling; critical; ticklish.
| 1742 Hume Ess. Parties Gt. Brit. init., The just balance between the republican and monarchical part of our constitution is really, in itself, so extremely delicate and uncertain, that [etc.]. 1777 Burke Let. Sheriffs Bristol Wks. 1842 I. 215 These delicate points ought to be wholly left to the crown. 1779 Forrest Voy. N. Guinea 215, I informed him it was a delicate affair, advising him to say nothing about it. 1803 Wellington in Gurw. Desp. II. 8, I saw clearly that Amrut Rao's situation was delicate. 1860 Motley Netherl. (1868) I. vii. 443 His mission was a delicate one. |
III. Endowed with fineness of appreciation or execution.
10. a. Exquisitely fine in power of perception, feeling, appreciation, etc.; finely sensitive.
| a 1533 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) E iij, He was but of tender age, and not of great delycate vnderstandynge. 1581 G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. ii. (1586) 94 b, To their delicate eares to heare what men saie, they lacke [etc.]. c 1680 Beveridge Serm. (1729) I. 338 Then our minds..would be always kept in so fine, so delicate a temper. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 2 ¶2 A very delicate Observer of what occurs to him in the present World. 1856 Ruskin Mod. Paint. IV. v. v. §5 A delicate ear rejoices in the slighter and more modulated passages of sound. 1875 Manning Mission H. Ghost i. 26 Let us learn then to have a delicate conscience. |
b. Of instruments: So finely made or adjusted as to be responsive to very slight influences; finely sensitive.
| 1822 J. Imison Sc. & Art I. 34 Very delicate balances are not only useful in nice experiments [etc.]. 1849 M. Somerville Connect. Phys. Sc. xxxvi. 386 A structure so delicate that it would have made the hundredth part of a degree evident. 1871 B. Stewart Heat §193 Our instruments are doubtless very delicate, but..the most refined apparatus is far less sensitive for dark heat than the eye is for light. |
11. a. Endowed with exquisitely fine powers of expression or execution; finely skilful.
| 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie i. viii. (Arb.) 33 Horace the most delicate of all the Romain Lyrickes. 1604 Shakes. Oth. iv. i. 199, I do but say what she is: so delicate with her needle: an admirable Musitian. 1611 Tourneur Ath. Trag. ii. i. Wks. 1878 I. 42 O thou'rt a most delicate, sweete, eloquent villaine. 1780 Cowper Table T. 653 Pope..(So nice his ear, so delicate his touch) Made poetry a mere mechanic art. 1884 Public Opinion 11 July 52/1 The artist is at his best, at his delicatest and subtlest, in his water-colours. |
† b. Characterized by skilful action; finely ingenious. Obs.
| 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. (1586) 76 An other more delicater way he speaketh of, which is..laying the braunches in baskettes of earth..obtaining Rootes betwixte the very fruite and the toppes. 1605 Shakes. Lear iv. vi. 188 It were a delicate stratagem to shoo A Troope of Horse with Felt. 1673 R. Head Canting Acad. 11 The Budge it is a delicate trade. |
12. a. Finely sensitive to what is becoming, proper, or modest, or to the feelings of others.
| 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 103 Her..admirable beautie, a delicate spirit, sweet behaviour and charitable acts surpassing child-hood. 1721 Tickell Life of Addison in Wks., Mr. Addison..was..too delicate to take any part of that [praise] which belonged to others. 1768 Sterne Sent. Journ. (1778) II. 201 (Case of Delicacy) We were both too delicate to communicate what we felt to each other upon the occasion. 1836 J. Gilbert Chr. Atonem. ix. (1852) 260 Appearances of a just ground for the imputation are so unambiguous that it were treason to truth to be delicate. |
b. Of actions, etc.: Showing or characterized by feelings of delicacy or modesty.
| 1818 Jas. Mill Brit. India II. iv. vii. 242 All parties recommended a delicate and liberal treatment. 1832 H. Martineau Ella of Gar. viii. 102 It would not have been delicate, I warrant, Mr. Angus. 1887 F. M. Crawford P. Patoff II. 83 It was evident from her few words and from the blush which accompanied them that this was a delicate subject. |
IV. Comb., as delicate-footed, delicate-handed, delicate-looking, delicate-minded adjs.
| 1870 Bryant Iliad I. ix. 293 A *delicate-footed dame. |
| 1855 Tennyson Maud i. viii. 11 The snowy banded, dilettante *Delicate-handed priest. |
| 1853 Mrs. Gaskell Cranford vi. 82 My mother was very pretty and *delicate-looking. 1906 J. Joyce Let. 12 Sept. (1966) II. 159 He wears spectacles, is delicate-looking. |
| 1806 M. Wilmot Jrnl. 14 June (1934) iii. 268 She opens into a very cleaver, well judging, *delicate minded, spirited Woman. 1891 Beerbohm Let. 20 Aug. (1964) 21 Awkward for delicate-minded English people. |
B. n.
† 1. a. One addicted to a life of luxury. b. One who is dainty or fastidious in his tastes. Obs.
| 1382 Wyclif Isa. xlvii. 8 Now here thou these thingus, thou delicat, and dwellende trosteli. 1382 ― Baruch iv. 26 My delicatis [Vulg. delicati mei] or nurshid in delicis, walkiden sharp weies. 1603 Holland Plutarch's Mor. 361 (R.) If Lucullus were not a waster and a delicate given to belly-cheare. 1709 Addison Tatler No. 148 ¶4 The Rules among these false Delicates are to be as Contradictory as they can be to Nature. |
2. A thing that gives pleasure (usually in pl.): † a. gen. A luxury, delight. Obs.
| c 1450 tr. De Imitatione i. xxiv, Than shal þe flesshe þat haþ ben in affliccion, ioy much more þan he þat haþ be norisshed in delicats. 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. iii. xix. 211 For to knowe and acquyre connyng scolers haue lefte and layde asyde ryhesses, delicates and al eases of body. 1539 Cranmer in Strype Life ii. (1694) 247 Such as..repute for their chief delicates the disputation of high questions. 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, ii. v. 51. 1598 R. Barckley Felic. Man iv. (1603) 345 The pompe and delicates used by the great estates of other ages. 1637 Rutherford Lett. (1862) I. 247 There is no reason that His comforts be too cheap, seeing they are delicates. 1742 Young Nt. Th. viii. 819 Her nectareous cup, Mixt up of delicates for ev'ry sense. |
b. A choice viand; a dainty, delicacy.
| c 1450 Merlin 6 Yef we hadde but a mossell brede, we haue more ioye and delyte than ye haue with alle the delicatys of the worlde. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 70 b, To be admytted to the kynges owne table, and to taste of his deyntyue delycates. 1650 W. Brough Sacr. Princ. (1659) 226 Hunger cooks all meats to delicates. 1676 Shadwell Virtuoso iii, Cheshire-cheese..seems to be a great delicate to the palate of this animal. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 251 ¶4 Reflections..which add Delicates to the Feast of a good Conscience. 1820 Keats Eve St. Agnes xxxi, These delicates he heap'd with glowing hand On golden dishes. 1870 Morris Earthly Par. I. i. 204 And many such a delicate As goddesses in old time ate. |
† c. Of a person: The delight, joy, darling. Obs. rare—1.
| 1531 Elyot Gov. iii. xxiv, The Emperour Titus..for his lernynge and vertue, was named the delicate of the worlde [amor et deliciæ humani generis]. |
▪ II. † ˈdelicate, v. rare. Obs.
[f. delicate a.]
To render delicate.
| 1614 W. B. Philosopher's Banquet (ed. 2) 69 They doe dillicate and mollifie the flesh. |
Hence ˈdelicated ppl. a.
| 1851 Mrs. Browning Casa Guidi Windows 125 These delicated muslins rather seem Than be, you think? |