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delicate

Pronunciation: /ˈdɛl.ɪ.kət/

The English word “delicate” has 17 meanings listed here.

adjective

  1. Easily damaged or requiring careful handling.
  2. Characterized by a fine structure or thin lines.
  3. Intended for use with fragile items.
  4. Refined; gentle; scrupulous not to trespass or offend; considerate; said of manners, conduct, or feelings.
  5. Of weak health; easily sick; unable to endure hardship.
  6. Unwell, especially because of having drunk too much alcohol.
  7. Addicted to pleasure; luxurious; voluptuous; alluring.
  8. Pleasing to the senses; refined; adapted to please an elegant or cultivated taste.
  9. Slight and shapely; lovely; graceful.
  10. Light, or softly tinted; said of a colour.
  11. Of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
  12. Highly discriminating or perceptive; refinedly critical; sensitive; exquisite.
  13. Affected by slight causes; showing slight changes.

noun

  1. A delicate item of clothing, especially underwear or lingerie.
  2. A choice dainty; a delicacy.
  3. A delicate, luxurious, or effeminate person.
  4. A moth of the species Mythimna vitellina.

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”),…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.