delicacy · noun — the quality of being delicate. It carries an Arena rating of 1559, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, delicacy ranks #345 of 17,163 for Most Beautiful Words, #1,733 of 17,187 for Most Malleable Words, #2,501 of 43,042 for Qualifying, #2,878 of 17,162 for Most Elegant Words.
delicacy is pronounced /ˈdɛlɪkəsi/.
Why “delicacy” is a great word
An exquisite or rare item of food, or the quality of being fine, fragile, or sensitively nuanced. From Middle English delicacie, from Middle English delicat, from Latin delicatus ('alluring, delightful, luxurious, fastidious'), equivalent to delicate + -cy, first recorded in English before 1393. Unlike 'finesse,' which emphasizes the artful precision of a skilled hand, or 'dainty,' which lingers on the small, the ornamental, and the prettily restrained, delicacy carries within it both substance and sensation. It is the translucent slice of geoduck on ice, the spiderweb crack of a century-old porcelain teacup, and the hush in conversation that dares not break the evening's fragile light—a whisper of how pleasure and fragility often share the same breath.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Middle English delicacie, from Middle English delicat, from Latin delicatus. Equivalent to delic(ate) + -acy.
noun
- The quality of being delicate.
- Something appealing, usually a pleasing food, especially a choice dish of a certain culture suggesting rarity and refinement.e.g.“a Chinese delicacy”
- Fineness or elegance of construction or appearance.
- Frailty of health or fitness.
- Refinement in taste or discrimination.
- Tact and propriety; the need for such tact.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
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