Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Delicate

Del′i·cate (dĕl′ĭ·kāt), a. [L. delicatus pleasing the senses, voluptuous, soft and tender; akin to deliciae delight: cf. F. délicat. See Delight.] 1. Addicted to pleasure; luxurious; voluptuous; alluring. [R.]

Dives, for his delicate life, to the devil went. Piers Plowman.

Haarlem is a very delicate town. Evelyn.

2. Pleasing to the senses; refinedly agreeable; hence, adapted to please a nice or cultivated taste; nice; fine; elegant; as, a delicate dish; delicate flavor.

3. Slight and shapely; lovely; graceful; as, "a delicate creature." Shak.

4. Fine or slender; minute; not coarse; — said of a thread, or the like; as, delicate cotton.

5. Slight or smooth; light and yielding; — said of texture; as, delicate lace or silk.

6. Soft and fair; — said of the skin or a surface; as, a delicate cheek; a delicate complexion.

7. Light, or softly tinted; — said of a color; as, a delicate blue.

8. Refined; gentle; scrupulous not to trespass or offend; considerate; — said of manners, conduct, or feelings; as, delicate behavior; delicate attentions; delicate thoughtfulness.

9. Tender; not able to endure hardship; feeble; frail; effeminate; — said of constitution, health, etc.; as, a delicate child; delicate health.

A delicate and tender prince. Shak.

10. Requiring careful handling; not to be rudely or hastily dealt with; nice; critical; as, a delicate subject or question.

There are some things too delicate and too sacred to be handled rudely without injury to truth. F. W. Robertson.

11. Of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.

12. Nicely discriminating or perceptive; refinedly critical; sensitive; exquisite; as, a delicate taste; a delicate ear for music.

13. Affected by slight causes; showing slight changes; as, a delicate thermometer.

Del′i·cate, n. 1. A choice dainty; a delicacy. [R.]

With abstinence all delicates he sees. Dryden.

2. A delicate, luxurious, or effeminate person.

All the vessels, then, which our delicates have, — those I mean that would seem to be more fine in their houses than their neighbors, — are only of the Corinth metal. Holland.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.