delicacy
nounUK /ˈdɛlɪkəsi/
Etymology From Middle English delicacie, from Middle English delicat, from Latin delicatus. Equivalent to delic(ate) + -acy.
1
The quality of being delicate.
- […] for unless a matter be true enough to stand a good deal of misrepresentation, its truth is not of a very robust order, and the blame will rather lie with its own delicacy than with the carelessness of the crusher.1878, Samuel Butler, Life and Habit, London: Trübner & Co., page 1:
2
Something appealing, usually a pleasing food, especially a choice dish of a certain culture suggesting rarity and refinement.
- a Chinese delicacy
3
Fineness or elegance of construction or appearance.
4
Frailty of health or fitness.
5
Refinement in taste or discrimination.
6
Tact and propriety; the need for such tact.
- Derived terms
- hyperdelicacy, indelicacy, overdelicacy
- Related terms
- delicate, delicatessen, delicious, delight