Etymology From Latin exquīsītus (“to be outsought”), perfect passive participle of exquīrō (“to outseek”).
1
Especially or extraordinarily fine or pleasing; exceptional.
They sell good coffee and pastries, but their chocolate is exquisite.
Sourav Ganguly scored an exquisite century in his debut Test match.
4 more examples
For us the bee gathers, from the leaves of flowers, that exquisite honey destined for our use. For us the ox is put to the plough, and desires no other reward than a little food. It is also for us that the forests, the fields, and the gardens, abound in riches; the greatest part of which would be lost, if they were not of use to us. For us also are designed the treasures the mountains contain. It is true, that we have, beyond comparison, more wants than the brute creation ; but we have also, many more faculties, talents, and industry, to make every thing around us serve for our use and pleasure. Millions of creatures contribute towards our food, clothes, and habitations, and furnish us with innumerable conveniences and enjoyments.1800, Christoph Christian Sturm, Reflections for Every Day in the Year on the Works of God, and of His Providence Throughout all Nature, D. Schaw and Company, page 77:
Selwyn, sitting up rumpled and cross-legged on the floor, after having boloed Drina to everybody's exquisite satisfaction, looked around at the sudden rustle of skirts to catch a glimpse of a vanishing figure—a glimmer of ruddy hair and the white curve of a youthful face, half-buried in a muff.1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter I, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
YINGKO – This small township in the southwest of Taipei county is not known for its beautiful scenery or historic relics. Yet every week it attracts hundreds of visitors. They all come to appreciate the exquisite pottery made in the town, for Yingko is the ceramics capital of Taiwan.1983 February 5, “Yingko -- Taiwan's ceramics capital”, in Arab News, volume VIII, number 69, Saudi Arabia, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 18, column 4:
From Area B I'd usually [...] do the whole thing in reverse, until I'd qualified for the reward of a bacon sandwich and a cup of exquisite milky coffee at a transport café in Bartley Green Village.1983, Bill Oddie, Gone Birding, London: Methuen, page 51:
Exceeding; extreme; keen, in a bad or a good sense.
exquisite pain or pleasure
6
Of delicate perception or close and accurate discrimination; not easy to satisfy; exact; fastidious.
exquisite judgment, taste, or discernment
his books of Oriental languages, wherein he was exquisite1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI):
It is impossible to meet with a more finished coxcomb than a Broadway exquisite, or a “Broadway swell,” which is the designation attached to him on the spot.1849, Alexander Mackay, The western world; or, travels in the United States in 1846-87, page 93:
When this bejewelled exquisite lounged through the streets playing on his flute, puffing at a cigar, and smelling at a nosegay, the people whom he met threw themselves on the earth before him and prayed to him with sighs and tears.1911, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 9, page 287:
1 more example
1925, P. G. Wodehouse, Sam the Sudden, Random House, London:2007, p. 42. So striking was his appearance that two exquisites, emerging from the Savoy Hotel and pausing on the pavement to wait for a vacant taxi, eyed him with pained disapproval as he approached, and then, starting, stared in amazement. 'Good Lord!' said the first exquisite.