different between delicate vs pitiful
delicate
English
Etymology
From Middle English delicat, from Latin delicatus (“giving pleasure, delightful, soft, luxurious, delicate, in Medieval Latin also fine, slender”), from delicia, usually in plural deliciae (“pleasure, delight, luxury”), from delicere (“to allure”), from de (“away”) + lacere (“to allure, entice”). Compare Spanish delgado (“thin, skinny”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?d?l?k?t/
Adjective
delicate (comparative more delicate, superlative most delicate)
- Easily damaged or requiring careful handling.
- Characterized by a fine structure or thin lines.
- Intended for use with fragile items.
- Refined; gentle; scrupulous not to trespass or offend; considerate; said of manners, conduct, or feelings.
- Of weak health; easily sick; unable to endure hardship.
- (informal) Unwell, especially because of having drunk too much alcohol.
- Please don't speak so loudly: I'm feeling a bit delicate this morning.
- (obsolete) Addicted to pleasure; luxurious; voluptuous; alluring.
- circa 1660, John Evelyn (author), William Bray (editor), The Diary of John Evelyn, volume I of II (1901), entry for the 19th of August in 1641, page 29:
- Haerlem is a very delicate town and hath one of the fairest churches of the Gothic design I had ever seen.
- circa 1660, John Evelyn (author), William Bray (editor), The Diary of John Evelyn, volume I of II (1901), entry for the 19th of August in 1641, page 29:
- Pleasing to the senses; refined; adapted to please an elegant or cultivated taste.
- Slight and shapely; lovely; graceful.
- circa 1603, William Shakespeare, Othello, act II, scene iii, lines 18 and 20–21:
- Cassio: She’s a most exquisite lady.…Indeed, she’s a most fresh and delicate creature.
- circa 1603, William Shakespeare, Othello, act II, scene iii, lines 18 and 20–21:
- Light, or softly tinted; said of a colour.
- Of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
- Highly discriminating or perceptive; refinedly critical; sensitive; exquisite.
- Affected by slight causes; showing slight changes.
Synonyms
- (easily damaged): fragile
Related terms
- delicacy
- delicately
- delicatessen
- delicious
- delight
Translations
Noun
delicate (plural delicates)
- A delicate item of clothing, especially underwear or lingerie.
- (obsolete) A choice dainty; a delicacy.
- (obsolete) A delicate, luxurious, or effeminate person.
Further reading
- delicate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- delicate in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Italian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /de.li?ka.te/
Adjective
delicate
- feminine plural of delicato
Anagrams
- dateceli
Latin
Adjective
d?lic?te
- vocative masculine singular of d?lic?tus
References
- delicate in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- delicate in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- delicate in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
Romanian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /deli?kate/
Adjective
delicate
- feminine plural nominative of delicat
- feminine plural accusative of delicat
- neuter plural nominative of delicat
- neuter plural accusative of delicat
delicate From the web:
- what delicate mean
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- delicatessen meaning
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pitiful
English
Alternative forms
- pitifull (archaic)
Etymology
From Middle English pityful, piteful, piteeful, equivalent to pity +? -ful.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?p?t.?.fl?/
Adjective
pitiful (comparative pitifuller, superlative pitifullest)
- (now rare) Feeling pity; merciful.
- 1851, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick:
- Straightway, he now goes on to make a full confession; whereupon the mariners became more and more appalled, but still are pitiful.
- 1851, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick:
- So appalling or sad that one feels or should feel sorry for it; eliciting pity.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:lamentable
- Of an amount or number: very small.
Related terms
- pitiable
- pity
Translations
Adverb
pitiful (comparative more pitiful, superlative most pitiful)
- (colloquial, dialect) In a pitiful manner; pitifully; piteously; pathetically.
Translations
pitiful From the web:
- what pitiful means
- pitiful meaning
- what pitiful meaning in arabic
- what pitiful means in spanish
- what pitiful means in farsi
- what pitiful sight
- pitiful what does it means
- pitiful what you are
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