different between subtil vs subtle

English

Adjective

subtil (comparative more subtil, superlative most subtil)

1. Obsolete form of subtle.; sly, artful, cunning
   • , Genesis 3:1

     Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

   • 1611, King James Version, Wisdom of Solomonn 7:22–23:

     For wisdom, which is the worker of all things, taught me: for in her is an understanding spirit holy, one only, manifold, subtil, lively, clear, undefiled, plain, not subject to hurt, loving the thing that is good quick, which cannot be letted, ready to do good, Kind to man, steadfast, sure, free from care, having all power, overseeing all things, and going through all understanding, pure, and most subtil, spirits.

References

• Webster, Noah (1828) , “subtil”, in An American Dictionary of the English Language

Anagrams

• builts, bultis

Catalan

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /sup?til/

Adjective

subtil (masculine and feminine plural subtils)

1. subtle

Derived terms

• subtilesa
• subtilment

Danish

Etymology

From Latin subt?lis (“fine, thin”), from sub + t?la (“a web”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /subti?l/, [sub??t?i??l]

Adjective

subtil

1. subtle

Inflection

References

• “subtil” in Den Danske Ordbog

French

Etymology

Semi-learned term, modified from the inherited Old French sotil, soutil after the original etymology, Latin subt?lis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /syp.til/

Adjective

subtil (feminine singular subtile, masculine plural subtils, feminine plural subtiles)

1. subtle

Further reading

• “subtil” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

German

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin subt?lis.

Pronunciation

Adjective

subtil (comparative subtiler, superlative am subtilsten)

1. subtle

Declension

Related terms

• Subtilität

Further reading

• “subtil” in Duden online

Middle English

Adjective

subtil

1. Alternative form of sotil

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin subtilis

Adjective

subtil (masculine and feminine subtil, neuter subtilt, definite singular and plural subtile)

1. subtle

References

• “subtil” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “subtil” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin subtilis

Adjective

subtil (masculine and feminine subtil, neuter subtilt, definite singular and plural subtile)

1. subtle

References

• “subtil” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Portuguese

Adjective

subtil m or f (plural subtis, comparable) (European orthography)

1. Alternative form of sutil

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French subtil and Latin subt?lis. Doublet of sub?ire.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sub?til/

Adjective

subtil m or n (feminine singular subtil?, masculine plural subtili, feminine and neuter plural subtile)

1. subtle

Declension

Related terms

Swedish

Adjective

subtil (comparative subtilare, superlative subtilast)

1. subtle

Declension

Related terms

• subtilitet

English

Alternative forms

• subtil, subtile, suttle (all obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English sotil, soubtil, subtil, borrowed from Old French soutil, subtil, from Latin subt?lis (“fine, thin, slender, delicate”); probably, originally, “woven fine”, and from sub (“under”) + tela (“a web”), from texere (“to weave”). Displaced native Old English sm?ag.

Pronunciation

• enPR: s?t'(?)l, IPA^(key): /?s?t(?)l/, [?s????]
• Rhymes: -?t?l

Adjective

subtle (comparative subtler or more subtle, superlative subtlest or most subtle)

1. Hard to grasp; not obvious or easily understood; barely noticeable.

   Antonym: simple

   • 1712, Richard Blackmore, Creation: A Philosophical Poem. Demonstrating the Existence and Providence of a God. In Seven Books, book I, London: Printed for S. Buckley, at the Dolphin in Little-Britain; and J[acob] Tonson, at Shakespear's Head over-against Catherine-Street in the Strand, OCLC 731619916; 5th edition, Dublin: Printed by S. Powell, for G. Risk, G. Ewing, and W. Smith, in Dame's-street, 1727, OCLC 728300884, page 7:

     The mighty Magnet from the Center darts / This ?trong, tho' ?ubtile Force, thro' all the Parts: / Its active Rays ejaculated thence, / Irradiate all the wide Circumference.

2. (of a thing) Cleverly contrived.
3. (of a person or animal) Cunning, skillful.

   Synonyms: crafty, cunning, skillful

4. Insidious.

   Synonyms: deceptive, malicious

   • 1623, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Richard the Third, Act IV, scene 4:

     Thy age confirmed, proud, subtle, bloody, treacherous.

5. Tenuous; rarefied; of low density or thin consistency.
6. (obsolete) Refined; exquisite.

Derived terms

Translations

References

• subtle in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• subtle in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• John A. Simpson and Edward S. C. Weiner, editors (1989) , “subtle”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ?ISBN

Anagrams

• bluest, bluets, bustle, butles, sublet