Delicate /(?)/

Del·i·cate

Delicate

a.
  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.
  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.”
  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.
  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.

Delicate

n.
  1. A choice dainty; a delicacy. [R.]
    With abstinence all delicates he sees.
  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.