delicate

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• Received-Pronunciation: /ˈdɛl.ɪ.kət/
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• Canada, General-American: /ˈdɛl.ɪ.kɪt/
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• Canada, General-American: /ˈdɛl.ə.kɪt/
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• US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• Australian: /ˈdel.ɪ.kɪt/
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• CMU ARPABET: D EH1 L AH0 K AH0 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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From Middle English delicat, from Latin dēlicātus (“giving pleasure, delightful, soft, luxurious, delicate, (in Medieval Latin also) fine, slender”), from dēlicia + -ātus (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), usually in plural dēliciae (“pleasure, delight, luxury”), from dēliciō (“to allure, entice”), from dē- (“away”) + laciō (“to lure, to deceive”), from Proto-Italic *lakjō (“to draw, pull”), of unknown ultimate origin. Compare delight, delicious and Spanish delgado (“thin, skinny”). The noun is from a substantivization of the adjective (see -ate).

157 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Azerbaijani: həssas — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Azerbaijani: kövrək — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Bulgarian: нежен (nežen) — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Bulgarian: деликатен (delikaten) — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Catalan: delicat — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Chinese Mandarin: 微妙 (wēimiào) — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Chinese Mandarin: 纖巧 /纤巧 (xiānqiǎo) — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Chinese Mandarin: 嬌嫩 /娇嫩 (jiāonèn) — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Czech: choulostivý — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Dutch: breekbaar — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Dutch: fragiel — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Dutch: delicaat — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Dutch: teer — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Esperanto: delikata — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Finnish: hauras — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Finnish: arkaluonteinen — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• French: délicat — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Old French: delicatif — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Galician: delicado — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• German: empfindlich — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• German: heikel — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• German: schwierig — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Ancient Greek: ἁπαλός (hapalós) — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Gujarati: નાજુક (nājuk) — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Hebrew: עדין (adín) — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Hebrew: שביר (shavír) — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Ingrian: herkkä — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Latin: tener — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Māori: kōpīpī — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Māori: kopī — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Polish: delikatny — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Portuguese: delicado — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Romanian: delicat — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Russian: хру́пкий (xrúpkij) — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Russian: делика́тный (delikátnyj) — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Sanskrit: कोमल (komala) — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Sanskrit: मृदु (mṛdu) — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Scottish Gaelic: fìnealta snasta — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Spanish: delicado — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Telugu: పెళుసు (peḷusu) — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Thai: บอบบาง — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Thai: ละเอียดอ่อน — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Ottoman Turkish: نازك (nâzik) — easily damaged or requiring careful handling
• Armenian: նուրբ (nurb) — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Catalan: delicat — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Cherokee: ᏩᏂᎨ (wanige) — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Chinese Mandarin: 精巧 (jīngqiǎo) — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Chinese Mandarin: 精美 (jīngměi) — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Chinese Mandarin: 精緻 /精致 (jīngzhì) — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Czech: jemný — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Dutch: fijn — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Dutch: fijnmazig — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Finnish: hienorakenteinen — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• German: feingliedrig — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• German: filigran — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• German: zart — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• German: zierlich — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• German: grazil — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Ancient Greek: ἁβρός (habrós) — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Hebrew: עדין (adín) — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Latin: dēlicātus — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Māori: whakatarapī — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Mongolian: нарийн (nariin) — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Polish: delikatny — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Russian: делика́тный (delikátnyj) — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Russian: изы́сканный (izýskannyj) — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Russian: изя́щный (izjáščnyj) — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Russian: не́жный (néžnyj) — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Sanskrit: तनु (tanu) — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Thai: ละเอียด (lá-ìiat) — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Ottoman Turkish: نازك (nâzik) — characterized by a fine structure or thin lines
• Czech: jemný — intended for use with fragile items
• Finnish: hellävarainen — intended for use with fragile items
• German: empfindlich — intended for use with fragile items
• Mongolian: нарийн (nariin) — intended for use with fragile items
• Polish: delikatny — intended for use with fragile items
• Bulgarian: изтънчен (iztǎnčen) — refined, gentle
• Chinese Mandarin: 文雅 (wényǎ) — refined, gentle
• Chinese Mandarin: 斯文 (sīwén) — refined, gentle
• Finnish: hienotunteinen — refined, gentle
• Finnish: hienovarainen — refined, gentle
• German: behutsam — refined, gentle
• German: feinfühlig — refined, gentle
• German: taktvoll — refined, gentle
• Ancient Greek: τρυφερός (trupherós) — refined, gentle
• Hebrew: עדין (adín) — refined, gentle
• Irish: séimh — refined, gentle
• Māori: marore — refined, gentle
• Mongolian: нарийн (nariin) — refined, gentle
• Polish: delikatny — refined, gentle
• Portuguese: delicado — refined, gentle
• Ottoman Turkish: نازك (nâzik) — refined, gentle
• Catalan: delicat — of weak health, easily sick
• Chinese Mandarin: 虛弱 /虚弱 (xūruò) — of weak health, easily sick
• Chinese Mandarin: 羸弱 (léiruò) — of weak health, easily sick
• Chinese Mandarin: 嬌嫩 /娇嫩 (jiāonèn) — of weak health, easily sick
• Czech: choulostivý — of weak health, easily sick
• German: anfällig — of weak health, easily sick
• German: schwächlich — of weak health, easily sick
• Greek: άπλερος (ápleros) — of weak health, easily sick
• Hebrew: עדין (adín) — of weak health, easily sick
• Ingrian: herkkä — of weak health, easily sick
• Irish: leice — of weak health, easily sick
• Māori: mōioio — of weak health, easily sick
• Māori: tūoi — of weak health, easily sick
• Russian: боле́зненный (boléznennyj) — of weak health, easily sick
• Czech: rozklepaný — unwell, especially because of having drunk too much alcohol
• Finnish: liikuttunut — unwell, especially because of having drunk too much alcohol
• German: angeschlagen — unwell, especially because of having drunk too much alcohol
• Polish: wczorajszy — unwell, especially because of having drunk too much alcohol
• Russian: разби́тый (razbítyj) — unwell, especially because of having drunk too much alcohol
• Finnish: hienostunut — addicted to pleasure
• German: frohsinnig — addicted to pleasure
• Bulgarian: изтънчен (iztǎnčen) — pleasing to the senses; refined
• Finnish: hienostunut — pleasing to the senses; refined
• Finnish: herkullinen — pleasing to the senses; refined
• German: köstlich — pleasing to the senses; refined
• German: erlesen — pleasing to the senses; refined
• German: delikat — pleasing to the senses; refined
• Mongolian: нарийн (nariin) — pleasing to the senses; refined
• Ottoman Turkish: نازك (nâzik) — pleasing to the senses; refined
• Bulgarian: нежен (nežen) — slight and shapely; lovely; graceful
• Bulgarian: деликатен (delikaten) — slight and shapely; lovely; graceful
• Finnish: ihana — slight and shapely; lovely; graceful
• Finnish: ihastuttava — slight and shapely; lovely; graceful
• German: zart — slight and shapely; lovely; graceful
• German: grazil — slight and shapely; lovely; graceful
• German: anmutig — slight and shapely; lovely; graceful
• Hebrew: עדין (adín) — slight and shapely; lovely; graceful
• Ottoman Turkish: نازك (nâzik) — slight and shapely; lovely; graceful
• Finnish: herkkä — light, or softly tinted
• German: leicht — light, or softly tinted
• German: sanft — light, or softly tinted
• German: zart — light, or softly tinted
• Irish: séimh — light, or softly tinted
• Polish: delikatny — light, or softly tinted
• Bulgarian: изтънчен (iztǎnčen) — of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
• Cornish: denti — of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
• Finnish: hienostunut — of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
• Finnish: tarkka — of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
• German: erlesen — of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
• German: ausgesucht — of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
• German: anspruchsvoll — of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
• German: delikat — of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
• German: wählerisch — of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
• Bulgarian: чувствителен (čuvstvitelen) — highly discriminating or perceptive
• Finnish: herkkä — highly discriminating or perceptive
• Finnish: tarkka — highly discriminating or perceptive
• German: feinfühlig — highly discriminating or perceptive
• German: empfindsam — highly discriminating or perceptive
• German: wählerisch — highly discriminating or perceptive
• Mongolian: нарийн (nariin) — highly discriminating or perceptive
• Finnish: herkkä — affected by slight causes
• Finnish: tarkka — affected by slight causes
• German: empfindlich — affected by slight causes
• German: hochempfindlich — affected by slight causes
• Polish: czuły — affected by slight causes