délicatesse

Forms

délicatesse f (plural délicatesses)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French délicat + -esse, probably on the model of Italian delicatezza, recorded from the first half of the 14th century.^[2][3][4][1] The adjective délicat is from Latin dēlicātus (“delightful, choice”).^[4][5] Oresme had earlier used delicativeté for softness.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in du Fail's Propos rustiques (1548), meaning the quality of what is pleasant to the senses, fine and subtle, the sense it took over from the Italian word.^[2][3] The Grand Robert, the Petit Robert and the GLLF give 1539, in Estienne.^[7][8][9]

Semantic evolution

Its senses developed alongside those of délicat.^[4] Montaigne used it in 1580, and he and his contemporaries spoke of softness in dress and bedding and of the delicatesse of fruit or of language.^[9][6] The classical sense “scruple, touchiness”, recorded from 1663 in Molière, has since gone, as has the sense “difficulty of a question”.^[2][3][8] The sense of fragility, as of a child or a plant, Littré lists first.^[6]

Rey notes that the plural délicatesses was used in 1920 by Leroux for luxury foods and the shop that sells them, before the German Delikatessen was borrowed.^[3] That German word, the plural of Delikatesse, itself from French, gave American English delicatessen (1877).^[5]

Timeline

• 1539 – Estienne records it, by the GLLF's dating.^[9]
• 1548 – Du Fail uses it for what pleases the senses.^[2]
• 1580 – Montaigne uses it.^[9]
• 1663 – Molière uses it in the sense “scruple”.^[2][3]
• 1675 – Bossuet uses another sense the GLLF dates to him.^[9]
• 1877 – American English delicatessen is recorded, through German.^[5]
• 1920 – Leroux writes délicatesses for fine foods.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (literary) Fineness, delicacy: the quality of what is delicate and pleasing, as of a colour or of facial features.^[8][10][11]
2. Finesse and precision in carrying out a task, a light, careful touch: elle prit le vase avec délicatesse.^[8][10]
3. Fragility due to fineness, as of skin.^[8][10]
4. Frailty of a delicate person.^[8][6]
5. The ability to feel, judge or express things finely: délicatesse de goût.^[10]
6. Moral sensitivity towards others, tact, discretion: se taire par délicatesse.^[10]
7. (literary, in the plural) Delicate attentions shown to someone.^[11]
8. (dated) Difficulty or subtlety of a matter.^[8]

Related words

• délicat
• délié
• indélicatesse
• Italian delicatezza
• German Delikatesse
• English delicatessen

Usage notes

Être en délicatesse avec quelqu'un (literary) is to be on bad terms with them.^[11]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
11. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)