delicatus

Forms

dēlicātus (feminine dēlicāta, neuter dēlicātum, comparative dēlicātior, superlative dēlicātissimus); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain; the OLD calls it doubtful.^[2][3] Wiktionary, judging from the meaning, derives it from the root of dēliciae (“delight, pleasure”) with the suffix -ātus, and Lewis and Short also take it from ⟨dēliciae⟩; the TLL thinks of dēlicus (“weaned”) and holds that ⟨dēliciae⟩ shaped its meaning.^[1][4][3] The noun belongs with dēliciō (“to allure”) and laciō (“to entice”), which de Vaan derives from Proto-Italic *laki- (“to draw, pull”).^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus is its first author,^[5] with nimium ego tē habuī dēlicātam, “I have kept you too much in luxury”, in the Menaechmi.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It is addicted to pleasure or ease, luxurious or self-indulgent, and of things giving comfort, as Varro's “too luxurious clothing”;^[2][4] Cicero has “that most delightful shore”.^[2][4] Of animals it is pampered, as Pliny the Elder's mules shod with gold, and as a noun a favourite or lover, as Suetonius' Domitilla.^[2] It is also wanton or frivolous, as in Plautus, and hard to please, fastidious or squeamish.^[2]

It is said of refinement, elegant or foppish, as Seneca's Maecenas, and of manners effeminate, as Phaedrus' “mincing and languid gait”.^[2] Of form it is dainty or pretty, of sound and taste delicate, as Cicero's softer and more delicate turns in song.^[2] Church Latin glosses it “delightful”, and in medieval Latin it is delicate in health, of weak constitution.^[7][8] English delicate comes from it, from the late 14th century.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of a woman kept in luxury.^[2][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of a delightful shore and of delicate song.^[2][4][5]
• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca of Maecenas' refinement.^[2][5]
• late 14th century – English delicate.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Given to pleasure, luxurious, self-indulgent;^[2][4][1][7] (of things) comfortable, sumptuous; delightful.^[2][4][1][7]
2. (of animals) Pampered;^[2] (as a noun) a favourite, lover.^[2]
3. Wanton, frivolous.^[2]
4. Hard to please, fastidious, squeamish.^[2][1]
5. Elegant, foppish; effeminate.^[2][1]
6. Dainty, pretty;^[2][1] (of sound, taste) delicate.^[2][1]
7. (Medieval Latin) Of weak health.^[8]

Related words

• dēliciae
• dēliciō
• dēliciolae
• dēliciōsus
• lascīvus
• mollis
• English delicate

Usage notes

The OLD also has a rare dēlicātus, the participle of dēlicō “to make clear”.^[2] The TLL records Dēlicātus as a cognomen of men and women.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com