Etymologically
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delicatus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [deː.lɪˈkaː.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [de.liˈkaː.tus][1]

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]

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