subtle English · revision 7920

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1325|origins=la subtilis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈsʌtl̩/; /ˈsʌtəl/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English sutil, sotil, [[bor|fro|soutil|t=adept, cunning, well-crafted]], sotil,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from Latin [[m|la|subtilis|t=fine, thin, delicate, finely woven]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from sub-, under, and -tīlis, from tēla, web, warp, related to texere, to weave (see [[text]]).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) Watkins and Hoad explain the image as a thread passing under the warp, the finest thread.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) The spelling with b appeared in the 16th century, imitating Latin.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Clever, ingenious, crafty: before 1325, in the ''Cursor Mundi'';^(Barnhart 1988) penetrating, refined, about 1300 in Etymonline, and as a surname from the mid-13th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of thin consistency, rarefied, is from the 14th century,^(OED 1989) and of fine texture from 1382, now archaic.^(OED 1989) Not easily understood, intricate or abstruse, is from 1340,^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021) and of arguments, sophisticated, from about 1300.^(Etymonline) Thin or slender (1382) and finely powdered (1394) are obsolete physical senses.^(OED 1989) The variant subtile survived in archaic or affected use.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – penetrating, refined.^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1325 – crafty.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1340 – abstruse.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1382 – of fine texture.^(OED 1989)

+ * 16th century – spelling with b.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # So slight or delicate as to be hard to detect: ''a subtle scent''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Not immediately obvious.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Able to make fine distinctions; [[perceptive]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Clever or [[ingenious]], or crafty and sly.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[subtleness]]

+ * [[subtly]]

+ * [[nonsubtle]]

+ * [[oversubtle]]

+ * [[subtilize]]

+ * [[supersubtle]]

+ * [[unsubtle]]

+ * [[oversubtlety]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[subtlety]]

+ * [[subtile]]

+ * [[text]]

+ * [[textile]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The b is silent: /ˈsʌt.əl/.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}