delicacy

From Middle English delicacie, from Middle English delicat, from Latin delicatus.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈdɛlɪkəsi/

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delicacy (countable and uncountable, plural delicacies)

1. The quality of being delicate.
   • 1878, Samuel Butler, Life and Habit, London: Trübner & Co., page 1:

     […] for unless a matter be true enough to stand a good deal of misrepresentation, its truth is not of a very robust order, and the blame will rather lie with its own delicacy than with the carelessness of the crusher.

2. Something appealing, usually a pleasing food, especially a choice dish of a certain culture suggesting rarity and refinement.

   a Chinese delicacy

3. Fineness or elegance of construction or appearance.
4. Frailty of health or fitness.
5. Refinement in taste or discrimination.
6. Tact and propriety; the need for such tact.