English → Latin
“delicate” in Latin
tenersoft, delicate, tender; young, youthful; effeminate, sensitivemollissoft, delicate to the touch; pliant, flexible, supple; mild, tenderdēlicātusalluring, charming, delightful; voluptuous; soft, tender, delicate; effeminate, spoilt with indulgenceimbēcillusweak, feeble; cowardlyīnfirmusweak, feeble; unhealthy, infirm, indisposed, sick; inconclusivesuāvissweet, pleasant, deliciousfīnisend; limit, border, bound boundary, frontier; boundaries, bounds, frontiers; by extension, territory, region, lands
The English word delicate itself goes back to Latin laciō, through dēlicātus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
delicate
(A) (A) Of persons; (a) tender, soft, tener: mollis: delicatus (mostly in a bad sense; over-nice, luxurious): (b) not easily satisfied, delicati fastidii (fastidious, whether in eating, or in any other respect): *subtilis palati (nice in his eating, ☞ Hor., Sat., 2, a, 38): lautitiarum studiosus: (c) Weak, imbecillus: infirmus (Vid: under B): (B) Of things; (a) Agreeable, suavis (agreeable to the taste): delicatus (mostly in a bad sense, of what is too luxurious): (b) Soft, fine, etc. (PROP., and IMPROP.): tener (tender): mollis (soft). (The words are found in this connection and order.) tener et mollis: tenuis (fine, thin): subtilis (acute; of judgement, taste, etc.): teres, fastidiosus (of delicate taste in style, etc.; fastidiosus, mostly of what is over-delicate): elegans (easily distinguishing differences; therefore, nice in selection, etc): delicate feeling, verecundia. A delicate ear, aures teretes, elegantes [Vid: DELICACY]: a delicate taste, judicium subtile: a person of the most delicate taste, homo in omni judicio elegantissimus (Cic.): (c) Difficult to manage, difficilis: lubricus: anceps et lubricus (☞ Plin., Ep., 1, 8, 6).
Weak (in health), imbecillus: infirmus: parum firmus. Delicate health, tenuis valetudo (Cic.): valetudo imbecilla or infirma: to be in delicate health, tenui esse valetudine: imbecilliorem esse valetudine: in very delicate health, tenui, aut nulla potius esse valetudine.
Endowed with quickness of feeling, *facile sentiens. The eye is a very delicate organ, oculi facillime laeduntur.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for delicate?
- The usual Latin words for “delicate” are tener, mollis, dēlicātus; also imbēcillus, īnfirmus, suāvis. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.