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dainty

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dainty

 

  3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Dainty  \Dain"ty\,  a.  [Compar.  {Daintier};  superl.  {Daintiest}.] 
  1.  Rare  valuable;  costly.  [Obs.] 
 
  Full  many  a  deynt['e]  horse  had  he  in  stable. 
  --Chaucer. 
 
  Note:  Hence  the  proverb  ``dainty  maketh  dearth,''  i.  e., 
  rarity  makes  a  thing  dear  or  precious. 
 
  2.  Delicious  to  the  palate;  toothsome. 
 
  Dainty  bits  Make  rich  the  ribs.  --Shak. 
 
  3.  Nice;  delicate;  elegant,  in  form  manner,  or  breeding; 
  well-formed;  neat;  tender. 
 
  Those  dainty  limbs  which  nature  lent  For  gentle 
  usage  and  soft  delicacy.  --Milton. 
 
  I  would  be  the  girdle.  About  her  dainty,  dainty 
  waist.  --Tennyson. 
 
  4.  Requiring  dainties.  Hence:  Overnice;  hard  to  please; 
  fastidious;  squeamish;  scrupulous;  ceremonious. 
 
  Thew  were  a  fine  and  dainty  people.  --Bacon. 
 
  And  let  us  not  be  dainty  of  leave-taking,  But  shift 
  away  --Shak. 
 
  {To  make  dainty},  to  assume  or  affect  delicacy  or 
  fastidiousness.  [Obs.] 
 
  Ah  ha  my  mistresses!  which  of  you  all  Will  now  deny 
  to  dance?  She  that  makes  dainty,  She  I'll  swear, 
  hath  corns.  --Shak. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Dainty  \Dain"ty\,  n.;  pl  {Dainties}.  [OE.  deinie  dainte, 
  deintie  deyntee,  OF  deinti['e]  delicacy,  orig.,  dignity, 
  honor,  fr  L.  dignitas  fr  dignus  worthy.  See  {Deign},  and 
  cf  {Dignity}.] 
  1.  Value;  estimation;  the  gratification  or  pleasure  taken  in 
  anything  [Obs.] 
 
  I  ne  told  no  deyntee  of  her  love.  --Chaucer. 
 
  2.  That  which  is  delicious  or  delicate;  a  delicacy. 
 
  That  precious  nectar  may  the  taste  renew  Of  Eden's 
  dainties,  by  our  parents  lost.  --Beau.  &  Fl 
 
  3.  A  term  of  fondness.  [Poetic]  --B.  Jonson 
 
  Syn:  {Dainty},  {Delicacy}. 
 
  Usage:  These  words  are  here  compared  as  denoting  articles  of 
  food.  The  term  delicacy  as  applied  to  a  nice  article 
  of  any  kind  and  hence  to  articles  of  food  which  are 
  particularly  attractive.  Dainty  is  stronger,  and 
  denotes  some  exquisite  article  of  cookery.  A  hotel  may 
  be  provided  with  all  the  delicacies  of  the  season,  and 
  its  table  richly  covered  with  dainties. 
 
  These  delicacies  I  mean  of  taste,  sight,  smell, 
  herbs,  fruits,  and  flowers,  Walks  and  the  melody 
  of  birds.  --Milton. 
 
  [A  table]  furnished  plenteously  with  bread,  And 
  dainties,  remnants  of  the  last  regale.  --Cowper. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  dainty 
  adj  1:  affectedly  dainty  or  refined  [syn:  {mincing},  {niminy-piminy}, 
  {prim},  {twee}] 
  2:  of  delicate  composition  and  artistry;  "a  dainty  teacup";  "an 
  exquisite  cameo";  "fine  china  and  crystal"  [syn:  {exquisite}, 
  {fine}] 
  3:  especially  pleasing  to  the  taste;  "a  dainty  dish  to  set 
  before  a  kind";  "a  tasty  morsel"  [syn:  {tasty}] 
  4:  excessively  fastidious  and  easily  disgusted;  "too  nice  about 
  his  food  to  take  to  camp  cooking";  "so  squeamish  he  would 
  only  touch  the  toilet  handle  with  his  elbow"  [syn:  {nice}, 
  {overnice},  {prissy},  {squeamish}] 
  n  :  something  considered  choice  to  eat  [syn:  {delicacy},  {goody}, 
  {kickshaw},  {treat}]




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