Where does “indelicacy” come from?
Indelicacy comes from Middle English indelicacie, from Latin indelicia, formed from the prefix in- plus delicia, meaning delight or pleasure, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European oyd-.
indelicacy (English): The condition of being indelicate; An indelicate...
Definitions
- The condition of being indelicate; An indelicate...
Ancestry of “indelicacy”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | delicacy | The quality of being delicate; Something... |
| 2 | Middle English | delicacie | — |
| 3 | Middle English | delicat | delicate |
| 4 | Latin | delicatus | alluring, charming, delightful; voluptuous; soft,... |
| 5 | Latin | dēliciae | delight, pleasure |
| 6 | Latin | dēliciō | — |
| 7 | Latin | dē- | of; from |
| 8 | Latin | dē | of; concerning; about |
| 9 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 10 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 11 | Proto-Italic | posti | behind, after |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | after |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |