delicacy

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The quality of being delicate.
• noun Something pleasing and appealing, especially a choice food.
• noun Fineness of appearance, construction, or execution; elegance.
• noun Frailty of bodily constitution or health.
• noun Sensitivity of perception, discrimination, or taste; refinement.
• noun Sensitivity to the feelings of others; tact.
• noun Sensitivity to what is proper; propriety.
• noun Undue sensitivity to or concern with what may be considered offensive or improper; squeamishness.
• noun The need for tact in treatment or handling.
• noun Sensitivity to very small changes; precision.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun The quality of being delicate; that which is delicate. Specifically
• noun Exquisite agreeable-ness to the sense of taste or some other sense; refined pleasantness; daintiness: as, delicacy of flavor or of odor.
• noun Something that delights the senses, particularly the sense of taste; a dainty: as, the delicacies of the table.
• noun Pleasing fineness or refinement of detail; minute perfection in any characteristic quality, as form, texture, tint, tenuity, finish, adjustment, etc.: as, the delicacy of the skin or of a fabric; delicacy of contour; the delicacy of a thread or of a watch-spring.
• noun That which is refined or the result of refinement, especially of the senses; a refinement.
• noun Niceness; criticalness; equivocalness; the condition of requiring care or caution: as, the delicacy of a point or question; the delicacy of a surgical operation.
• noun Nicety of perception; exquisite sensitiveness or acuteness, physical or mental; exquisiteness; fineness: as, delicacy of touch or of observation; delicacy of wit.
• noun Acute or nice discrimination as to what is pleasing or unpleasing; hence, a refined perception of beauty and deformity, or the faculty of such perception; critical refinement of taste; fastidiousness.
• noun Civility or politeness proceeding from a nice observance of propriety; the quality manifested in care to avoid offense or what may cause distress or embarrassment; freedom from grossness. as, delicacy of behavior or feeling.
• noun Sensitive reluctance; modest or considerate hesitation; timidity or diffidence due to refined feeling: as, I feel a great delicacy in approaching such a subject.
• noun Tenderness, as of the constitution; susceptibility to disease; physical sensitiveness.
• noun The quality of being addicted to pleasure; voluptuousness of life; luxuriousness.
• noun Pleasure; a diversion; a luxury.
• noun Synonyms Daintiness, savoriness. Delicacy, Dainty, Tidbit. A delicacy is specifically something very choice for eating; it may be cooked, dressed, or in the natural state: as, his table was abundantly supplied with all the delicacies of the season; the appetite of the sick man had to be coaxed with delicacies. Dainty is a stronger word, indicating something even more choice. A tidbit is a particularly choice or delicious morsel, a small quantity taken from a larger on account of its excellence.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun The state or condition of being delicate; agreeableness to the senses; delightfulness.
• noun Nicety or fineness of form, texture, or constitution; softness; elegance; smoothness; tenderness; and hence, frailty or weakness
• noun Nice propriety of manners or conduct; susceptibility or tenderness of feeling; refinement; fastidiousness; and hence, in an exaggerated sense, effeminacy
• noun Addiction to pleasure; luxury; daintiness; indulgence; luxurious or voluptuous treatment.
• noun Nice and refined perception and discrimination; critical niceness; fastidious accuracy.
• noun The state of being affected by slight causes; sensitiveness.
• noun That which is alluring, delicate, or refined; a luxury or pleasure; something pleasant to the senses, especially to the sense of taste; a dainty.
• noun obsolete Pleasure; gratification; delight.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun The quality of being delicate.
• noun Something appealing, usually a pleasing food, especially a choice dish of a certain culture suggesting rarity and refinement -a Chinese delicacy
• noun Fineness or elegance of construction or appearance.
• noun Frailty of health or fitness.
• noun Refinement in taste or discrimination.
• noun Tact and propriety; the need for such tact.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun something considered choice to eat
• noun smallness of stature
• noun the quality of being beautiful and delicate in appearance
• noun subtly skillful handling of a situation
• noun lack of physical strength
• noun refined taste; tact
• noun lightness in movement or manner