DAINTIES

Noun

dainties

plural of dainty

Noun

dainties pl (plural only)

Women's undergarments.

Anagrams

• adenitis, taeniids

Source: Wiktionary


DAINTY

Dain"ty, n.; pl. Dainties. Etym: [OE. deinie, dainte, deintie, deyntee, OF. deintié 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. 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.

Dain"ty, a. [Compar. Daintier; superl. Daintiest.]

1. Rare; valuable; costly. [Obs.] Full many a deynté 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. Iwould be the girdle. About her dainty, dainty waist. Tennyson.

4. Requirinig daintles. Hence; Overnice; hard to please; fastidious; sqrupulous; 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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

25 November 2024

ONCHOCERCIASIS

(noun) infestation with slender threadlike roundworms (filaria) deposited under the skin by the bite of black fleas; when the eyes are involved it can result in blindness; common in Africa and tropical America


Do you know this game?

Wordscapes

Wordscapes is a popular word game consistently in the top charts of both Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The Android version has more than 10 million installs. This guide will help you get more coins in less than two minutes of playing the game. Continue reading Wordscapes: Get More Coins