SUBTILE

Etymology

Adjective

subtile (comparative subtiler, )

(obsolete) subtle

Source: Wiktionary


Sub"tile, a. Etym: [L. subtilis. See Subtile.]

1. Thin; not dense or gross; rare; as, subtile air; subtile vapor; a subtile medium.

2. Delicately constituted or constructed; nice; fine; delicate; tenuous; finely woven. "A sotil [subtile] twine's thread." Chaucer. More subtile web Arachne can not spin. Spenser. I do distinguish plain Each subtile line of her immortal face. Sir J. Davies.

3. Acute; piercing; searching. The slow disease and subtile pain. Prior.

5. Characterized by nicety of discrimination; discerning; delicate; refined; subtle. [In this sense now commonly written subtle.] The genius of the Spanish people is exquisitely subtile, without being at all acute; hence there is so much humor and so little wit in their literature. The genius of the Italians, on the contrary, is acute, profound, and sensual, but not subtile; hence what they think to be humorous, is merely witty. Coleridge. The subtile influence of an intellect like Emerson's. Hawthorne.

5. Sly; artful; cunning; crafty; subtle; as, a subtile person; a subtile adversary; a subtile scheme. [In this sense now commonly written subtle.]

Syn.

– Subtile, Acute. In acute the image is that of a needle's point; in subtile that of a thread spun out to fineness. The acute intellect pierces to its aim; the subtile (or subtle) intellect winds its way through obstacles.

– Sub"tile*ly, adv.

– Sub"tile*ness, n.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

29 April 2024

SUBDUCTION

(noun) a geological process in which one edge of a crustal plate is forced sideways and downward into the mantle below another plate


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the largest iced coffee is 14,228.1 liters and was created by Caffé Bene (South Korea), in Yangju, South Korea, on 17 July 2014. They poured iced black Americano on the giant cup that measured 3.3 meters tall and 2.62 meters wide.

coffee icon