dainty

dain·ty

Use dainty in a sentence

This tiny tea set is very dainty.

adjective

The definition of dainty is delicate or small and often pretty.

An example of something dainty is a tiny little teacup with a beautiful design on it.

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MLA Style

"dainty." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 19 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Dainty>.

APA Style

dainty. (n.d.). Retrieved February 19th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Dainty

dainty

noun

pl. -·ties

a choice food; delicacy

Origin of dainty

Middle English deinte, excellent, fine, origin, originally , feeling of esteem from Anglo-French deinté from Old French deinté from Classical Latin dignitas, worth, dignity

adjective

-·tier, -·ti·est

delicious and choice: a dainty morsel
delicately pretty or lovely
1. of or showing delicate and refined taste; fastidious
2. overly or affectedly fastidious; squeamish

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"dainty." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 19 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Dainty>.

APA Style

dainty. (n.d.). Retrieved February 19th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Dainty

dainty

adjective

dain·ti·er, dain·ti·est

Delicately beautiful or charming and usually small: dainty slippers.
Delicious; tasty: a dainty dish.
Fastidious or finicky: “They chided [them] for being too dainty to eat army rations” ( Stephen Berry )
Frail in constitution or health: “Such heroines have [been]replaced by the dainty young thing who faints away at the sight of a six-shooter” ( Molly Gloss )

noun

pl. dain·ties

Something delicious; a delicacy.

Origin of dainty

Middle English deinte excellent, excellence from Old French deintie from Latin dignitās from dignus worthy ; see dek- in Indo-European roots.

Related Forms:

dain′ti·ly
adverb

dain′ti·ness
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.