exquisite

exquisite
exquisite early 15c., "carefully selected," from L. exquisitus "carefully sought out," thus, "choice," from pp. of exquirere "search out thoroughly," from ex- "out" (see EX- (Cf. ex-)) + quaerere "to seek" (see QUERY (Cf. query)). Of any thing (good or bad, torture as well as art) brought to a highly wrought condition, sometimes shading into disapproval. A vogue word 15c.-18c., given wide extensions of meaning, none of which survives. The main modern sense of "of consummate and delightful excellence" is first attested 1579, in Lyly's "Euphues." Related: Exquisitely; exquisiteness. The noun meaning "a dandy, fop" is from 1819.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Exquisite — Ex qui*site, a. [L. exquisitus, p. p. of exquirere to search out; ex out + quarere to seek, search. See {Quest}.] 1. Carefully selected or sought out; hence, of distinguishing and surpassing quality; exceedingly nice; delightfully excellent;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • exquisité — [ ɛkskizite ] n. f. • 1855; de exquis ♦ Rare Qualité de ce qui est exquis. « Il était beau, léger comme une bulle, bondissant comme un petit cheval, et mettant de l exquisité dans le cœur » (Montherlant). ● exquisité nom féminin Littéraire.… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • exquisite — [eks′kwiz it, ek skwiz′it] adj. [ME, carefully sought out < L exquisitus, pp. of exquirere, to search out < ex , out + quaerere, to ask] 1. carefully done or elaborately made [an exquisite design] 2. very beautiful or lovely, esp. in a… …   English World dictionary

  • Exquisite — Ex qui*site, n. One who manifests an exquisite attention to external appearance; one who is overnice in dress or ornament; a fop; a dandy. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • exquisite — adj 1 *choice, recherché, rare, dainty, delicate, elegant Analogous words: precious, valuable, priceless, *costly: *consummate, finished: flawless, impeccable, faultless: *perfect, intact, whole, entire 2 intense, vehement, fierce, violent… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • exquisite — [adj1] beautiful, excellent, finely detailed admirable, attractive, charming, choice, comely, consummate, cultivated, dainty, delicate, delicious, discerning, discriminating, elegant, errorless, ethereal, fastidious, fine, flawless, impeccable,… …   New thesaurus

  • exquisite — ► ADJECTIVE 1) of great beauty and delicacy. 2) highly refined: exquisite taste. 3) intensely felt; acute. DERIVATIVES exquisitely adverb exquisiteness noun. ORIGIN originally in the sense «precise»: from Latin exquirere seek out …   English terms dictionary

  • exquisite — index attractive, elegant, prime (most valuable), rare Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • exquisite — The position of the stress has been moving over the last two centuries from the first syllable, which used to be the rule, to the second, which is now very common. Neither Fowler (1926) nor Gowers (1965) made any comment, but there are many who… …   Modern English usage

  • exquisite — 01. These flowers give off an [exquisite] perfume when they open in the evening. 02. Her wedding gown was simply [exquisite]. She looked like a princess. 03. Sebastien built an [exquisite] little farm set for his grandchildren. 04. Her… …   Grammatical examples in English

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