dainty

Definition

Elegant; delicately small and pretty.

Etymology

From Middle English deynte (as noun), from Old French deintié, from Latin dignitātem. Doublet of dignity.

Example Sentences

• "As for thoſe People of the Eaſt, (Goa, Calecute, Malaca,) they vvere a Fine, and Dainty People; Frugall, and yet Elegant, though not Militar."
• "Those dainty limbs which nature lent / For gentle usage and soft delicacy."
• "However, with the dainty volume my quondam friend sprang into fame. At the same time he cast off the chrysalis of a commonplace existence."