nicety

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English nicetee, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French niceté (“simpleness, foolishness”), from nice (“simple, foolish”); equivalent to nice +‎ -ity.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnaɪsɪti/

Noun

nicety (countable and uncountable, plural niceties)

1. A small detail or distinction.

   We met the new captain while we were taking enemy fire and were unable to observe the niceties of formal introductions.

   • John Locke

     the fineness and niceties of words

2. Subtlety or precision of use.

   A rocket-propelled grenade doesn't have the nicety of a sniper round, but you must admit its effectiveness.

3. Delicacy of character or feeling usually from excessive refinement; fastidiousness
   • 1815, Jane Austen, Emma, volume II, chapter 18:

     [I]f you knew how Selina feels with respect to sleeping at an inn, you would not wonder at Mrs. Churchill’s making incredible exertions to avoid it. Selina says it is quite horror to her—and I believe I have caught a little of her nicety.

4. (obsolete) That which is delicate to the taste.

Derived terms

• to a nicety

Translations

small detail that is nice or polite but not necessary

• Russian: дета́ль (ru) f (detálʹ)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

subtlety or precision of use

• Japanese: 微妙 (ja) (びみょう, bimyō)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: то́чность (ru) f (tóčnostʹ)

Further reading

• “nicety”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “nicety”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “nicety”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.