1. (n.) That which is agreeable to the senses or delightful; as, a delicacy of flavor.

2. (a.) Nicety or fineness of form, texture, or constitution; softness; elegance; smoothness; tenderness; and hence, frailty or weakness; as, the delicacy of a fiber or a thread; delicacy of a hand or of the human form; delicacy of the skin; delicacy of frame.

3. (a.) Nice propriety of manners or conduct; susceptibility or tenderness of feeling; refinement; fastidiousness; and hence, in an exaggerated sense, effeminacy; as, great delicacy of behavior; delicacy in doing a kindness; delicacy of character that unfits for earnest action.

4. (a.) Addiction to pleasure; luxury; daintiness; indulgence; luxurious or voluptuous treatment.

5. (a.) Nice and refined perception and discrimination; critical niceness; fastidious accuracy.

6. (n.) The state of being affected by slight causes; sensitiveness; as, the delicacy of a chemist's balance.

7. (a.) That which is alluring, delicate, or refined; a luxury or pleasure; something pleasant to the senses, especially to the sense of taste; a dainty; as, delicacies of the table.

8. (a.) Pleasure; gratification; delight.