subtle

/ˈsʌtəl/SUH-tuhl
/ˈsʌtəl/SUH-tuhl

Meaningwoven fine

Common meaning: delicate

Other meanings: hard to notice

‘under’ + ‘a web’ → subtle

Journey through time

  1. Latintēla, -ae‘a web’
  2. Old Frenchsutilsource
  3. Englishsubtle‘delicate’ · today

sub- also in: subornsuburbsubmergesubalternsubjugate

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin tēla ‘a web; the warp of a loom’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry SUBTLE, p. 607 · dictionary scan

Roots

Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app