Etymology

subtlety

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Today it means: The quality of being scarcely noticeable or difficult to discern. (of things) Full definition →

Middle English sotilte ← Old French sutilté ← Latin subtīlitās
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromsubtīlitās
  2. Old French · derived fromsutilté
  3. Middle English · inherited fromsotilte
  4. English todaysubtlety

From Middle English sotilte, from Old French sutilté, inherited from Latin subtīlitās, from subtīlis (“subtle”). Equivalent to subtle + -ty. Doublet of subtility.

Words from the same roots

Latinsubtīlitās all →

subtility

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.