exquisite: [15] Etymologically, exquisite means ‘sought out’. It comes from the past participle of Latin exquīrere, a compound formed from the prefix ex- ‘out’ and quaerere ‘search’ (source of English query, quest, and question). Already in Latin it had acquired the metaphorical sense ‘sought after, choice, excellent’, which it brought with it into English.
From the 15th to the 18th centuries, however, the adjective underwent something of an explosion (being used in such widely varied senses as ‘ingenious, far-fetched’, ‘abstruse’, ‘affected’, ‘careful’, ‘elaborate’, and even – in relation to diseases – ‘true, typical’: ‘an exquisite diabetes caused by attraction of urine’, translation of Théophile Bonet’s Mercurius Compitalitius 1684) before settling back into the now familiar ‘excellent in beauty’. => query, quest, question
exquisite (adj.)
early 15c., "carefully selected," from Latin exquisitus "choice," literally "carefully sought out," from past participle stem of exquirere "search out thoroughly," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + quaerere "to seek" (see query (v.)).
Originally in English of any thing (good or bad, torture and diseases as well as art) brought to a highly wrought condition, sometimes shading into disapproval. The main modern meaning, "of consummate and delightful excellence" is first attested 1579, in Lyly's "Euphues." Related: Exquisitely; exquisiteness. The noun meaning "a dandy, fop" is from 1819. Bailey's Dictionary (1727) has exquisitous "not natural, but procured by art."
实用例句
1. Some of the instrumentation is exquisite, particularly for harp and flute.
有些器乐段落谱写得非常优美，尤其是竖琴和长笛的部分。
来自柯林斯例句
2. She dances with an exquisite fluidity of movement.
她的舞姿细腻流畅。
来自柯林斯例句
3. She peeled it with exquisite care.
她小心翼翼地削皮。
来自柯林斯例句
4. Exquisite china soup dishes reposed on silver plates.
银盘子上面摆放着精制的陶瓷汤盘。
来自柯林斯例句
5. The Indians brought in exquisite beadwork to sell.
