sutil

See also: sutîl and sútil

Bikol Central

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /suˈtil/ [suˈtil̪]
• Hyphenation: su‧til

Adjective

sutíl (intensified sutilon, Basahan spelling ᜐᜓᜆᜒᜎ᜔)

1. mischievous; naughty

   Synonyms: makaraw, maringgaw, pilyo, masungyaw

2. impudent

   Synonym: tampalasan

Derived terms

• kasutilan
• pagkasutil

Cebuano

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: su‧til
• IPA^(key): /suˈtil/ [s̪ʊˈt̪il̪]

Adjective

sutil

1. rebellious

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese sotil (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Latin subtīlis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /suˈtil/ [s̺uˈt̪iɫ]
• Rhymes: -il
• Hyphenation: su‧til

Adjective

sutil m or f (plural sutís)

1. subtle (not obvious; barely noticeable)
2. cunning; skilful
   • c1295, R. Lorenzo (ed.), La traducción gallega de la Crónica General y de la Crónica de Castilla. Glosario. Ourense: I.E.O.P.F., page 652:

     Et fezomj Deus tãta merçee et deumj tal engeno et tã sotil que aprendj aliamja et toda a leenda dos mouros

     And God made so much grace and gave me such an intelligence and so cunning that I learned aljamiado and all the script of the Moors

Derived terms

• sutileza
• sutilmente

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “sutil”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “sutil”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “sotil”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “sutil”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “sutil”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

Middle English

Adjective

sutil

1. alternative form of sotil

Piedmontese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /syˈtil/

Adjective

sutil

1. subtle

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• subtil (Portugal)

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese sotil, from Latin subtīlis (“fine; thin”), from sub- + tēla (“a web”).

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /suˈt͡ʃiw/ [suˈt͡ʃiʊ̯]

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -iw
• Hyphenation: su‧til

Adjective

sutil m or f (plural sutis) (Brazilian Portuguese spelling)

1. subtle (not obvious; barely noticeable)

   Synonym: ténue

   Antonyms: claro, óbvio

2. subtle (cleverly contrived)

   Synonyms: ardiloso, astucioso, engenhoso, perspicaz, sagaz

3. subtle; cunning, skillful

   Synonyms: arguto, hábil, habilidoso, talentoso

Usage notes

Not to be confused with sútil.

Related terms

• sutileza

Further reading

• “sutil”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025

Spanish

Alternative forms

• sotil (obsolete)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish sotil (“thin; subtle”), inherited from Latin subtīlis.

Although the Old Spanish term was inherited, and was often used concretely ("thin, fine"), since the early modern period it has been increasingly relegated to abstract uses. The vowel change o > u may be due either to the following i, or due to the influence of the Latin etymon.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /suˈtil/ [suˈt̪il]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -il
• Syllabification: su‧til

Adjective

sutil m or f (masculine and feminine plural sutiles)

1. subtle
   • 1994, Fernando Navarro Domínguez, Análisis del discurso y Paremias en H. de Balzac, EDITUM, →ISBN, page 217:

     La diferencia sutil entre un vocablo y otro juega un papel importante.

     The subtle difference between one term and another plays an important role.

Derived terms

• sutileza
• sutilmente

Related terms

• sutilidad
• tela

Further reading

• “sutil”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024

Tagalog

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /suˈtil/ [sʊˈt̪ɪl]
• Rhymes: -il
• Syllabification: su‧til

Adjective

sutíl (Baybayin spelling ᜐᜓᜆᜒᜎ᜔)

1. stubborn; hardheaded

   Synonyms: suwail, matigas ang ulo

2. refractory; not yielding to treatment (of an illness)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Spanish sutil.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈsutil/ [ˈsuː.t̪ɪl]
• Rhymes: -util
• Syllabification: su‧til

Adjective

sutil (Baybayin spelling ᜐᜓᜆᜒᜎ᜔)

1. subtle; profound; cunning

See also

• baliwag

Anagrams

• sulit, tulis, Sulit