Small, delicate differences or qualities that are hard to notice or understand; fine details that matter.
From Old French 'subtilte,' from Latin 'subtilitas' meaning 'fineness' (from 'subtilis' meaning 'thin, fine'). The word originally meant physical thinness and evolved to mean thinness of distinction or perception.
The word 'subtle' comes from the idea of something being 'woven together so finely you can barely see the individual threads'—which is perfect because subtleties are exactly those details so finely woven into something that most people miss them!
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