Etymograph

English

detail

Detail comes from Middle French détail, from Old French detail, from detaillier ‘to cut up’, from taillier ‘to cut’.

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400taillier1‘to cut’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400detaillier1
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400detail1
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600détail1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1816detail1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English detail
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1816, – 1817 April/May, The Modern Prometheus. […]: “"I could never persuade myself to confide in him…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400taillierWiktionary, English detail‘to cut’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400detaillierWiktionary, English detail
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400detailWiktionary, English detail
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600détailWiktionary, English detail
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1816detailWiktionary, English detail. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1816, – 1817 April/May, The Modern Prometheus. […]: “"I could never persuade myself to confide in him…”

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Today it means

noun A part small enough to escape casual notice.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “detail”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Old French taillier / detail