Added 9 October 2026
fastidious
/fæsˈtɪdi.əs/ adjective
In Latin: fastidiosus Wiktionary
adjective Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about fastidious at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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Giving careful attention to detail; hard to please; excessively concerned with cleanliness.
a fastidious and incisive intellect
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Having complicated nutritional requirements; especially growing only in special artificial cultures.
fastidious microorganisms
Origin
Borrowed from Latin fastīdiōsus (“passive: that feels disgust, disdainful, scornful, fastidious; active: that causes disgust, disgusting, loathsome”), from fastīdium (“a loathing, aversion, disgust, niceness of taste, daintiness, etc.”), perhaps for *fastutidium, from fastus (“disdain, haughtiness, arrogance, disgust”) + taedium (“disgust”). Cf. French fastidieux.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)