Definition of "nicety"

nicety

/ˈnaɪsɪti/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural niceties
1. A small detail or distinction.
  Quotations
  the fineness and niceties of words
  1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], chapter 3, in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […]
2. Subtlety or precision of use; exactness; preciseness.
  Quotations
  Afterwards I took it back when it was borne in upon me startlingly with what extreme nicety he had estimated the time requisite for the ‘affair.’
  1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], part I, page 212
  [W]e cannot judge with exact nicety whether the hunter or the hunted has the greater dash of toe.
  1934, Henry G. Lamond, An Aviary On The Plains, page 210
3. Delicacy of character or feeling usually from excessive refinement; fastidiousness
  Quotations
  [I]f you knew how Selina feels with respect to sleeping at an inn, you would not wonder at Mrs. Churchill’s making incredible exertions to avoid it. Selina says it is quite horror to her—and I believe I have caught a little of her nicety.
  1815, Jane Austen, Emma, volume II, chapter 18
4. (obsolete) That which is delicate to the taste.