meticulous

Etymology

From Latin meticulōsus (“full of fear, timid, fearful, terrible, frightful”), from metus (“fear”) and -culōsus, extracted from perīculōsus (“perilous”). Sense of "characterized by very precise, conscientious attention to details" is from French méticuleux.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /mɨˈtɪkjɨlɨs/, /mɨˈtɪkjuləs/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪkjələs

Adjective

meticulous (comparative more meticulous, superlative most meticulous)

1. Characterized by very precise, conscientious attention to details.
   • 1943, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Roosevelt's Fireside Chat, 28 July 1943:

     The meticulous care with which the operation in Sicily was planned has paid dividends. Our casualties in men, in ships and materiel have been low—in fact, far below our estimate.

2. (archaic) Timid, fearful, overly cautious.