Origin and history of subtilize

c. 1300 (mid-13c. as a surname), sotil, "penetrating; ingenious; refined" (of the mind); "sophisticated, intricate, abstruse" (of arguments), from Old French sotil, soutil, subtil "adept, adroit; cunning, wise; detailed; well-crafted" (12c., Modern French subtil), from Latin subtilis "fine, thin, delicate, finely woven;" figuratively "precise, exact, accurate," in taste or judgment, "fine, keen," of style, "plain, simple, direct."

This is from sub "under" (see sub-) + -tilis, from tela "web, net, warp of a fabric," a derivative of texere "to weave, construct" (see text (n.)). According to Watkins, the notion is of the "thread passing under the warp" as the finest thread. The English word has been partially re-Latinized in spelling, and altered by confusion with subtile.

It is attested from early 14c. in English in reference to things, "of thin consistency;" in reference to craftsmen, "artful, skilled, clever." The depreciative sense of "insidious, treacherously cunning; deceitful" is attested from mid-14c.

The material senses of "not dense or viscous, light; pure; delicate, thin, slender; fine, consisting of small particles" are from late 14c. Sotil wares were goods sold in powdered form or finely ground.