Detail
Detail (dē"tāl or de*tāl"; 277) , noun
[French détail, from détailler to cut in pieces, tell in detail; pref. dé- (Latin de or dis-) + tailler to cut. See Tailor.]
1.
A minute portion; one of the small parts; a particular; an item; -- used chiefly in the plural; as, the details of a scheme or transaction.
The details of the campaign in Italy.
2.
A narrative which relates minute points; an account which dwells on particulars.
3.
(Military) The selection for a particular service of a person or a body of men; hence, the person or the body of men so selected.
4.
(a) (Architecture & Machinery) A minor part, as, in a building, the cornice, caps of the buttresses, capitals of the columns, etc., or (called larger details) a porch, a gable with its windows, a pavilion, or an attached tower.
(b)
(Architecture & Machinery) A detail drawing.
Collocations (2)
Detail drawing , a drawing of the full size, or on a large scale, of some part of a building, machine, etc.
In detail , in subdivisions; part by part; item by item; circumstantially; with particularity.
Detail (de*tāl") , transitive verb
[Compare French détailler to cut up in pieces, tell in detail. See Detail, n.]
1.
To relate in particulars; to particularize; to report minutely and distinctly; to enumerate; to specify; as, he detailed all the facts in due order.
2.
(Military) To tell off or appoint for a particular service, as an officer, a troop, or a squadron.
3.
To provide with fine or intricate added decoration.