The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Detail \De"tail\ (d[=e]"t[=a]l or d[-e]*t[=a]l"; 277), n. [F.
   d['e]tail, fr. d['e]tailler to cut in pieces, tell in detail;
   pref. d['e]- (L. 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.
      [1913 Webster]

            The details of the campaign in Italy. --Motley.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. A narrative which relates minute points; an account which
      dwells on particulars.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. (Mil.) The selection for a particular service of a person
      or a body of men; hence, the person or the body of men so
      selected.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. (Arch. & Mach.)
      (a) 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) A detail drawing.

   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.

   Syn: Account; relation; narrative; recital; explanation;
        narration.
        [1913 Webster]