dexterous

Etymology

From Latin dexter (“right, ready”) + -ous. Displaced native Old English handcræftiġ.

adj

  1. Skillful with one's hands.
    She is pleasingly dexterous with the chopsticks, and keeps one hand lying palm up on her lap. Pinched with just the right pressure between the sticks; funny how plump women have that delicate touch. 1960, John Updike, 'Rabbit, Run', page 57
  2. Skillful in some specific thing.
  3. Agile; flexible; able to move fluidly and gracefully.
  4. (figurative, archaic) Skilled at argumentation; mentally skillful.
    1775, speech by Edmund Burke […] the study [of law] renders men acute, inquisitive, dexterous, prompt in attack, ready in defense […]

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