dextrous

Etymology

See dexterous.

adj

1. (chiefly UK) Alternative spelling of dexterous.
   The man, who with his right hand (or indeed with either, hand that by habit is the moſt dextrous) endeavours to help and aſſiſt another, exerts his whole ſtrength, and is generally enabled to compaſs his friendly deſign; or if a blow is neceſſary to be given, the dextrous hand hits the desired mark, and gives juſt the force deſigned; whereas a blow given through paſſion, with the aukwardneſs of a weak-handed ſtroke, may beat out an eye, flatten a noſe, or indeed aiming at an enemy may ſometimes hit a friend. 1754, Sarah Fielding, Jane Collier, The Cry: A New Dramatic Fable, volume 1, page 189
   Yet the ſubjects of the Byzantine empire were ſtill the moſt dextrous and diligent of nations; 1788, Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume 5, page 471
   […]She was renowned as one of the most dextrous horse thieves and horse breakers in the tribe, and seldom permitted an expedition to go on a raid without her presence. The translation of her Apache title was ‘Dextrous Horse Thief’. 1979, Donald E. Worcester, The Apaches: Eagles of the Southwest, University of Oklahoma Press, page 53
   Its fingers are longer, more flexible, and more dextrous than those of monkeys and can be moved individually. 1992, Richard A. Gabriel, The Culture of War: Invention and Early Development, Greenwood Publishing Group, page 1