dexterous
English
Alternative forms
- dextrous (British)
Etymology
From Latin dexter (“right, ready”) + -ous. Displaced native Old English handcræftiġ.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈdɛkstɹəs/
Audio (RP) (file) - Rhymes: -ɛkstɹəs
Adjective
dexterous (comparative more dexterous, superlative most dexterous)
- Skillful with one's hands.
- Skillful in some specific thing.
- 1719 April 25, [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], 3rd edition, London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], published 1719, OCLC 838630407:
- We went frequently out with this boat a-fishing; and as I was most dexterous to catch fish for him, he never went without me.
-
- Agile; flexible; able to move fluidly and gracefully.
- (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 […]
- 1775, speech by Edmund Burke
Related terms
- ambidextrous
- dexter
- dexterity
Translations
skillful with one's hands
|
skillful in some specific thing
|
agile; flexible
|
See also
- adroit
- active
- expert
- skillful
- clever
- able
- ready
- apt
- handy
- versed
Further reading
- dexterous in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- dexterous in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
- dexterous at OneLook Dictionary Search
Anagrams
- Exoduster