DEFT

deft, dexterous, dextrous

(adjective) skillful in physical movements; especially of the hands; “a deft waiter”; “deft fingers massaged her face”; “dexterous of hand and inventive of mind”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

deft (comparative defter, superlative deftest)

Quick and neat in action; skillful.

Source: Wiktionary


Deft, a. Etym: [OE. daft, deft, becoming, mild, gentle, stupid (cf. OE. daffe, deffe, fool, coward), AS. dæft (in derivatives only) mild, gentle, fitting, seasonable; akin to dafen, gedafen, becoming, fit, Goth. gadaban to be fit. Cf. Daft, Daff, Dapper.]

Definition: Apt; fit; dexterous; clever; handy; spruce; neat. [Archaic or Poetic] "The deftest way." Shak. "Deftest feats." Gay. The limping god, do deft at his new ministry. Dryden. Let me be deft and debonair. Byron.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

23 November 2024

THEORETICAL

(adjective) concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations; “theoretical science”


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Coffee Trivia

Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.

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