nimble

[nim-buh l] /ˈnɪm bəl/

adjective, nimbler, nimblest.

quick and light in movement; moving with ease; agile; active; rapid:

nimble feet.

quick to understand, think, devise, etc.:

a nimble mind.

cleverly contrived:

a story with a nimble plot.

Origin

before 1000; late Middle English nymel, earlier nemel, Old English nǣmel capable, equivalent to nǣm- (variant stem of niman to take; see nim¹) + -el -le

Related forms

nimbleness, noun

nimbly, adverb

unnimble, adjective

unnimbleness, noun

unnimbly, adverb

Synonyms

1. lively, brisk, swift. 2. alert.

Antonyms

1. clumsy.

Examples from the web for nimble

Touch-screen technology has become wildly popular, thanks to smart phones designed for nimble fingers.
That's hard to believe from someone so nimble.
My brain just isn't nimble enough for that.
Rosen's deep knowledge of basketball history and his nimble prose make this bittersweet sports novel a light swish.
She appears in the mirror, a mother's nimble fingers working at the noose my son has accidentally created.
The woman had a nimble laugh.
His regime is usually regarded as being canny, and relatively nimble.
Basketball requires strong hands and nimble fingers.
One has to be nimble and go almost anywhere in this employment climate.
He's little more than a nimble-footed, narcissistic opportunist.

British Dictionary definitions for nimble

nimble

/ˈnɪmbəl/

adjective

agile, quick, and neat in movement: nimble fingers

alert; acute: a nimble intellect

Derived Forms

nimbleness, noun
nimbly, adverb

Word Origin

Old English nǣmel quick to grasp, and numol quick at seizing, both from niman to take

Word Origin and History for nimble

adj.

"agile, light-footed," c.1300, nemel, from Old English næmel "quick to grasp" (attested but once), related to niman "to take," from Proto-Germanic *nemanan (cf. Old Saxon, Old Dutch, Gothic niman, Old Norse nema, Old Frisian nima, German nehmen "to take"), from PIE root *nem- "to divide, distribute, allot," also "to take" (cf. Greek nemein "to deal out," nemesis "just indignation," Latin numerus "number," Lithuanian nuoma "rent, interest," Middle Irish nos "custom, usage"). With excrescent -b- from c.1500 (cf. limb (n.1)). Related: Nimbleness. In 17c., English had nimblechaps "talkative fellow."