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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
deft \deft\ (d[e^]ft), adjective [OE. daft, deft, becoming, mild, gentle, stupid (cf. OE. daffe, deffe, fool, coward), AS. d[ae]ft (in derivatives only) mild, gentle, fitting, seasonable; akin to dafen, gedafen, becoming, fit, Goth. gadaban to be fit. Cf. {Daft}, {Daff}, {Dapper}.]
1. Apt; fit; spruce; neat. [Archaic or Poetic] ''The deftest way.'' --Shak. ''Deftest feats.'' --Gay.
Let me be deft and debonair. --Byron.
2. dexterous; clever; handy; as, a deft feat of legerdemain. [PJC]
The limping god, so deft at his new ministry. --Dryden.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
deft
adjective
1: quick and skillful in movement
2: skillful in physical movements; especially of the hands; "a deft waiter"; "deft fingers massaged her face"; "dexterous of hand and inventive of mind" [syn: {dexterous}, {dextrous}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
56 Moby Thesaurus words for "deft": Daedalian, adept, adroit, agile, apt, artistic, authoritative, bravura, brilliant, brisk, clean, clever, coordinated, crack, crackerjack, cunning, cute, daedal, dexterous, dextrous, diplomatic, excellent, expert, fancy, fleet, good, goodish, graceful, handy, ingenious, magisterial, masterful, masterly, neat, neat-handed, nimble, no mean, politic, professional, proficient, prompt, quick, quite some, ready, resourceful, skillful, slick, some, statesmanlike, stylish, tactful, the compleat, the complete, virtuoso, well-done, workmanlike
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |