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Nimble - 4 dictionary results
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nim⋅ble

  [nim-buhl]
Use Nimble in a Sentence
–adjective, -bler, -blest.
1. quick and light in movement; moving with ease; agile; active; rapid: nimble feet.
2. quick to understand, think, devise, etc.: a nimble mind.
3. cleverly contrived: a story with a nimble plot.
Origin:
bef. 1000; late ME nymel, earlier nemel, OE nǣmel capable, equiv. to nǣm- (var. s. of niman to take; see nim 1 ) + -el -le

Related forms:
nim⋅ble⋅ness, noun
nimbly, adverb

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

Antonyms:
1. clumsy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Nimble
nim·ble   (nĭm'bəl)   
adj.   nim·bler, nim·blest
  1. Quick, light, or agile in movement or action; deft: nimble fingers. See Synonyms at dexterous.
  2. Quick, clever, and acute in devising or understanding: nimble wits.

[Middle English nemel, from Old English nǣmel, quick to seize and numol, quick at learning; see nem- in Indo-European roots.]
nim'ble·ness n., nim'bly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Nimble

Nim"ble\, a. [Compar. Nimbler; superl. Nimblest.] [OE. nimel, prob. orig., quick at seizing, fr. nimen to take, AS. niman; akin to D. nemen, G. nehmen, OHG. neman, Icel. nema, Goth. nima, and prob. to Gr. ? to distribute. [root] 7. Cf. Nomand, Numb.] Light and quick in motion; moving with ease and celerity; lively; swift.

Through the mid seas the nimble pinnace sails. --Pope.

Note: Nimble is sometimes used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, nimble-footed, nimble-pinioned, nimble-winged, etc.

Nimble Will (Bot.), a slender, branching, American grass (Muhlenbergia diffusa), of some repute for grazing purposes in the Mississippi valley.

Syn: Agile; quick; active; brisk; lively; prompt.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Nimble
Spanish: ágil,
German: flink,
Japanese: すばやい
More Translations »

nimble 
"agile, light-footed," c.1300, nemel, from O.E. næmel "quick to grasp" (attested only once), related to niman "to take," from P.Gmc. *nemanan (cf. O.Du., Goth. niman, O.N. nema, O.Fris. nima, Ger. nehmen "to take"), from PIE base *nem- "to divide, distribute, allot" (cf. Gk. nemein "to deal out," nemesis "just indignation," L. numerus "number," Lith. nuoma "rent, interest," M.Ir. nos "custom, usage"). With excrescent -b- from c.1500 (cf. limb).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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