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nimble
5 dictionary results for: Nimble
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
nim·ble       [nim-buhl] Pronunciation Key
–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 nim1) + -el -le]

—Related forms
nim·ble·ness, noun
nimbly, adverb

—Synonyms 1. lively, brisk, swift. 2. alert.
—Antonyms 1. clumsy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
nim·ble       (nĭm'bəl)  Pronunciation Key 
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.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
nimble

adjective
1. moving quickly and lightly; "sleek and agile as a gymnast"; "as nimble as a deer"; "nimble fingers"; "quick of foot"; "the old dog was so spry it was halfway up the stairs before we could stop it" [syn: agile] 
2. mentally quick; "an agile mind"; "nimble wits" [syn: agile] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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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