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adept

 - 3 dictionary results

a⋅dept

  [adj. uh-dept; n. ad-ept, uh-dept]
Use adept in a Sentence
–adjective
1. very skilled; proficient; expert: an adept juggler.
–noun adept
2. a skilled or proficient person; expert.
Origin:
1655–65; < ML adeptus one who has attained (the secret of transmuting metals), n. use of L ptp. of adipiscī to attain to (ad- ad- + -ep-, comb. form of ap- in aptus apt + -tus ptp. suffix)

Related forms:
a⋅dept⋅ly, adverb
a⋅dept⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To adept
a·dept   (ə-děpt')   
adj.  Very skilled. See Synonyms at proficient.
n.   (ād'ěpt')
A highly skilled person; an expert: "The adepts in Washington mean to give rather than to take" (Lewis H. Lapham).

[Latin adeptus, past participle of adipīscī, to attain : ad-, ad- + apīscī, to grasp.]
a·dept'ly adv., a·dept'ness n.
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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Word Origin & History

adept 
1663 (n.), 1691 (adj.), from L. adeptus "having reached, attained," pp. of adipisci "to attain to, acquire," from ad- "to" + apisci "grasp, attain," related to aptus "fitted" (see apt). Noun meaning "one who is skilled in the secrets of anything" is from a M.L. use in alchemy.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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