nimble
- 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 of nimble
Synonyms for nimble
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comAntonyms for nimble
Examples from the Web for nimbleness
Historical Examples of nimbleness
Well, you shall acquire your nimbleness and strength by playing what is worth playing.
MichaelE. F. Benson
And I rubbed my hands, instantly pleased with myself and my nimbleness.
The God of LoveJustin Huntly McCarthy
It climbs trees and explores them with great ease and nimbleness.
Squirrels and Other Fur-BearersJohn Burroughs
I took to my heels; but this was the vainest of stratagems, they beat me in nimbleness.
The Adventures of Harry Richmond, CompleteGeorge Meredith
By-and-by, according to their nimbleness, they are elevated to "layers-on."
nimble
- agile, quick, and neat in movementnimble fingers
- alert; acutea nimble intellect
Word Origin for nimble
Word Origin and History for nimbleness
nimble
"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."