Word of the Day

: September 4, 2006

dexterous

adjective DEK-strus

What It Means

1 : mentally adroit and skillful : clever

2 : done with dexterity : artful

3 : skillful and competent with the hands

dexterous in Context

As a shortstop, Alex is a dexterous fielder, adept at catching any ground ball or line drive hit at him.

Did You Know?

"Dexterous" comes from the Latin word "dexter," meaning "on the right side." Since most people are right-handed, and therefore do things more easily with their right hand, "dexter" developed the sense of "skillful." English speakers crafted "dexterous" from "dexter" and have been using the resulting adjective for anyone who is skillful-in either a physical or mental capacity-since at least the early 1600s. The adjective "ambidextrous," which combines "dexter" with the Latin prefix "ambi-," meaning "both," describes one who is able to use both hands in an equally skillful way.

*Indicates the sense illustrated by the example sentence.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.