different between dexterous vs swift

English

Alternative forms

• dextrous (British)

Etymology

From Latin dexter (“right, ready”) + -ous.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d?kst??s/
• Rhymes: -?kst??s

Adjective

dexterous (comparative more dexterous, superlative most dexterous)

1. Skillful with one's hands.
2. Skillful in some specific thing.
   • 1719, Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

     We went frequently out with this boat a-fishing; and as I was most dexterous to catch fish for him, he never went without me.

3. Agile; flexible; able to move fluidly and gracefully.
4. (figuratively, archaic) Skilled at argumentation; mentally skillful.
   • 1775, speech by Edmund Burke

     […] the study [of law] renders men acute, inquisitive, dexterous, prompt in attack, ready in defense […]

Related terms

• ambidextrous
• dexter
• dexterity

Translations

See also

• adroit
• active
• expert
• skillful
• clever
• able
• ready
• apt
• handy
• versed

Further reading

• dexterous in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• dexterous in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• dexterous at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Exoduster

English

Etymology

From Middle English swift, from Old English swift (“swift; quick”), from Proto-Germanic *swiftaz (“swift; quick”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)weyp- (“to twist; wind around”). Cognate with Icelandic svipta (“to pull quickly”), Old English sw?fan (“to revolve, sweep, wend, intervene”). More at swivel.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sw?ft/
• Homophone: Swift
• Rhymes: -?ft

Adjective

swift (comparative swifter, superlative swiftest)

1. Fast; quick; rapid.
2. Capable of moving at high speeds.

Translations

Noun

swift (plural swifts)

1. A small plain-colored bird of the family Apodidae that resembles a swallow and is noted for its rapid flight.

   Synonyms: needletail, spinetail, swiftlet

2. Any of certain lizards of the genus Sceloporus.

   Synonym: fence lizard, spiny lizard

3. (entomology) A moth of the family Hepialidae, swift moth, ghost moth.
4. (entomology) Any of various fast-flying hesperiid butterflies.
5. A reel for winding yarn.
6. The main cylinder of a carding-machine.
7. (obsolete) The current of a stream.

Translations

Adverb

swift (comparative more swift, superlative most swift)

1. (obsolete, poetic) Swiftly.
   • 1602, William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, II. iii. 263:

     Light boats sail swift, though greater hulks draw deep.

   • 1793, Robert Southey, Lord William

     Ply swift and strong the oar.

Synonyms

• swith

Derived terms

• African swift (Apus barbatus)
• alpine swift (Tachymarptis melba)
• Andean swift (Aeronautes andecolus)
• ashy-tailed swift (Chaetura andrei)
• band-rumped swift (Chaetura spinicaudus)
• Bates's swift (Apus batesi)
• black swift (Cypseloides niger)
• Blyth's swift (Apus leuconyx)
• Bradfield's swift (Apus bradfieldi)
• chimney swift (Chaetura pelagica)
• common swift (Apus apus)
• Cook's swift (Apus cooki)
• Costa Rican swift (Chaetura fumosa)
• crested swift (Hemiprocnidae spp.)
• dark-rumped swift (Apus acuticauda)
• emerald swift (Sceloporus malachiticus)
• Eurasian swift, European swift (Apus apus)
• fence swift (Sceloporus undulatis)
• Fernando Po swift (Apus sladeniae)
• Forbes-Watson's swift (Apus berliozi)
• fork-tailed swift
• ghost swift (Hepialidae)
• great dusky swift (Cypseloides senex)
• great swift (Hepialus humuli)
• grey-rumped swift (Chaetura cinereiventris)
• little swift (Apus affinis)
• mottled swift (Tachymarptis aequatorialis)
• needle-tailed swift (Hirundapus caudacutus)
• Nyanza swift (Apus niansae)
• orange swift (Triodia sylvina)
• Pacific swift (Apus pacificus)
• pallid swift (Apus pallidus)
• palm swift (Cypsiurus spp.)
• pine swift (Sceloporus undulatus)
• sagebrush swift (Sceloporus graciosus)
• Salim Ali's swift (Apus salimali)
• scarce swift (Schoutedenapus myoptilus)
• Schouteden's swift (Schoutedenapus schoutedeni)
• Sick's swift (Chaetura meridionalis)
• sooty swift (Cypseloides fumigatus)
• spine-tailed swift (Hirundapus caudacutus)
• spot-fronted swift (Cypseloides cherriei)
• swift fox (Vulpes velox)
• swift fruit bat (Thoopterus nigrescens)
• swift moth
• swiftness
• swiftlet (Apodidae spp.)
• swiftly
• swift parrot (Lathamus discolor)
• swiftwater
• tree swift, treeswift (Hemiprocnidae spp.)
• white-chested swift (Cypseloides lemosi)
• white-chinned swift (Cypseloides cryptus)
• white-collared swift (Streptoprocne zonaris)
• white-naped swift (Streptoprocne semicollaris)
• white-throated swift (Aeronautes saxatalis)
• white-tipped swift (Aeronautes montivagus)

Old English

Etymology

From the verb sw?fan.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /swift/

Adjective

swift (comparative swiftra, superlative swiftost)

1. swift, quick

Declension

Derived terms

• swiftl??e
• swiftnes

Descendants

• English: swift