different between nimble vs proficient

English

Etymology

From Middle English nymyl, nemel, nemyll, nymell (“agile, quick, ready, able, capable”), merger of Old English n?mel (“receptive, quick to grasp”) and Old English numol (“able to take, capable of holding”), both from niman (“to take”) + -el, -ol (associative suffix), corresponding to nim +? -le. Compare German nehmen, Gothic ???????????????????? (niman), Old Norse nema (“to take”). More at nim.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?mbl?/
• Rhymes: -?mb?l

Adjective

nimble (comparative nimbler, superlative nimblest)

1. Adept at taking or grasping

   nimble fingers

2. Quick and light in movement or action.

3. Quick-witted and alert.

Antonyms

• (quick and light in movement or action): sluggish

Derived terms

• nimbly

Translations

Anagrams

• milneb

English

Etymology

From Latin proficiens, present participle of proficere (“to go forward, advance, make progress, succeed, be profitable or useful”), from pro (“forth, forward”) + facere (“to make, do”); see fact.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /p???f??.?nt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /p?o??f??.?nt/, /p???f??.?nt/
• Rhymes: -???nt

Adjective

proficient (comparative more proficient, superlative most proficient)

1. Good at something; skilled; fluent; practiced, especially in relation to a task or skill.

   He was a proficient writer with an interest in human nature.

   • 1912: Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes, Chapter 5

     By constant playing and experimenting with these he learned to tie rude knots, and make sliding nooses; and with these he and the younger apes amused themselves. What Tarzan did they tried to do also, but he alone originated and became proficient.

Synonyms

• (good at): skilled, fluent, practiced

Translations

Noun

proficient (plural proficients)

1. An expert.
   • 1924, Herman Melville, Billy Budd, London: Constable & Co., Chapter 10, [1]

     Why not subpoena as well the clerical proficients?

Synonyms

• (expert): expert; see also Thesaurus:skilled person

Translations

Related terms

• profit
• profitability
• profitable
• profiteer
• proficiency

Further reading

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

Latin

Verb

pr?ficient

1. third-person plural future active indicative of pr?fici?