nimble

nimble
    adj 1: moving quickly and lightly; "sleek and agile as a
           gymnast"; "as nimble as a deer"; "nimble fingers"; "quick
           of foot"; "the old dog was so spry it was halfway up the
           stairs before we could stop it" [syn: {agile}, {nimble},
           {quick}, {spry}]
    2: mentally quick; "an agile mind"; "nimble wits" [syn: {agile},
       {nimble}]
    

Nimble \Nim"ble\ (n[i^]m"b'l), a. [Compar. {Nimbler}
   (n[i^]m"bl[~e]r); superl. {Nimblest} (n[i^]m"bl[e^]st).] [OE.
   nimel, prob. orig., quick at seizing, fr. nimen to take, AS.
   niman; akin to D. nemen, G. nehmen, OHG. neman, Icel. nema,
   Goth. nima, and prob. to Gr. ne`mein to distribute. [root] 7.
   Cf. {Nomand}, {Numb}.]
   Light and quick in motion; moving with ease and celerity;
   lively; swift.
   [1913 Webster]

         Through the mid seas the nimble pinnace sails. --Pope.
   [1913 Webster]

   Note: Nimble is sometimes used in the formation of
         self-explaining compounds; as, nimble-footed,
         nimble-pinioned, nimble-winged, etc.
         [1913 Webster]

   {Nimble Will} (Bot.), a slender, branching, American grass
      ({Muhlenbergia diffusa}), of some repute for grazing
      purposes in the Mississippi valley.
      [1913 Webster]

   Syn: Agile; quick; active; brisk; lively; prompt.
        [1913 Webster]
    

98 Moby Thesaurus words for "nimble":
      active, acute, adroit, agile, alacritous, alert, alive, apt,
      attentive, awake, brainy, breakneck, bright, brilliant, brisk,
      catty, clever, coruscating, dashing, deft, dexterous, dispatchful,
      double-quick, eagle-winged, energetic, expeditious, express, fast,
      featly, fleet, flying, galloping, gifted, graceful, hair-trigger,
      handy, hasty, headlong, hustling, intelligent, keen, keen-witted,
      light, light of heel, light-footed, lightsome, limber, lithe,
      lively, mercurial, neat-fingered, neat-handed, nimble-footed,
      nimble-witted, no dumbbell, not born yesterday, on the,
      on the alert, on the ball, on the job, peart, precipitate, prompt,
      qui vive, quick, quick as lightning, quick as thought,
      quick-thinking, quick-witted, rapid, ready, reckless, running,
      scintillating, sharp, sharp-witted, sleepless, smart, snappy,
      spanking, sparkling, speedy, sprightly, spry, steel-trap,
      sure-footed, swift, talented, unblinking, unnodding, unsleeping,
      unwinking, vigilant, wakeful, watchful, wide-awake, winged,
      zippy