nimble

/ˈnim-bəl/

Middle English nemel, nymyl, nemyll "agile, quick, capable, apt," probably going back to a by-form of later Old English numul, numol, næmel (once) "quick to grasp," from num-, *nǣm-, ablaut forms of niman (class IV strong verb) "to take, get hold of" + -ol, deverbal adjective suffix; niman going back to Germanic *neman- "to take" (whence also Old Frisian nima, nema "to take, appropriate, seize," Old Saxon niman "to take [off], get, accept," Middle Dutch nemen "to take, keep," Old High German neman "to take, seize," Old Icelandic nema "to take, get," Gothic niman "to take away, receive, accept"), perhaps going back to an Indo-European verbal base *nem- "apportion, distribute," whence also Greek némō, némein "to graze, pasture (animals), have management or control of, rule, direct, distribute, apportion, assign, give," (middle voice) némomai, némesthai "to feed on, occupy, inhabit, enjoy" and perhaps as a nominal derivative Latin numerus "numerical sum or symbol, quantity, aggregate" (< *nomeso-)

adjective

  1. quick and light in motion : agile

  2. marked by quick, alert, clever conception, comprehension, or resourcefulness

  3. responsive, sensitive

nimble fingers