agileadj.

Brit.

/ˈadʒʌɪl/, U.S.

/ˈædʒəl/

Forms: 1500s–1600s agill, 1500s– agile, 1600s–1700s agil; Scottish pre-1700 agil, pre-1700 agill, pre-1700 agyle, pre-1700 1700s– agile.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French agile; Latin agilis.

Etymology: < (i) Middle French agile able to move quickly and easily, nimble (c1327; French agile ), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin agilis that moves or can be moved easily, nimble, swift, alert, quick, active, energetic < agere to do (see act v.) + -ilis -il suffix. Compare Spanish ágil (first half of the 16th cent.), Italian agile (1378). Compare agilious adj. N.E.D. (1884) also gives the pronunciation (æ·dʒil) /ˈædʒɪl/. This is the usual pronunciation given in 19th-cent. dictionaries. The pronunciation with /ʌɪ/ in the second syllable is usual in British dictionaries from the early 20th cent. onwards.

a. Able to move (esp. to climb or manoeuvre) quickly and easily; nimble, dexterous. Also figurative and in extended use.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > bodily movement > [adjective] > qualities of bodily movement > agile or nimble

lightOE

quiverOE

yepec1275

taitc1300

yap13..

delivera1375

swippera1387

wight1390

nimblea1400

yarea1400

yerna1400

smitherc1475

leger1483

agilea1500

liver1530

lightsome1567

wimble1579

nimble jointed1591

nimble shifting1591

agilious1599

nimbling1599

nimble spirited1611

expedite1612

fitchanta1616

airy1642

fantastic1645

volant1650

clever1691

light-limbed1695

spry1746

swack1768

swank1786

yauld1787

deliverly1820

slippy1847

nippy1849

springe1859

pantherish1869

pantherine1890

flippant1895

loose1907

Tarzanesque1933

Tarzan-like1943

a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) iii. l. 23 Ayot..sa agil was in ficht Þat bath þe left hande and þe richt He ewynlik [a1550 Wemyss evinlike] oyssit.

1581 Compendious Exam. Certayne Ordinary Complaints i. f. 8 Wee be not so agill and light as fowles & Byrdes.

1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet iii. i. 165 With his agill arme yong Romeo,..sought peace to make.

1625 T. Jackson Christs Answer 177 In that day shall all the halt and lame..become more strong & agile than the Hart, and more swift and nimble than the Roe.

1651 E. Prestwich tr. Seneca Hippolitus ii. iii. 25 As agile fire over dry timber spread.

1705 W. Coward Abramideis iii. 162 Now more than Sixty times the radiant Sun With agile pace his Annual Stage has run.

1766 H. Brooke Fool of Quality I. i. 46 He cast it from him with a sudden and agile jerk.

1844 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece VIII. lxi. 96 The advantages of a robust and agile frame.

1875 J. H. Kidder Nat. Hist. Kerguelen Island i. 46 They are the most agile of all penguins, skipping from rock to rock.

1905 G. Saenger tr. H. Kling Mod. Orchestration & Instrumentation (ed. 2) v. 217/2 Melodies, counter-melodies, or light and agile passages can be easily executed upon this instrument.

1927 Observer 14 Aug. 7/4 Agile, narrow-beamed cars, with plenty of acceleration.

1995 M. Lawrence et al. Which? Guide Home Safety & Security ii. 105 Windows that could be accessible to an agile burglar prepared to climb a cast-iron soil pipe.

†b. Theology. Of the glorified human body: able to move quickly from place to place and to levitate. See agility n. 1. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1552 Abp. J. Hamilton Catech. ii. xiii. f. cxx^v Our bodies sall be indewit with immortalitie, maid agil, subtil, cleir & impassibil.

1613 T. Draxe Earnest of our Inheritance 57 Their bodies being clarified and refined, shall be light, agile, nimble, able (like the bodie of our Lord) to walke vpon the waters.

1667 G. Sikes Bk. Nature xii. 66 The body..wilbe restored in a state most proportion'd, lovely and desireable to the elect; to wit, a most beautiful, comely, glorious, impassible, immortal, agile, spiritual body.

2. Of a person, the mind, etc.: able to think, understand, and react quickly; alert, astute, quick-witted; (also) characterized by quick-wittedness.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > sharpness, shrewdness, insight > [adjective]

sharpc888

yepec1000

spacka1200

yare-witelc1275

fellc1300

yap13..

seeinga1382

far-castinga1387

sightya1400

perceivinga1425

snellc1425

politic?a1439

quickc1449

pregnant?a1475

pert1484

quick-wittedc1525

apt1535

intelligentc1540

queemc1540

ready-witted1576

political1577

of (a) great, deep, etc., reach1579

conceited1583

perspicuous1584

sharp-witteda1586

shrewd1589

inseeing1590

conceived1596

acute1598

pregnate1598

agile1599

nimble-headed1601

insighted1602

nimble1604

nimble-witted1604

penetrant1605

penetrating1606

spraga1616

acuminous1619

discoursing1625

smart1639

penetrativea1641

sagacious1650

nasute1653

acuminate1654

blunt-sharpa1661

long-headed1665

smoky1688

rapid1693

keen1704

gash1706

snack1710

cute1731

mobile1778

wide awake1785

acuminated1786

quick-minded1789

kicky1790

snap1790

downy1803

snacky1806

unbaffleable1827

varmint1829

needle-sharp1836

nimble-brained1836

incisivea1850

spry1849

fast1850

snappy1871

hard-boiled1884

on the spot1903

1599 A. Hume Hymnes sig. C The mightie God he gaue to man, a swift and agile thought.

a1676 M. Hale Primitive Originat. Mankind (1677) 3 The exercise of the Intellective Faculty makes it agil, quick, and lively.

1739 D. Hume Treat. Human Nature II. iii. 294 The imagination is extreme quick and agile; but the passions are slow and restive.

1861 D. F. Campbell tr. A. Thiers Hist. Consulate & Empire France under Napoleon XVIII. 65 This king, so heavy in body and so agile in mind.

1872 J. S. Blackie Lays of Highlands 156 Whose agile tongue doth flit From theme to theme with change of wordy war.

1914 I. S. Cobb in Sat. Evening Post 18 July 3/2 Honing his agile fancy on the whetstones of their duller mentalities.

2003 S. Greenfield Tomorrow's People (2004) ii. 28 The brain can be kept agile by stimulation with interactive IT.

3. Esp. of air, gas, or liquid: thin and fluid; lacking substance; = subtle adj. 11. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > liquid > [adjective] > qualities of liquid > not viscous, thin

thina900

subtlea1398

smallc1500

flexible1612

short1612

agilec1635

skinking1786

inviscid1913

c1635 H. Glapthorne Lady Mother (1959) i. i. 1 Tis easier to..investigate an eagles passage through the agill ayre.

1661 J. Burton Hist. Eriander 89 To apprehend exactly what it [sc. the soul] is, and where it peculiarly resides,..let us suppose that there is in every living creature a pure and agile substance, composed of (or at least resembling) aire and fire.

1688 R. Boyle Disquis. Final Causes iv. 225 I take the Body of a Living Man..Many of whose Functions..are perform'd..partly by a very Agile and Invisible sort of Fluids, call'd Spirits, Vital and Animal.

1733 G. Cheyne Eng. Malady v. 41 The natural Salt being thus levigated and refin'd,..it becomes so subtil and agile, as to be able easily to enter into the smallest Tubes.

1786 G. McCalman Crit. Inq. Motion of Sun xii. 197 The electric fire..tends to equipoise its fellow elements too,..because every motion of that agile fluid, produced on one side of an atom, is immediately balanced by a corresponding one on the opposite side.

1820 T. Taylor tr. Proclus Comm. Plato I. iii. 422 Since fire is in the heavens, and also earth, the diaphanous media between these, are likewise necessarily there primarily; air indeed, such as the most pure and agile air which is here.

1833 D. Urquhart Turkey & its Resources vii. 145 One was afflicted by vast aneurisms, where masses of the agile fluid [sc. blood] remained in complete stagnation.

1920 Trans. Soc. Automotive Engineers 1919 13 ii. 268 Variation in viscosity ranges between very light agile fluids to a semifluid consistency.

†4. Of wood: readily worked. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > [adjective] > easily set in motion

agitable1548

agile1694

1694 W. Westmacott Θεολοβοτονολογια 80 All agree that it [sc. Gophir] was a solid, light, agile wood.

5. Business. Of a company, business activity, product, etc.: able to change or be changed rapidly in response to customer needs and market forces; adaptable, flexible, responsive. Cf. nimble adj. 6b, waterfall adj.

ΚΠ

1979 Amer. Banker 26 Mar. 10/3 Mortgage bankers will have to become even more flexible and agile if they are to survive and prosper in this increasingly competitive atmosphere.

1997 D. M. Anderson (title) Agile product development for mass customization: how to develop and deliver products for mass customization, niche markets, JIT, build-to-order, and flexible manufacturing.

2003 Network World 1 Dec. 43/3 IT managers need to work with existing resources and be smart about new purchases when building an agile data center.

2011 L. Schell in S. Polanka No Shelf Required v. 76 The transferability of digital content, and in particular e-books, makes them extremely agile products to package and repackage as the market dictates.

Compounds

agile manufacturing n. Business manufacturing that is characterized by the ability to respond rapidly to customer needs and market forces, esp. through the establishment of flexible relationships with suppliers.

ΚΠ

1991 Network World 16 Dec. 1/1 The US needs to move beyond mass manufacturing..to agile manufacturing, a strategy that stresses resource sharing among suppliers.

2002 D. Goleman et al. Business: Ultimate Resource 1173/1 Agile manufacturing aims to develop flexible, often short-term, relationships with suppliers, as market opportunities arise.

2010 Lima (Ohio) News (Nexis) 21 Feb. Berger..formed the nonprofit Ohio Energy and Advanced Manufacturing Center..to help launch the idea of what they call ‘agile manufacturing’. Instead of designing manufacturing plants to create millions of the same item, they reason that workers should tool them to make thousands of items varied based on the customers' needs.

agile wallaby n. a medium-sized kangaroo with a white facial stripe, Macropus agilis, the commonest kangaroo in tropical northern Australia.

ΚΠ

1857 J. Gould Mammals of Austral. (1863) II. Pl. 25 The Agile Wallaby appears to be abundant on all the low swampy lands of the northern coast of Australia.

1926 A. S. Le Souef et al. Wild Animals Australasia 190 The agile wallaby is a tropical species.

2006 Human Ecol. 34 397 Antilopine wallaroos (M. antilopinus) and agile wallabies (M. agilis) are the main kangaroo species that continue to be hunted.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

单词	agile
释义	agileadj. Brit. /ˈadʒʌɪl/, U.S. /ˈædʒəl/ Forms: 1500s–1600s agill, 1500s– agile, 1600s–1700s agil; Scottish pre-1700 agil, pre-1700 agill, pre-1700 agyle, pre-1700 1700s– agile. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French agile; Latin agilis. Etymology: < (i) Middle French agile able to move quickly and easily, nimble (c1327; French agile ), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin agilis that moves or can be moved easily, nimble, swift, alert, quick, active, energetic < agere to do (see act v.) + -ilis -il suffix. Compare Spanish ágil (first half of the 16th cent.), Italian agile (1378). Compare agilious adj. N.E.D. (1884) also gives the pronunciation (æ·dʒil) /ˈædʒɪl/. This is the usual pronunciation given in 19th-cent. dictionaries. The pronunciation with /ʌɪ/ in the second syllable is usual in British dictionaries from the early 20th cent. onwards. 1. a. Able to move (esp. to climb or manoeuvre) quickly and easily; nimble, dexterous. Also figurative and in extended use. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > bodily movement > [adjective] > qualities of bodily movement > agile or nimble lightOE quiverOE yepec1275 taitc1300 yap13.. delivera1375 swippera1387 wight1390 nimblea1400 yarea1400 yerna1400 smitherc1475 leger1483 agilea1500 liver1530 lightsome1567 wimble1579 nimble jointed1591 nimble shifting1591 agilious1599 nimbling1599 nimble spirited1611 expedite1612 fitchanta1616 airy1642 fantastic1645 volant1650 clever1691 light-limbed1695 spry1746 swack1768 swank1786 yauld1787 deliverly1820 slippy1847 nippy1849 springe1859 pantherish1869 pantherine1890 flippant1895 loose1907 Tarzanesque1933 Tarzan-like1943 a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) iii. l. 23 Ayot..sa agil was in ficht Þat bath þe left hande and þe richt He ewynlik [a1550 Wemyss evinlike] oyssit. 1581 Compendious Exam. Certayne Ordinary Complaints i. f. 8 Wee be not so agill and light as fowles & Byrdes. 1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet iii. i. 165 With his agill arme yong Romeo,..sought peace to make. View more context for this quotation 1625 T. Jackson Christs Answer 177 In that day shall all the halt and lame..become more strong & agile than the Hart, and more swift and nimble than the Roe. 1651 E. Prestwich tr. Seneca Hippolitus ii. iii. 25 As agile fire over dry timber spread. 1705 W. Coward Abramideis iii. 162 Now more than Sixty times the radiant Sun With agile pace his Annual Stage has run. 1766 H. Brooke Fool of Quality I. i. 46 He cast it from him with a sudden and agile jerk. 1844 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece VIII. lxi. 96 The advantages of a robust and agile frame. 1875 J. H. Kidder Nat. Hist. Kerguelen Island i. 46 They are the most agile of all penguins, skipping from rock to rock. 1905 G. Saenger tr. H. Kling Mod. Orchestration & Instrumentation (ed. 2) v. 217/2 Melodies, counter-melodies, or light and agile passages can be easily executed upon this instrument. 1927 Observer 14 Aug. 7/4 Agile, narrow-beamed cars, with plenty of acceleration. 1995 M. Lawrence et al. Which? Guide Home Safety & Security ii. 105 Windows that could be accessible to an agile burglar prepared to climb a cast-iron soil pipe. †b. Theology. Of the glorified human body: able to move quickly from place to place and to levitate. See agility n. 1. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1552 Abp. J. Hamilton Catech. ii. xiii. f. cxx^v Our bodies sall be indewit with immortalitie, maid agil, subtil, cleir & impassibil. 1613 T. Draxe Earnest of our Inheritance 57 Their bodies being clarified and refined, shall be light, agile, nimble, able (like the bodie of our Lord) to walke vpon the waters. 1667 G. Sikes Bk. Nature xii. 66 The body..wilbe restored in a state most proportion'd, lovely and desireable to the elect; to wit, a most beautiful, comely, glorious, impassible, immortal, agile, spiritual body. 2. Of a person, the mind, etc.: able to think, understand, and react quickly; alert, astute, quick-witted; (also) characterized by quick-wittedness. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > sharpness, shrewdness, insight > [adjective] sharpc888 yepec1000 spacka1200 yare-witelc1275 fellc1300 yap13.. seeinga1382 far-castinga1387 sightya1400 perceivinga1425 snellc1425 politic?a1439 quickc1449 pregnant?a1475 pert1484 quick-wittedc1525 apt1535 intelligentc1540 queemc1540 ready-witted1576 political1577 of (a) great, deep, etc., reach1579 conceited1583 perspicuous1584 sharp-witteda1586 shrewd1589 inseeing1590 conceived1596 acute1598 pregnate1598 agile1599 nimble-headed1601 insighted1602 nimble1604 nimble-witted1604 penetrant1605 penetrating1606 spraga1616 acuminous1619 discoursing1625 smart1639 penetrativea1641 sagacious1650 nasute1653 acuminate1654 blunt-sharpa1661 long-headed1665 smoky1688 rapid1693 keen1704 gash1706 snack1710 cute1731 mobile1778 wide awake1785 acuminated1786 quick-minded1789 kicky1790 snap1790 downy1803 snacky1806 unbaffleable1827 varmint1829 needle-sharp1836 nimble-brained1836 incisivea1850 spry1849 fast1850 snappy1871 hard-boiled1884 on the spot1903 1599 A. Hume Hymnes sig. C The mightie God he gaue to man, a swift and agile thought. a1676 M. Hale Primitive Originat. Mankind (1677) 3 The exercise of the Intellective Faculty makes it agil, quick, and lively. 1739 D. Hume Treat. Human Nature II. iii. 294 The imagination is extreme quick and agile; but the passions are slow and restive. 1861 D. F. Campbell tr. A. Thiers Hist. Consulate & Empire France under Napoleon XVIII. 65 This king, so heavy in body and so agile in mind. 1872 J. S. Blackie Lays of Highlands 156 Whose agile tongue doth flit From theme to theme with change of wordy war. 1914 I. S. Cobb in Sat. Evening Post 18 July 3/2 Honing his agile fancy on the whetstones of their duller mentalities. 2003 S. Greenfield Tomorrow's People (2004) ii. 28 The brain can be kept agile by stimulation with interactive IT. 3. Esp. of air, gas, or liquid: thin and fluid; lacking substance; = subtle adj. 11. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > liquid > [adjective] > qualities of liquid > not viscous, thin thina900 subtlea1398 smallc1500 flexible1612 short1612 agilec1635 skinking1786 inviscid1913 c1635 H. Glapthorne Lady Mother (1959) i. i. 1 Tis easier to..investigate an eagles passage through the agill ayre. 1661 J. Burton Hist. Eriander 89 To apprehend exactly what it [sc. the soul] is, and where it peculiarly resides,..let us suppose that there is in every living creature a pure and agile substance, composed of (or at least resembling) aire and fire. 1688 R. Boyle Disquis. Final Causes iv. 225 I take the Body of a Living Man..Many of whose Functions..are perform'd..partly by a very Agile and Invisible sort of Fluids, call'd Spirits, Vital and Animal. 1733 G. Cheyne Eng. Malady v. 41 The natural Salt being thus levigated and refin'd,..it becomes so subtil and agile, as to be able easily to enter into the smallest Tubes. 1786 G. McCalman Crit. Inq. Motion of Sun xii. 197 The electric fire..tends to equipoise its fellow elements too,..because every motion of that agile fluid, produced on one side of an atom, is immediately balanced by a corresponding one on the opposite side. 1820 T. Taylor tr. Proclus Comm. Plato I. iii. 422 Since fire is in the heavens, and also earth, the diaphanous media between these, are likewise necessarily there primarily; air indeed, such as the most pure and agile air which is here. 1833 D. Urquhart Turkey & its Resources vii. 145 One was afflicted by vast aneurisms, where masses of the agile fluid [sc. blood] remained in complete stagnation. 1920 Trans. Soc. Automotive Engineers 1919 13 ii. 268 Variation in viscosity ranges between very light agile fluids to a semifluid consistency. †4. Of wood: readily worked. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > [adjective] > easily set in motion agitable1548 agile1694 1694 W. Westmacott Θεολοβοτονολογια 80 All agree that it [sc. Gophir] was a solid, light, agile wood. 5. Business. Of a company, business activity, product, etc.: able to change or be changed rapidly in response to customer needs and market forces; adaptable, flexible, responsive. Cf. nimble adj. 6b, waterfall adj. ΚΠ 1979 Amer. Banker 26 Mar. 10/3 Mortgage bankers will have to become even more flexible and agile if they are to survive and prosper in this increasingly competitive atmosphere. 1997 D. M. Anderson (title) Agile product development for mass customization: how to develop and deliver products for mass customization, niche markets, JIT, build-to-order, and flexible manufacturing. 2003 Network World 1 Dec. 43/3 IT managers need to work with existing resources and be smart about new purchases when building an agile data center. 2011 L. Schell in S. Polanka No Shelf Required v. 76 The transferability of digital content, and in particular e-books, makes them extremely agile products to package and repackage as the market dictates. Compounds agile manufacturing n. Business manufacturing that is characterized by the ability to respond rapidly to customer needs and market forces, esp. through the establishment of flexible relationships with suppliers. ΚΠ 1991 Network World 16 Dec. 1/1 The US needs to move beyond mass manufacturing..to agile manufacturing, a strategy that stresses resource sharing among suppliers. 2002 D. Goleman et al. Business: Ultimate Resource 1173/1 Agile manufacturing aims to develop flexible, often short-term, relationships with suppliers, as market opportunities arise. 2010 Lima (Ohio) News (Nexis) 21 Feb. Berger..formed the nonprofit Ohio Energy and Advanced Manufacturing Center..to help launch the idea of what they call ‘agile manufacturing’. Instead of designing manufacturing plants to create millions of the same item, they reason that workers should tool them to make thousands of items varied based on the customers' needs. agile wallaby n. a medium-sized kangaroo with a white facial stripe, Macropus agilis, the commonest kangaroo in tropical northern Australia. ΚΠ 1857 J. Gould Mammals of Austral. (1863) II. Pl. 25 The Agile Wallaby appears to be abundant on all the low swampy lands of the northern coast of Australia. 1926 A. S. Le Souef et al. Wild Animals Australasia 190 The agile wallaby is a tropical species. 2006 Human Ecol. 34 397 Antilopine wallaroos (M. antilopinus) and agile wallabies (M. agilis) are the main kangaroo species that continue to be hunted. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < adj.a1500
随便看	squid school squid-beak squid-bill squid-catching squid-family squid-hound squid-jigger squid-jigging squid-tentacle squid-thrower squidbeak squidbill squidcatching squidded squidding squiddle squidfamily squidge squidged squidger squidges squidgily squidging squidgy squidhound