Dexterity

How to spell dexterity

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce dexterity

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does dexterity mean?

1. nounSkill and ease in using the hands or body, or in handling a task adeptly.

Dexterity in a sentence

• The surgeon's dexterity with the tiny instruments impressed the whole team.

• Playing the violin demands years of practice to build real dexterity.

Where does dexterity come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin dexteritas, meaning 'readiness' or 'skilfulness', which was built on the adjective dexter, literally 'on the right-hand side'. The Romans, like many cultures, associated the right hand with skill, competence, and good fortune, while the left (sinister) carried unlucky connotations; this is why a 'dexterous' person came to mean an able and handy one. English borrowed the word in the late 1500s, largely by way of French dexterité, to describe nimble physical skill, especially of the hands. The same dexter root survives in 'ambidextrous', literally 'having two right hands', a person equally skilled with either hand. The spelling trap lies in the unstressed middle vowel: the 'er' sounds like a faint schwa, tempting writers toward 'dexterity' versus a wrong 'dextarity'.

How the word is built

• dexter- (from Latin dexter: right-hand, skilful)
• -ity (noun-forming suffix denoting a quality or state)