Agilities

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of being quick and nimble in movement or action, displaying gracefulness and coordination in physical activities
2. A state characterized by both mental sharpness and physical dexterity, allowing for effective responses to dynamic challenges
3. The ability to move quickly and easily, demonstrating both flexibility and coordination in various tasks or activities

Etymology: "Agilities" is simply the plural of "agility," so it names several distinct instances or kinds of quickness and nimbleness rather than the quality in general. The noun it belongs to arrived in English in the late Middle Ages, borrowed from Middle French "agilité," which itself came from the Latin "agilitās," meaning quickness or nimbleness of body or mind. That Latin noun was built from "agilis," meaning "nimble, fleet, quick," with the suffix "-itas" that turns adjectives into abstract nouns of quality. English later formed its own adjective, "agile," from the same Latin source, so the two words share one root but reached the language through different routes. The plural form appears when a speaker wants to point to particular displays of agility, as in a list of athletes' different skills.

Synonyms: nimbleness, dexterity, quickness, grace, flexibility

Antonyms: clumsiness, awkwardness, heaviness, inflexibility, ineptitude