Deft (?), a. [OE. daft,
deft, becoming, mild, gentle, stupid (cf. OE. daffe,
deffe, fool, coward), AS. dæft (in derivatives
only) mild, gentle, fitting, seasonable; akin to dafen,
gedafen, becoming, fit, Goth. gadaban to be fit. Cf.
Daft, Daff, Dapper.] Apt; fit; dexterous;
clever; handy; spruce; neat. [Archaic or Poetic] "The
deftest way." Shak. "Deftest feats."
Gay.
The limping god, so deft at his new
ministry.
Dryden.
Let me be deft and debonair.
Byron.