Etymologically
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agile

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈæd͡ʒ.aɪl/, /ˈæd͡ʒ.əl/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French agile (“able to move quickly and easily”), recorded in French from about 1327, and directly borrowed from Latin agilis (“nimble, swift, quick, active”),[2][3][4][5] formed from agō (“to drive, set in motion, do”) with the suffix -ilis.[2][4][6] The Latin verb is from Proto-Indo-European *ag- (“to drive, draw out, move”).[3][7] The word is related to agent, act and agility.[5][2][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Able to move quickly and easily, nimble: before 1500, in Andrew of Wyntoun's Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland (written about 1425).[2] Merriam-Webster dates it to the 14th century and the Shorter Oxford to late Middle English,[4][9] while Barnhart and Etymonline put it in 1581 and the 1580s.[5][3]

Semantic evolution

In 16th-century theology agile described the glorified body of the resurrection, able to move instantly from place to place (1552–1667).[2] The sense "mentally quick, alert" is recorded from 1599,[2] and since about 1635 the word was used of air or liquids, "thin, subtle", now rare.[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as "nimble; ready; having the quality of being speedily put in motion; active", quoting the agile heels of Henry IV.[10] In business, from 1979, agile describes a company or product able to adapt quickly to customers and the market,[2] and Collins records it for a project-management system in which teams adapt their work in response to regular feedback.[11]

Timeline

  • before 1500 – able to move quickly and easily (Wyntoun).[2]
  • 1552 – theology, of the glorified body (obsolete after 1667).[2]
  • 1581 – first date in Barnhart.[5]
  • 1599 – mentally quick, alert.[2]
  • c. 1635 – of air or liquid, thin, subtle.[2]
  • 1979 – business, adaptable to change.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Able to move quickly and easily; nimble: an agile climber.[11][4][12][2]
  2. Mentally quick, alert and resourceful: an agile debater.[11][4][12][2]
  3. Of a business or product: able to change quickly in response to customers and the market; in particular, using a project-management method in which teams adapt their work through regular feedback.[2][11]

Word family

  • agilely
  • agileness
  • agility

Usage notes

British speakers usually say /ˈædʒaɪl/ and Americans /ˈædʒəl/.[13][2]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  8. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  11. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  12. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  13. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press