deft \deft\ (d[e^]ft), a. [OE. daft, deft, becoming, mild,
   gentle, stupid (cf. OE. daffe, deffe, fool, coward), AS.
   d[ae]ft (in derivatives only) mild, gentle, fitting,
   seasonable; akin to dafen, gedafen, becoming, fit, Goth.
   gadaban to be fit. Cf. {Daft}, {Daff}, {Dapper}.]
   1. Apt; fit; spruce; neat. [Archaic or Poetic] "The deftest
      way." --Shak. "Deftest feats." --Gay.
      
[1913 Webster]


            Let me be deft and debonair.          --Byron.
      
[1913 Webster]


   2. dexterous; clever; handy; as, a deft feat of legerdemain.
      [PJC]

            The limping god, so deft at his new ministry.
                                                  --Dryden.
      
[1913 Webster]