clever

Meaning

1. Nimble with hands or body; dexterous; skillful; adept.
2. Quick to understand, learn, and devise or apply ideas; intelligent.
3. Mentally quick and resourceful; skilled at achieving what one wants in a mentally agile and inventive way.
4. Smart, intelligent, or witty; mentally quick or sharp.
5. (archaic) Sane; in one's right mind.
6. Showing mental quickness and resourcefulness.
7. Showing inventiveness or originality; witty.
8. (UK, colloquial) Fit and healthy; free from fatigue or illness.
9. (US, dated) Good-natured; obliging.
10. Possessing magical abilities.
11. (obsolete) Fit; suitable; having propriety.
12. (obsolete) Well-shaped; handsome.

Synonyms

smart

intelligent

shrewd

wise

skilful

cunning

bright

sharp

ingenious

skillful

sly

astute

skilled

dexterous

able

adroit

quick-witted

expert

crafty

keen

witty

sagacious

knowing

quick

prudent

canny

sharp-witted

sensible

alert

sneaky

gifted

learned

talented

acute

brainy

neat

knowledgeable

become wise

dextrous

deft

brilliant

cute

wily

proficient

agile

apt

nimble

medicine man

capable

active

Translations

intelligent

malin

klug

schlau

rusé

habile

listo

astucieux

ingénieux

zeki

intelligente

slim

sveglio

inteligente

abile

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈklɛvə/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: cliver

Inherited from Old English: *clifer

Cognate with Old English: clifer

Cognate with Welsh: celfydd

In summary

From East Anglian dialectal English cliver (“expert at seizing”), from Middle English cliver (“tenacious”).
* perhaps from Old English *clifer, clibbor (“clinging”);
* or perhaps from Dutch, Low German, or East/Saterland Frisian (compare kluftich (“clever, prudent”), probably derived from Proto-West Germanic *kleuban (“to cleave, split”));
* or dialectal Norwegian klover (“ready, skillful”), itself borrowed from Middle Low German klever, related to kleven (“to stick”), from Old Saxon klibōn, from Proto-West Germanic *klibēn, related to the Old English word above;
* possibly influenced by Old English clifer (“claw, hand”) (compare clawian (“to claw”)).
Related to cleave. Perhaps influenced by Welsh celfydd (“talented, dexterous, expert”).

Sentences

And he is a very clever boy , indeed .