Behände

Behände is a German adjective meaning dexterous, deft, or nimble, especially in relation to manual work. It describes someone who can perform tasks with speed and precision with the hands, or things that require fine motor skill. The form is largely literary or archaic in contemporary German; in everyday usage, adjectives such as behändig or geschickt are more common. As an archaic or poetic term, behände may appear in older texts, in poetry, or in stylistic writing to evoke historical or rustic flavor. Etymology traces back to early forms related to behend, meaning quick or deft, connected with the concept of the hand. The adjective is declined like other adjectives; common phrases include "eine behände Hand" or "behände Bewegungen" in literary contexts. The noun corresponding to the quality is Behändigkeit, meaning dexterity or deftness; related terms include Geschicklichkeit and Gewandtheit. In modern German, "behändig," "geschickt" or "gewandt" are typically used to express the same idea, while "behände" remains mainly a stylistic variant. See also: German adjectives for manual skill; dexterity; synonyms and related terms.