Adjective

(en adjective)

Good at; skilled; fluent; practiced, especially in relation to a task or skill.

He was a proficient writer with an interest in human nature.

* 1912 : (Edgar Rice Burroughs), (Tarzan of the Apes), Chapter 5

By constant playing and experimenting with these he learned to tie rude knots, and make sliding nooses; and with these he and the younger apes amused themselves. What Tarzan did they tried to do also, but he alone originated and became proficient .

Adjective

(er)

Prepared for immediate action or use.

:

*(John Milton) (1608-1674)

*:If need be, I am ready to forego / And quit.

*(Henry Fielding) (1707-1754)

*:Dinner was ready .

Inclined; apt to happen.

Liable at any moment.

:

*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

*:My heart is ready to crack.

Not slow or hesitating; quick in action or perception of any kind; dexterous; prompt; easy; expert.

:

*Sir (Walter Scott) (1771-1832)

*:whose temper was ready , through surly

* (1800-1859)

*:ready in devising expedients

*

*:Molly the dairymaid came a little way from the rickyard, and said she would pluck the pigeon that very night after work. She was always ready to do anything for us boys; and we could never quite make out why they scolded her so for an idle hussy indoors. It seemed so unjust. Looking back, I recollect she had very beautiful brown eyes.

*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-10, volume=408, issue=8848, magazine=(The Economist), author=Lexington

, title= Keeping the mighty honest , passage=The [Washington] Post's proprietor through those turbulent [Watergate] days, Katharine Graham, held a double place in Washington’s hierarchy: at once regal Georgetown hostess and scrappy newshound, ready to hold the establishment to account.}}

Offering itself at once; at hand; opportune; convenient.

*(John Milton) (1608-1674)

*:the readiest way

*(John Dryden) (1631-1700)

*:A sapling pine he wrenched from out the ground, / The readiest weapon that his fury found.