Hypertext Webster Gateway: "versatile"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Versatile \Ver"sa*tile\, a. [L. versatilis, fr. versare to turn
around, v. freq. of vertere: cf. F. versatile. See {Verse}.]
1. Capable of being turned round. --Harte.
2. Liable to be turned in opinion; changeable; variable;
unsteady; inconstant; as versatile disposition.
3. Turning with ease from one thing to another; readily
applied to a new task, or to various subjects; many-sided;
as, versatile genius; a versatile politician.
Conspicuous among the youths of high promise . . .
was the quick and versatile [Charles] Montagu.
--Macaulay.
4. (Nat. Hist.) Capable of turning; freely movable; as, a
versatile anther, which is fixed at one point to the
filament, and hence is very easily turned around; a
versatile toe of a bird. -- {Ver"sa*tile*ly}, adv. -- --
{Ver"sa*tile*ness}, n.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
versatile
adj 1: (used of persons) having many skills
2: having great diversity or variety; "his various achievements
are impressive"; "his vast and versatile erudition" [syn:
{various}]
3: changeable or inconstant; "versatile moods"
4: competent in many areas and able to turn with ease from one
thing to another; "a versatile writer"
5: (biology) able to move freely in all directions; "an owl's
versatile toe can move backward and forward"; "an insect's
versatile antennae can move up and down or laterally"; "a
versatile anther of a flower moves freely in the wind"
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