apt
adjUS, UK /æpt/
Etymology From Old French apte, from Latin aptus (“suitable, fitting”). Either from obsolete apere (“to fasten, to join, to fit”), akin to apisci (“to reach, attain”) (compare with Greek ἅπτειν (áptein, “to fasten”) and Sanskrit आप्त (āpta, “fit”), from आप् (āp, “to reach, attain”)) or from *h₂ep- (“to join, fit (in)”).
1
Suitable; appropriate; fit or fitted; suited.
- an apt metaphor
- apt punishment
2 more examples
- a river […] apt to be forded by a lamb1678, Antiquitates Christianæ: Or, the History of the Life and Death of the Holy Jesus: […], London: […] E. Flesher, and R. Norton, for R[ichard] Royston, […], →OCLC:
- While we to Jove the pure libations pay, / Than Jove what apter claims the hallow'd lay?1755, Callimachus, “The First Hymn of Callimachus. To Jupiter.”, in William Dodd, transl., The Hymns of Callimachus, […], London: […] The translator [William Dodd], […], →OCLC, page 1:
2
Of persons or things Having a habitual tendency; habitually liable or likely; disposed towards.
- This tree, if unprotected, is apt to be stripped of its leaves by a leaf-cutting ant.1874, John Lubbock, Scientific Lectures / On Plants and Insects:
- that lofty pity with which prosperous folk are apt to remember their grandfathers1886, Frederic Harrison, The Choice of Books:
2 more examples
- Since sick people were apt to be present, he could not always depend on a lively young crowd in the same ward with him, and the entertainment was not always good.1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 168:
- On Wednesday night, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against a new California law that makes physicians subject to professional discipline for sharing COVID-19 "misinformation" with their patients. U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb concluded that California's definition of misinformation is unconstitutionally vague, failing to give doctors fair notice of which conduct the statute covers, which is a basic requirement of due process. That vagueness is especially problematic in this context, Shubb said, because it is apt to have a chilling effect on speech protected by the First Amendment.2023 January 26, Jacob Sullum, “A Federal Judge Blocks California's Ban on Medical Advice That Promotes COVID-19 'Misinformation'”, in Reason, archived from the original on 01 Aug 2023:
3
Ready; especially fitted or qualified (to do something); quick to learn.
- a pupil apt to learn
- an apt scholar
1 more example
- Fulfill your pleasure. Live a thousand years, / I shall not find myself so apt to die.1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]: