surefootedとは 意味・読み方・使い方

語源

sure +‎ footed

形容詞

surefooted (comparative more surefooted, superlative most surefooted)

1. Walking steadily, without stumbling; capable of finding good footing.
   • 1766, Tobias Smollett, Travels through France and Italy‎, Letter XX:

     The mules of Piedmont are exceeding strong and hardy. […] They are the only carriage that can be used in crossing the mountains, being very sure-footed: and it is observed that in choosing their steps, they always march upon the brink of the precipice.

   • 1997, Emma Donoghue, “The Tale of the Needle”, in Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins, New York: HarperCollins, page 169:

     For many years I didn't learn to walk, because I was carried everywhere—not by my parents, who had grown frail, but by the most sure-footed of the servants.

   • 2024 June 12, Pip Dunn, “Network News: Class 93 tri-mode completes first UK main line tests”, in RAIL, number 1011, page 6:

     Testers reported the locomotive as very surefooted and said it did not lose traction.

2. Confident and capable.
   • 2015, Rosemary Sullivan, Stalin's Daughter, →ISBN, page 320:

     Her performance was described as "stunning, surefooted, breathtaking."