1620s, alternative spelling of dexterous; this version is more conformable to Latin but less common in English.
Entries linking to dextrous
dexterous adj.
c. 1600, "convenient, suitable" (a sense now obsolete), formed in English from Latin dexter "skillful" (from PIE root *deks- "right, opposite of left; south") + -ous. Sense of "deft or nimble with the hands, quick and precise in action" is from 1630s. Meaning "mentally skillful, clever" is from 1620s. Related: Dexterously; dexterousness.