In Regency literature, both of its time and the 20th-century homages by such authors as Georgette Heyer, a frequent adjective is "deedy," and I understand it to mean the same thing some posts on this thread suggest for "handy." capability, capacity. "Deedy," however, is an adjective I NEVER hear outside the Regency literary context, while "handy" persists at least in compounds like "handy man." (Which last reminds me of a blues by Alberta Hunter, but that's real suggestive stuff.)
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