fast - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Proto-West Germanic *fast

Middle English fast

English fast

From Middle English fast, fest, from Old English fæst (“firm, secure”), from Proto-West Germanic *fast, from Proto-Germanic *fastuz; see it for cognates and further etymology.

The development of “rapid” from an original sense of “secure” apparently happened first in the adverb and then transferred to the adjective; compare hard in expressions like “to run hard”. The original sense of “secure, firm” is now slightly archaic, but retained in the related fasten (“make secure”). Also compare close meaning change from Latin rapiō (“to snatch”) to Latin rapidus (“rapid, quick”), from Irish sciob (“to snatch”) to Irish sciobtha (“quick”).

fast (comparative faster, superlative fastest)

  1. (dated) Firmly or securely fixed in place; stable. [from 9th c.]
    Synonyms: firm, immobile, secure, stable, stuck, tight
    Antonym: loose
    Hyponyms: bedfast, chairfast, colorfast, fail-fast, lightfast, shamefast, soothfast, steadfast
    That rope is dangerously loose. Make it fast!
  2. Firm against attack; fortified by nature or art; impregnable; strong.
    Synonyms: fortified, impenetrable
    Antonyms: penetrable, weak
    • 1596 (date written; published 1633), Edmund Spenser, A Vewe of the Present State of Irelande […], Dublin: […] Societie of Stationers, […], →OCLC; republished as A View of the State of Ireland […] (Ancient Irish Histories), Dublin: […] Society of Stationers, […] Hibernia Press, […] [b]y John Morrison, 1809, →OCLC:
      out-lawes […] lurking in woods and fast places
  3. (of people) Steadfast, with unwavering feeling. (Now mostly in set phrases like fast friend(s).) [from 10th c.]
    • 1933, Will Hudson, Irving Mills, Eddy DeLange, Moonglow:
      I still hear you sayin', "Dear one, hold me fast"
  4. Moving with great speed, or capable of doing so; swift, rapid; light. [from 14th c.]
    Synonyms: quick, speedy, light
    I am going to buy a fast car.
    1. (nuclear physics, of a neutron) Having a kinetic energy between 1 million and 20 million electron volts; often used to describe the energy state of free neutrons at the moment of their release by a nuclear fission or nuclear fusion reaction (i.e., before the neutrons have been slowed down by anything).
      Plutonium-240 has a much higher fission cross-section for fast neutrons than for thermal neutrons.
  5. Of a place, characterised by business, hustle and bustle, etc.
    • 1968, Carl Ruhen, The Key Club, Sydney: Scripts, page 15:
      Sydney is a fast city, and the pace is becoming increasingly more frantic.
  6. Causing unusual rapidity of play or action.
    a fast racket, or tennis court
    a fast track
    a fast billiard table
    a fast dance floor
  7. (computing, of a piece of hardware) Able to transfer data in a short period of time.
    • 2007 November 18, Jim Holt, “Mind of a Rock”, in The New York Times‎[1]:
      But at the microlevel it consists of an unimaginable number of atoms connected by springy chemical bonds, all jiggling around at a rate that even our fastest supercomputer might envy.
  8. Deep or sound (of sleep); fast asleep (of people). [16th–19th c.]
    Synonyms: deep, sound
    Antonym: light
    • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
      Since his majesty went into the field, I have seen her rise from her bed, throw her nightgown upon her, unlock her closet, take forth paper, fold it, write upon’t, read it, afterwards seal it, and again return to bed; yet all this while in a most fast sleep.
  9. (of dyes or colours) Not running or fading when subjected to detrimental conditions such as wetness or intense light; permanent. [from 17th c.]
    Synonym: colour-fast
    All the washing has come out pink. That red tee-shirt was not fast.
    • 1979, Kax Wilson, A History of Textiles, Westview Press, →ISBN, page 87:
      Mineral pigments were probably the first materials used for dyeing. They were generally not fast to water.
    • 2026, Sara Temme, “Two Insects nad Their Brilliant Reds”, in Handwoven, volume XLVII, number 1, page 19:
      Cochineal is remarkably fast on protein fibers, remaining brilliant and saturated despite exposure to sunlight and washing.
  10. (obsolete) Tenacious; retentive.
  1. (dated) Having an extravagant lifestyle or immoral habits. [from 18th c.]
    a fast woman
  1. (offensive, vernacular, dated, of a girl or young woman) Uncharacteristically mature or promiscuous for one's age.
  1. Ahead of the correct time or schedule. [from 19th c.]
    Synonyms: ahead, (as in “the clock is gaining x minutes per hour/day”) gain
    Antonyms: behind, slow
    There must be something wrong with the hall clock. It is always fast.
  2. (of photographic film) More sensitive to light than average. [from 20th c.]

firmly or securely fixed in place

of friend: steadfast, with unwavering feeling

moving or capable of moving with great speed

causing unusual rapidity of play or action

of sleep: deep or sound

of a dye: not running or fading

ahead of the correct time or schedule

fast (plural fasts)

  1. (British, rail transport) A train that calls at only some stations it passes between its origin and destination, typically just the principal stations.
    Synonyms: express, express train, fast train
    Antonyms: local, slow train, stopper

train that only calls at some stations — see express

fast

  1. (archery) Ellipsis of stand fast, a warning not to pass between the arrow and the target.
    Antonym: loose

archery: stop shooting

From Middle English fast, faste, from Old English fæste, from fæst + -e (adverb-forming suffix).[1][2]

fast (comparative faster, superlative fastest)

  1. In a firm or secure manner, securely; in such a way as not to be moved; safe, sound [from 10th c.].
    Synonyms: fastly, firmly, securely, tightly
    Antonym: loosely
    Hold this rope as fast as you can.
  2. (of sleeping) Deeply or soundly [from 13th c.].
    Synonym: deeply
    Antonym: lightly
    The princess was sleeping fast, and her servants were fast asleep too.
  3. Immediately following in place or time; close, very near [from 13th c.].
    The horsemen came fast on our heels.
    Fast by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped. / That ain't my style, said Casey. Strike one, the umpire said.
  4. Quickly, with great speed; within a short time [from 13th c.].
    Synonyms: fastly (now nonstandard), quickly, rapidly, speedily, swiftly
    Antonym: slowly
    Do it as fast as you can.
    • 2013 August 17, “Pennies streaming from heaven”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8849:
      Faster than a speeding bit, the internet upended media and entertainment companies. Piracy soared, and sales of albums and films slid. Newspapers lost advertising and readers to websites. Stores selling books, CDs and DVDs went bust. Doomsayers predicted that consumers and advertisers would abandon pay-television en masse in favour of online alternatives.
  5. Ahead of the correct time or schedule.
    Synonym: ahead
    Antonym: behind
    I think my watch is running fast.

in a firm or secure manner

of sleeping: deeply or soundly

with great speed

ahead of the correct time or schedule

From Middle English fasten, from Old English fæstan (“to fast”), from Proto-West Germanic *fastēn, fromProto-Germanic *fastāną (“to fast”), from the same root as Proto-Germanic *fastijaną (“to fasten”), derived from *fastuz, and thereby related to Etymology 1. The religious sense is presumably introduced in the Gothic church, from Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽 (fastan, “hold fast (viz. to the rule of abstinence)”). This semantic development is unique to Gothic, the term glosses Greek νηστεύω (nēsteúō), Latin ieiuno which do not have similar connotations of "holding fast". The feminine noun Old High German fasta likely existed in the 8th century (shift to neuter Old High German fasten from the 9th century, whence modern German Fasten). The Old English noun originally had the sense "fortress, enclosure" and takes the religious sense only in late Old English, perhaps influenced by Old Norse fasta. The use for reduced nutrition intake for medical reasons or for weight reduction develops by the mid-1970s, back-formed from the use of the verbal noun fasting in this sense (1960s).

fast (third-person singular simple present fasts, present participle fasting, simple past and past participle fasted)

  1. (intransitive) To practice religious abstinence, especially from food.
    • 1677 George Fox, The Hypocrites Fast and Feast Not God's Holy Day, p. 8 (paraphrasing Matthew 6:16-18).
      And is it not the Command of Christ, that in their Fast they should not appear unto men to fast?
    • 2007, John Zerzan, Silence, page 3:
      It is at the core of the Vision Quest, the solitary period of fasting and closeness to the earth to discover one's life path and purpose.
  2. (intransitive) To reduce or limit one's nutrition intake for medical or health reasons, to diet.
    • 1977, Suza Norton, “To get the most benefit from fasting use a body-building diet”, in Yoga Journal, Jul-Aug 1977, p. 40:
      The ideal would be to fast in a situation where you are not tempted by food
    • 1983, Experimental Lung Research, volumes 5-6, Informa healthcare, page 134:
      After the equilibration period, the rats designated for deprivation studies were made to fast for 24, 48, 72, or 96 hr according to experimental design.
  3. (transitive, sciences) To cause (a person or animal) to abstain, especially from eating.
    • Walker et al. (2007)
      At 11 weeks of age, all mice were fasted overnight and underwent gallbladder ultrasonography to determine ejection fraction.
    • Semick et al. (2018)
      Kittens, when fasted overnight, were not hypoglycemic (<60 mg/dl).

to abstain from food

From Middle English faste, fasten, from Old English fæsten (“fast, fasting”), from Proto-West Germanic *fastuni, from Proto-Germanic *fastu(b)nją (“fast, fasting”). Cognate with Old Frisian festene, feste (Modern West Frisian fêsten, fêste), Middle Dutch vastene (Modern Dutch vasten), Middle Low German vastene (Modern German Low German Fasten), German Faste, Fasten (“fast, fasting”), Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐍃𐍄𐌿𐌱𐌽𐌹 (fastubni, “fasting”). Possibly merged with Old Norse fasta (“fast, fasting”), whence also Danish faste (“fast, fasting”), Swedish fasta (“fast, fasting”).

fast (plural fasts)

  1. The act or practice of fasting, religious abstinence from food.
    • 1677 George Fox, The Hypocrites Fast and Feast Not God's Holy Day, p. 8 (paraphrasing Matthew 6:16-18).
      And is it not the Command of Christ, that in their Fast they should not appear unto men to fast?
    • 1878, Joseph Bingham, The Antiquities of the Christian Church, volume 2, page 1182:
      anciently a change of diet was not reckoned a fast; but it consisted in a perfect abstinence from all sustenance for the whole day till evening.
  2. Any of the fasting periods in the liturgical year.
    • 1662 Peter Gunning, The Holy Fast of Lent Defended Against All Its Prophaners: Or, a Discourse, Shewing that Lent-Fast was First Taught the World by the Apostles (1677 [1662]), p. 13 (translation of the Paschal Epistle of Theophilus of Alexandria).
      And so may we enter the Fasts at hand, beginning Lent the 30th. day of the Month Mechir
  1. ^ “fast(e, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ^ “fast, adv. and int.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Borrowed from Latin fāstus (“pride, arrogance”).

fast m (plural fasts or fastos)

  1. pomp
  2. luxury

From Old Norse fastr, from Proto-Germanic *fastuz; see it for cognates and further etymology.

fast (plural and definite singular attributive faste)

  1. firm
  2. solid
  3. tight
  4. fixed
  5. permanent
  6. regular

Inflection of fast

| | positive | comparative | superlative | | | -------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | indefinite common singular | fast | fastere | fastest2 | | indefinite neuter singular | fast | fastere | fastest2 | | plural | faste | fastere | fastest2 | | definite attributive1 | faste | fastere | fasteste |

1 When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite,
the corresponding "indefinite" form is used.
2 The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

From German fast (“almost, nearly”).

fast

  1. (dated) almost, nearly
    Synonyms: næsten, omtrent

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

fast

  1. imperative of faste

From Middle High German vast, vaste, from Old High German fasto (“solidly, strictly, securely”), from Proto-West Germanic *fastō, from Proto-Germanic *fastuz. Cognate with Middle Low German vaste (whence German Low German fast), English fast (adverb). Compare also German fest, English fast (adjective), Dutch vast.

fast

  1. almost; nearly
    Synonyms: beinahe, knapp, nahezu
    Antonym: ganz
    Fast 60 Spielfilme sind zu sehen. ― There are almost 60 feature films to see.
  2. (in a negative clause) hardly
    Synonym: kaum
  3. (obsolete) extremely, very much
    • 1545, Martin Luther et al., “Biblia”, in Gen 12:14, Hans Lufft:
      ALs nu Abram in Egypten kam / sahen die Egypter das Weib / das sie fast schön war.
      Now as Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was extremely beautiful.

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

fast

  1. inflection of fasen:
    1. second/third-person singular present
    2. second-person plural present
    3. plural imperative

fast (comparative fastar, superlative fastast)

  1. strongly, with force
    að slá einhvern fast ― to strike someone with force

From Old English fæste.

fast

  1. fast (quickly)

From Old Norse fastr, from Proto-Germanic *fastuz; see it for cognates and further etymology.

fast (neuter singular **fast, definite singular and plural faste)

  1. solid, steady, firm, fixed, permanent
    fast telefon ― fixed phone

fast

  1. imperative of faste

From Old Norse fastr, from Proto-Germanic *fastuz; see it for cognates and further etymology. Akin to English fast.

fast (indefinite singular **fast, definite singular and plural faste, comparative fastare, indefinite superlative fastast, definite superlative fastaste)

  1. solid, steady, firm, fixed, permanent, stuck

From Proto-West Germanic *fast, from Proto-Germanic *fastuz.

fast

  1. firm, strong

From Proto-West Germanic *fastī, from Proto-Germanic *fastuz; see it for cognates and further etymology.

fast

  1. solid, firm

Positive forms of fast

Strong declension
singular plural
masculine feminine neuter masculine feminine neuter
nominative fast fast fast faste, fasta fasta fast, fasta
accusative fastan, fasten fasta fast fasta, faste fasta fast, fasta
genitive fastes, fastas fastara, fastaro fastes, fastas fastaro, fastoro, fastero fastaro, fastoro, fastero fastaro, fastoro, fastero
dative fastumu, fastum, fastun, fastun, faston, fasten, fastan fastaro, fastaru, fastara fastumu, fastum, fastun, fastun, faston, fasten, fastan fastun, faston, fastum fastun, faston fastun, faston, fastum
Weak declension
singular plural
masculine feminine neuter masculine feminine neuter
nominative fasto, fasta fasta, faste fasta, faste faston, fastun faston, fastun, fastan faston, fastun
accusative faston, fastan fastun, faston, fastan fasta, faste faston, fastun faston, fastun, fastan faston, fastun
genitive fasten, fastan fastun, fastan, fasten fasten, fastan fastono, fasteno fastono fastono, fasteno
dative faston, fasten, fastan fastun, fastan faston, fasten, fastan faston, fastun faston, fastun faston, fastun

Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch‎[5] (in German), 5th edition

Borrowed from French faste.

fast n (uncountable)

  1. splendour, pomp

fast (past dh'fhast, future fastaidh, verbal noun fastadh)

  1. alternative form of fastaidh (“hire, employ”)

From Old Swedish faster, from Old Norse fastr, from Proto-Germanic *fastuz; see it for cognates and further etymology.

fast

  1. caught (unable to move freely), captured
    Bankrånaren är nu fast.
    The bank robber has now been caught (by the police).
  2. fixed, fastened, unmoving
    Ge mig en fast punkt, och jag skall flytta världen.
    Give me one fixed spot, and I'll move the world.
  3. firm, solid (as opposed to liquid)
    Den är för vattnig. Jag önskar att den hade en fastare konsistens.
    It's too watery. I wish it had a firmer consistency.
    fasta tillståndets fysik
    solid state physics
    1. (of potatoes) waxy
      Antonym: mjölig (“floury”)
      en fast potatis ― a waxy potato

fast

  1. fixed, firmly, steadily (synonymous with the adjective)
    att sitta fast ― to be stuck
    att sätta fast ― to attach
  2. (obsolete) almost, nearly
    och hade bedrifvit underslef af fast otrolig omfattning ― and had committed embezzlement of an almost unbelievable extent.

fast

  1. even though
    Synonym: fastän
    Det gick bra fast de inte hade övat i förväg
    It went well even though they hadn't practiced beforehand
  2. (somewhat informal) but
    Synonym: men
    Farsan löper också bra, fast inte lika fort ― Dad also runs well, though not as fast

fast

  1. soft mutation of mast (“mast”)

Mutated forms of mast

radical soft nasal aspirate
mast fast unchanged unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

fast

  1. soft mutation of bast (“dripping”)