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”).
Adjective[edit]
fast (comparative faster, superlative fastest)
- Firm against attack; fortified by nature or art; impregnable; strong.
- out-lawes […] lurking in woods and fast places
- Of a place, characterised by business, hustle and bustle, etc.
1968, Carl Ruhen, The Key Club, Scripts, page 15:
Sydney is a fast city, and the pace is becoming increasingly more frantic.
- Causing unusual rapidity of play or action.
a fast racket, or tennis court
- (computing, of a piece of hardware) Able to transfer data in a short period of time.
- (obsolete) Tenacious; retentive.
In the context of nuclear reactors or weaponry, fission-spectrum neutrons (neutrons with the spectrum of energies produced by nuclear fission) are frequently referred to as fast neutrons, even though the majority of fission-spectrum neutrons have energies below the 1-million-electron-volt cutoff.
Synonyms[edit]Antonyms[edit]- (occurring or happening within a short time): slow
Adverb[edit]
fast (comparative faster, superlative fastest)
Translations[edit]Noun[edit]
fast (plural fasts)
Translations[edit]Interjection[edit]
fast
- (archery) Short for "stand fast", a warning not to pass between the arrow and the target
Etymology 2[edit]
From Middle English fasten, from Old English fæstan (verb), Old English fæsten (noun) from Proto-Germanic *fastāną (“fast”), from the same root as Proto-Germanic *fastijaną (“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).
Verb[edit]
fast (third-person singular simple present fasts, present participle fasting, simple past and past participle fasted)
- (intransitive) To practice religious abstinence, especially from food.
- Thou didst fast and weep for the child.
- 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.
- (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", 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, p. 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.
- (transitive) (academic) 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).
Noun[edit]
fast (plural fasts)
- 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 vol. 2, p. 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.
- One 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
- 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).
References[edit]
- fast in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
- fast at OneLook Dictionary Search
Anagrams[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Latin fāstus (“pride, arrogance”).
Pronunciation[edit]
fast m (plural fasts or fastos)
Further reading[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Old Norse fastr, from Proto-Germanic *fastuz; see it for cognates and further etymology.
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
fast
Inflection[edit]Inflection of fastPositiveComparativeSuperlativeCommon singularfast——2Neuter singularfast——2Pluralfaste——2Definite attributive1faste——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.Derived terms[edit]
Etymology 2[edit]
From German fast (“almost, nearly”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Adverb[edit]
fast
Etymology 3[edit]
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
fast
Etymology 1[edit]
From Old High German fasto, compare fest. Cognate with English adverb fast. Compare Dutch vast.
Pronunciation[edit]
Adverb[edit]
fast
- almost; nearlyFast 60 Spielfilme sind zu sehen. ― There are almost 60 feature films to see.
- (in a negative clause) hardly
- (obsolete) extremely, very much
- 1545, Martin Luther, et al., Biblia, Hans Lufft, Gen 12:14
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.
- 1545, Martin Luther, et al., Biblia, Hans Lufft, Gen 12:14
Etymology 2[edit]
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
fast
Further reading[edit]
Icelandic[edit]
fast
- strongly, with forceað slá einhvern fast ― to strike someone with force
See also[edit]
Middle English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old English fæst.
fast
Descendants[edit]
Norwegian Bokmål[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Old Norse fastr, from Proto-Germanic *fastuz; see it for cognates and further etymology.
Adjective[edit]
fast (neuter singular fast, definite singular and plural faste)
Derived terms[edit]Etymology 2[edit]
Verb[edit]
fast
References[edit]
- “fast” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old Norse fastr, from Proto-Germanic *fastuz; see it for cognates and further etymology. Akin to English fast.
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
fast (indefinite singular fast, definite singular and plural faste, comparative fastare, indefinite superlative fastast, definite superlative fastaste)
Derived terms[edit]
References[edit]
- “fast” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old Saxon[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Proto-West Germanic *fastī, from Proto-Germanic *fastuz; see it for cognates and further etymology.
Adjective[edit]
fast
Declension[edit]
Romanian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From French faste.
fast n (uncountable)
Declension[edit]
Swedish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old Swedish faster, from Old Norse fastr, from Proto-Germanic *fastuz; see it for cognates and further etymology.
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
fast
- caught (unable to move freely), captured
Bankrånaren är nu fast.The bank robber has now been caught (by the police).
- fixed, fastened, unmoving
Ge mig en fast punkt, och jag skall flytta världen.Give me one fixed spot, and I'll move the world.
- 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 fysiksolid state physics
- although (short form of fastän)
Det gick bra, fast de inte hade övat i förväg.It went well, although they hadn't practiced in advance.
How to check Wi
With the help of Measurement Lab, Google built a speed test directly into its search engine. If you search for an “internet speed test,” a blue button labeled Run Speed Test is the top result and will provide measurements of your download and upload speeds.What is fast speed?
To help you decide the “best” speed is for your household, consider how many people and devices will be using the connection at once and how it will be used. One generally accepted rule of thumb is that anything above 100 Mbps is considered “fast” internet because it can connect multiple devices at once.How much Mbps is good?
A good download speed is at least 100 Mbps, and a good upload speed is at least 10 Mbps. With 100 Mbps, you can watch Netflix or YouTube, attend Zoom meetings, and play most online games on several devices at the same time.How to increase Wi
For the best signal, put the wireless router out in the open on the main floor of your house, away from walls and obstructions. Ideally, you'll want to position it off the floor, above the furniture. Keep it away from other electronics that might cause interference, like microwaves, baby monitors, and cordless phones.