fast

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fast

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• (Received Pronunciation, General Australian, New Zealand, General South African) enPR: fäst, IPA^(key): /fɑːst/

  • Audio (Received Pronunciation):

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  • Rhymes: -ɑːst
• (General American, Northern England) enPR: făst, IPA^(key): /fæst/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

  • Rhymes: -æst

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.

   That rope is dangerously loose. Make it fast!

   Synonyms: firm, immobile, secure, stable, stuck, tight

   Antonym: loose

   Hyponyms: bedfast, chairfast, colorfast, fail-fast, lightfast, shamefast, soothfast, steadfast

2. Firm against attack; fortified by nature or art; impregnable; strong.
   • 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, y John Morrison, 1809, →OCLC:

     out-lawes […] lurking in woods and fast places

   Synonyms: fortified, impenetrable

   Antonyms: penetrable, weak

3. (of people) Steadfast, with unwavering feeling. (Now mostly in set phrases like fast friend(s).)
   • 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.

   I am going to buy a fast car.

   Synonyms: quick, rapid, speedy

   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.
8. Deep or sound (of sleep); fast asleep (of people).
   • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     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.

   Synonyms: deep, sound

   Antonym: light

9. (of dyes or colours) Not running or fading when subjected to detrimental conditions such as wetness or intense light; permanent.

   All the washing has come out pink. That red tee-shirt was not fast.

   Synonym: colour-fast

10. (obsolete) Tenacious; retentive.
    • 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Gardens”, in The Essayes , 3rd edition, London: Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:

      Roses, damask and red, are fast flowers of their smells.

11. (dated) Having an extravagant lifestyle or immoral habits.

    a fast woman

    • 1852, John Swaby, Physiology of the Opera, page 74:

      […] we remember once hearing a fast man suggest that they were evidently "nobs who had overdrawn the badger by driving fast cattle, and going it high" — the exact signification of which words we did not understand […]

    • 1867, George W. Bungay, “Temperance and its Champions”, in The Herald of Health and Journal of Physical Culture‎, volume I, page 277:

      Had Senator Wilson won the unenviable reputation of being a fast man—a lover of wine, or had he shown himself to the public in a state of inebriety, unable to stand erect in Fanueil Hall for instance, leaning upon the desk to “maintain the center of gravity,” and uttering words that fell sprawling in “muddy obscurity” from lips redolent of rum, rendering it necessary for a prompter and an interpreter to sculpture his speech into symmetry for the public ear and the public press, he would have been pelted from his high office with the indignant ballots of his constituents.

    • 1979, Doug Fieger, Good Girls Don't:

      You're alone with her at last / And you're waiting 'til you think the time is right / Cause you've heard she's pretty fast / And you're hoping that she'll give you some tonight.

13. Ahead of the correct time or schedule.

    There must be something wrong with the hall clock. It is always fast.

    Synonyms: ahead, (as in “the clock is gaining x minutes per hour/day”) gain

    Antonyms: behind, slow

14. (of photographic film) More sensitive to light than average.
15. (offensive, vernacular, of a girl or young woman) Uncharacteristically mature or promiscuous for one's age.

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.

• (occurring or happening within a short time): quick, rapid, speedy, swift
• (capable of moving with great speed): see also Thesaurus:speedy
• (rapidly consents to sexual activity): easy, slutty; see also Thesaurus:promiscuous
• (firmly or securely fixed in place): see also Thesaurus:tight

• (antonym(s) of “occurring or happening within a short time”): slow

fast (comparative faster, superlative fastest)

1. In a firm or secure manner, securely; in such a way as not to be moved; safe, sound .

   Synonyms: firmly, securely, tightly

   Antonym: loosely

   Hold this rope as fast as you can.

   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     Shylock:
     […] Do as I bid you; shut doors after you:
     Fast bind, fast find;
     A proverb never stale in thrifty mind.

   • 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author Gives Some Account of Himself and Family, His First Inducements to Travel. ”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. , volume I, London: Benj Motte, , →OCLC, part I (A Voyage to Lilliput), page 20:

     Nine hundred of the ſtrongeſt Men were employed to draw up theſe Cords by many Pulleys faſtned on the Poles, and thus, in leſs than three Hours, I was raiſed and flung into the Engine, and there tyed faſt.

2. (of sleeping) Deeply or soundly .

   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 .

   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.

5. Quickly, with great speed; within a short time .

   Synonyms: 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.

6. Ahead of the correct time or schedule.

   Synonym: ahead

   Antonym: behind

   I think my watch is running fast.

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

fast

1. (archery) Short for "stand fast", a warning not to pass between the arrow and the target

   Antonym: loose

From Middle English fasten, from Old English fæstan (verb), Old English fæsten (noun) from 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).

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.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, 2 Samuel 12:21:

     Thou didst fast and weep for the child.

   • 1671, John Milton, “The First Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: J M for John Starkey , →OCLC, page 2:

     Fasting he went to sleep, and fasting waked.

   • 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) (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).

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. 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 ), 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

• “fast”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “fast”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

• AT&SF, ATFs, ATSF, FTAs, SAFT, TAFs, afts, fats, tafs

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

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia)

fast m (plural fasts or fastos)

1. pomp
2. luxury

• fastuós

• “fast” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

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

• IPA^(key): /fast/,

fast

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

From German fast (“almost, nearly”).

• IPA^(key): /fast/,

fast

1. (dated) almost, nearly

   Synonyms: næsten, omtrent

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

• IPA^(key): /faːst/,

fast

1. imperative of faste

From Old High German fasto, compare fest. Cognate with English adverb fast. Compare Dutch vast.

• IPA^(key): /fast/

• Audio:

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• Audio (Austria):

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• Homophone: fasst

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.

• IPA^(key): /faːst/

• Audio:

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fast

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

• “fast” in Duden online
• “fast” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• Friedrich Kluge (1883) “fast”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891

fast

1. strongly, with force

   að slá einhvern fast ― to strike someone with force

• fastur

From Old English fæst.

fast

1. fast (quickly)

• English: fast
• → Irish: feiste

• “fast(e, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

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

• “fast” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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

• IPA^(key): /fɑst/

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

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

• “fast” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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

fast

1. solid, firm

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.

• Audio:

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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

4. 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.

fast

1. fixed, firmly, steadily (synonymous to 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. although, even though

   Farsan löper också bra, fast inte lika fort. ― Dad also runs well, although not as fast.

• fats, saft, staf