rapid

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French rapide, from Latin rapidus.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈɹæpɪd/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æpɪd

Adjective

rapid (comparative more rapid or rapider, superlative most rapid or rapidest)

1. Very swift or quick.

   a rapid stream

   rapid growth

   rapid improvement

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. , London: [Samuel Simmons], , →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: , London: Basil Montagu Pickering , 1873, →OCLC:

     Ascend my Chariot; guide the rapid Wheeles.

   • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest‎:

     The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite. There is something humiliating about it. […] Can those harmless but refined fellow-diners be the selfish cads whose gluttony and personal appearance so raised your contemptuous wrath on your arrival?

   • 2013 June 21, Chico Harlan, “Japan pockets the subsidy …”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 30:

     Across Japan, technology companies and private investors are racing to install devices that until recently they had little interest in: solar panels. Massive solar parks are popping up as part of a rapid build-up that one developer likened to an "explosion."

2. Steep, changing altitude quickly. (of a slope)
3. Needing only a brief exposure time. (of a lens, plate, film, etc.)
4. (England, dialectal) Violent, severe.
5. (obsolete, dialectal) Happy.

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

rapid (comparative more rapid, superlative most rapid)

1. (archaic, colloquial) Rapidly.

Noun

rapid (plural rapids)

1. (often in the plural) A rough section of a river or stream which is difficult to navigate due to the swift and turbulent motion of the water.
2. (dated) A burst of rapid fire.
3. (chess) Short for rapid chess.
   • 2010, Garry Kasparov, How Life Imitates Chess, page 41:

     In these rapid games we had just twenty-five minutes each to make all our moves, a far cry from traditional chess, where games can last up to seven hours.

   • 2015, Mark Dvoretsky, For Friends and Colleagues, volume 2 (Reflections on My Profession):

     In order to avoid misunderstanding, I must note that I object to the attempts to displace normal chess with fast play, not rapid or blitz in general. I love them both, and, if I were to choose which to play, classic or rapid, I would choose rapid.

   • 2022 September 2, Nitish Pahwa, Magnus Carlsen (quoted), “The World’s Greatest Chess Player Cannot Wait to Battle His Young, Rising Rivals”, in Slate‎:

     I haven’t played against Wesley So—I’ve played him a bunch online in rapid games, but not in classical rounds.

Derived terms

Translations

Related terms

• rapt

Anagrams

• Pardi, adrip, pardi, parid

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French rapide, Latin rapidus. Doublet of repede.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /raˈpid/

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

rapid m or n (feminine singular rapidă, masculine plural rapizi, feminine and neuter plural rapide)

1. fast, quick, rapid, swift, speedy, prompt, expeditious

   Synonyms: repede, iute, grăbit, prompt, sprinten, înainte

Declension

Related terms

• rapiditate

Adverb

rapid

1. quickly, rapidly, swiftly, speedily, promptly, expeditiously

   Synonyms: repede, iute, prompt, degrabă