fast

English Online Dictionary. What means fast‎? What does fast mean?

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General Australian, New Zealand, General South African) enPR: fäst, IPA^(key): /fɑːst/
  • Rhymes: -ɑːst
• (General American, Northern England) enPR: făst, IPA^(key): /fæst/
  • Rhymes: -æst

Etymology 1

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”).

Adjective

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

2. Firm against attack; fortified by nature or art; impregnable; strong.

   Synonyms: fortified, impenetrable

   Antonyms: penetrable, weak
3. (of people) Steadfast, with unwavering feeling. (Now mostly in set phrases like fast friend(s).) [from 10th c.]
4. Moving with great speed, or capable of doing so; swift, rapid. [from 14th c.]

   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).

5. Of a place, characterised by business, hustle and bustle, etc.
6. Causing unusual rapidity of play or action.

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). [16th–19th c.]

   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. [from 17th c.]

   Synonym: colour-fast
10. (obsolete) Tenacious; retentive.
11. (dated) Having an extravagant lifestyle or immoral habits. [from 18th c.]
13. 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

14. (of photographic film) More sensitive to light than average. [from 20th c.]
15. (offensive, vernacular, dated, of a girl or young woman) Uncharacteristically mature or promiscuous for one's age.

Usage notes

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

• (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

Antonyms

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

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

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

Translations

Interjection

fast

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

   Antonym: loose

Translations

Etymology 2

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

Adverb

fast (comparative faster, superlative fastest)

2. 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
4. (of sleeping) Deeply or soundly [from 13th c.].

   Synonym: deeply

   Antonym: lightly

6. Immediately following in place or time; close, very near [from 13th c.].

8. Quickly, with great speed; within a short time [from 13th c.].

   Synonyms: fastly (now nonstandard), quickly, rapidly, speedily, swiftly

   Antonym: slowly
10. Ahead of the correct time or schedule.

    Synonym: ahead

    Antonym: behind

Translations

Etymology 3

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).

Verb

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?
2. (intransitive) To reduce or limit one's nutrition intake for medical or health reasons, to diet.
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).

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

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?
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).

Derived terms

Translations

References

• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “fast”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “fast”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

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

Catalan

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈfast]

Noun

fast m (plural fasts or fastos)

1. pomp
2. luxury

Related terms

• fastuós

Further reading

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

Danish

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fast/, [fasd̥]

Adjective

fast

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

Inflection

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From German fast (“almost, nearly”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fast/, [fasd̥]

Adverb

fast

1. (dated) almost, nearly

   Synonyms: næsten, omtrent

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /faːst/, [fæːˀsd̥]

Verb

fast

1. imperative of faste

German

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fast/
• IPA^(key): /faʃt/ (Baden-Württemberg)
• Homophone: fasst

Adverb

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

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /faːst/

Verb

fast

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

Further reading

• “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

Icelandic

Adverb

fast (comparative fastar, superlative fastast)

1. strongly, with force

   að slá einhvern fast ― to strike someone with force

See also

• fastur

Middle English

Etymology

From Old English fæste.

Adverb

fast

1. fast (quickly)

Descendants

• English: fast
• → Irish: feiste

References

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

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

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

Adjective

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

1. solid, steady, firm, fixed, permanent

   fast telefon ― fixed phone

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Verb

fast

1. imperative of faste

References

• “fast” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɑst/

Adjective

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

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

Derived terms

References

• “fast” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old Saxon

Etymology

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

Adjective

fast

1. solid, firm

Declension

References

Köbler, Gerhard, Altsächsisches Wörterbuch (5th edition 2014)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French faste.

Noun

fast n (uncountable)

1. splendour, pomp

Declension

Scottish Gaelic

Verb

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

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

Swedish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

Adjective

fast

1. caught (unable to move freely), captured

2. fixed, fastened, unmoving

3. firm, solid (as opposed to liquid)

4. although (short form of fastän)

Declension

Related terms

Adverb

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.

Conjunction

fast

1. although, even though

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

Related terms

Anagrams

• fats, saft, staf