fast

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See also -fast, fást, and fäst

Contents

[edit] English

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[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Etymology 1

Old English fæstan (verb), from Proto-Germanic *fastijanan. Cognate with Dutch vasten, German fasten, Old Norse fasta, Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽. The noun is probably from Old Norse fasta.

[edit] Verb

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

  1. (intransitive) to abstain from or eat very little food; to abstain from food for religious reasons
    • 2007, John Zerzan, Silence, p. 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.
[edit] Translations
to abstain from or eat very little food

[edit] Noun

fast (plural fasts)

  1. The act or practice of abstaining from food or of eating very little food
  2. The period of time during which one abstains from or eats very little food
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Derived terms
Terms derived from the noun “fast”
[edit] Translations
fasting — see fasting

[edit] Etymology 2

Old English fæst (adj), fæste (adv), from Proto-Germanic *fastuz, from Proto-Indo-European *pasto- (“solid”).

Cognate via Germanic with Dutch vast, German fest, Icelandic (and Faroese) fastur, Norwegian fast, Swedish fast, and Danish fast. Cognate via Proto-Indo-European with Armenian հաստ (hast, “thick”) and Sanskrit पस्त्य (pastyá).

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 archaic, but retained in the related fasten (“make secure”).

[edit] Adjective

fast (comparative faster, superlative fastest)

  1. firmly or securely fixed in place; stable [from 9th c.]
    That rope is dangerously loose. Make it fast!
  2. Of people: steadfast, with unwavering feeling. (Now only in set phrases like "fast friend".) [from 10th c.]
  3. Moving with great speed, or capable of doing so; swift, rapid [from 14th c.]
    I am going to buy a fast car.
  4. (computing, of a piece of hardware) Able to transfer data in a short period of time
  5. deep or sound (of sleep); fast asleep (of people) [16th-19th c.]
  6. Of dyes or colours: not running or fading when subjected to detrimental conditions such as wetness or intense light; permanent [from 17th c.]
    All the washing has come out pink. That red tee-shirt was not fast.
  7. (colloquial) Having an extravagent lifestyle or immoral habits [from 18th c.]
    She's fast – she slept with him on their first date..
  8. ahead of the correct time or schedule [from 19th c.]
    There must be something wrong with the hall clock. It is always fast.
  9. (of photographic film) More sensitive to light than average [from 20th c.]
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Antonyms
  • (occurring or happening within a short time): slow
  • (ahead of the correct time or schedule): slow, behind
  • (firmly or securely fixed in place): loose
  • (of sleep: deep or sound): light
[edit] Derived terms

(bound, secured):

(rapid):

[edit] Translations
firmly or securely fixed in place
of sleep: deep or sound
of a dye: not running or fading
capable of moving with great speed
ahead of the correct time or schedule
of photographic film: more sensitive to light than average

[edit] Adverb

fast (comparative faster, superlative fastest)

  1. In a firm or secure manner, securely; in such a way as not to be moved [from 10th c.]
    Hold this rope as fast as you can.
  2. (of sleeping) deeply or soundly [from 13th c.]
    He is fast asleep.
  3. Immediately following in place or time; close, very near [from 13th c.]
    The horsemen came fast on our heels.
  4. quickly, with great speed; within a short time [from 13th c.]
    Do it as fast as you can.
  5. ahead of the correct time or schedule
    I think my watch is running fast.
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Antonyms
  • (quickly): slowly
  • (in a firm or secure manner): loosely
  • (of sleeping: deeply or soundly): lightly
  • (ahead of the correct time or schedule): behind
[edit] Translations
in a firm or secure manner
of sleeping: deeply or soundly
with great speed
ahead of the correct time or schedule

[edit] Noun

fast (plural fasts)

  1. (UK, rail transport) A train that calls at only some stations it passes between its origin and destination, typically just the principal stations
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Antonyms
[edit] Translations
train that only calls at some stations — see express

[edit] Interjection

fast

  1. (archery) Short for "stand fast", a warning not to pass between the arrow and the target
[edit] Antonyms
[edit] Translations
archery: stop shooting

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Anagrams

[edit] Danish

[edit] Etymology 1

From Old Norse fastr, from Proto-Germanic *fastuz, from Proto-Indo-European *pasto- (“solid, stable, hard, thick”).

[edit] Pronunciation

  • IPA: /fast/, [fasd̥]

[edit] Adjective

fast (neuter fast, definite and plural faste)

  1. firm
  2. solid
  3. tight
  4. fixed
  5. permanent
  6. regular
[edit] Derived terms

[edit] Etymology 2

From German fast (“almost, nearly”).

[edit] Pronunciation

  • IPA: /fast/, [fasd̥]

[edit] Adverb

fast

  1. (dated) almost, nearly
[edit] Synonyms

[edit] Etymology 3

See faste (“to fast”).

[edit] Pronunciation

  • IPA: /faːst/, [fæːˀsd̥]

[edit] Verb

fast

  1. imperative of faste

[edit] German

[edit] Etymology

Old High German fasto, compare fest. Cognate with English adverb fast.

[edit] Pronunciation

  • IPA: /fast/
  • audio (Austria)
    		(file)

[edit] Adverb

fast

  1. almost; nearly
    Fast 60 Spielfilme sind zu sehen. — “There are almost 60 feature films to see.”
  2. (in a negative clause) hardly

[edit] Synonyms

[edit] Antonyms

  • (almost, nearly): ganz

[edit] Middle English

[edit] Adverb

fast

  1. fast (quickly)

[edit] Norwegian

[edit] Adjective

fast

  1. solid, steady,firm
    fast telefon - fixed phone

[edit] Swedish

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Adjective

fast

  1. caught (unable to move freely), captured
    Bankrånaren är nu fast
    The bank robber has now been caught (by the police)
  2. firm, fastened, unmoving
    Ge mig en fast punkt, och jag skall flytta världen
    Give me one firm spot, and I'll move the world
  3. solid (as opposed to liquid)
    fasta tillståndets fysik
    solid state physics

[edit] Declension

Declension of fast
Inflections of
fast		 Absolute Comparative Superlative
Attributive Predicative
Indefinite
singular		 Common fast fastare fastast
Neuter fast
Definite
singular		 Masc. faste fastaste
All fasta fastaste
Plural fasta fastaste

[edit] Related terms

[edit] Adverb

fast

  1. fixed, firmly, steadily (synonymous to the adjective)

[edit] Conjunction

fast

  1. although, even though

[edit] Related terms

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