fast

See also: Fast, FAST, fást, and fäst

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Middle English fast, from Old English fæst (“fast, fixed, firm, secure; constant, steadfast; stiff, heavy, dense; obstinate, bound, costive; enclosed, closed, watertight; strong, fortified”), from Proto-Germanic *fastaz, *fastijaz, *fastuz (“fast, firm, secure”); 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

fast (comparative faster, superlative fastest)

  1. (dated) Firmly or securely fixed in place; stable. [from 9th c.]
    That rope is dangerously loose. Make it fast!
  2. Firm against attack; fortified by nature or art; impregnable; strong.
    • Spenser
      outlaws […] lurking in woods and fast places
  3. (of people) Steadfast, with unwavering feeling. (Now only in set phrases like "fast friend".) [from 10th c.]
  4. Moving with great speed, or capable of doing so; swift, rapid. [from 14th c.]
    I am going to buy a fast car.
  5. Causing unusual rapidity of play or action.
    a fast racket, or tennis court; a fast track; a fast billiard table
  6. (computing, of a piece of hardware) Able to transfer data in a short period of time.
  7. Deep or sound (of sleep); fast asleep (of people). [16th-19th c.]
    • Shakespeare
      all this while in a most fast sleep
  8. (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.
  9. (obsolete) Tenacious; retentive.
    • Francis Bacon
      Roses, damask and red, are fast flowers of their smells.
  10. (colloquial) Having an extravagant lifestyle or immoral habits. [from 18th c.]
    She's fast – she slept with him on their first date.
  11. Ahead of the correct time or schedule. [from 19th c.]
    There must be something wrong with the hall clock. It is always fast.
  12. (of photographic film) More sensitive to light than average. [from 20th c.]
Synonyms
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
  • (firm against attack): penetrable, weak
  • (of sleep: deep or sound): light
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Translations

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.].
    • 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.
    Do it as fast as you can.
  5. Ahead of the correct time or schedule.
    I think my watch is running fast.
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • (quickly): slowly
  • (in a firm or secure manner): loosely
  • (of sleeping: deeply or soundly): lightly
  • (ahead of the correct time or schedule): behind
Translations

Noun

fast (plural fasts)

  1. (Britain, rail transport) A train that calls at only some stations it passes between its origin and destination, typically just the principal stations
Synonyms
Antonyms
Translations

Interjection

fast

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

Etymology 2

From Middle English fasten, from Old English fæstan (verb), from Proto-Germanic *fastijaną. Cognate with Dutch vasten, German fasten, Old Norse fasta, Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽 (fastan), Russian пост (post). The noun is probably from Old Norse fasta.

Verb

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

  1. (intransitive) To restrict one’s personal consumption, generally of food, but sometimes other things, in various manners (totally, temporally, by avoiding particular items), often for religious or medical reasons.
    Muslims fast during Ramadan and Catholics during Lent.
    • Bible, 2 Sam. xii. 21
      Thou didst fast and weep for the child.
    • Milton
      Fasting he went to sleep, and fasting waked.
    • 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.
Translations

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.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Anagrams

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
Inflection of fast
Positive Comparative Superlative
Common singular fast — —2
Neuter singular fast — —2
Plural faste — —2
Definite attributive1 faste — —
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
  • fastansat
  • fasthed
  • fastlægge
  • fastsætte

Etymology 2

From German fast (“almost, nearly”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fast/, [fasd̥]

Adverb

fast

  1. (dated) almost, nearly
Synonyms

Etymology 3

See etymology on the main entry.

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.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fast/
  • audio (Austria)(file)
  • Homophone: fasst

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
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • (almost, nearly): ganz

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /faːst/

Verb

fast

  1. second-person singular present indicative of fasen
  2. third-person singular present indicative of fasen
  3. second-person plural present indicative of fasen
  4. second-person plural present imperative of fasen

Further reading

  • fast in Duden online

Middle English

Etymology

From Old English fæst.

Adverb

fast

  1. fast (quickly)

Descendants

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

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 (neuter singular fast, definite singular and plural faste)

  1. solid, steady, firm, fixed, permanent

Derived terms

References

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *fastuz; see it for cognates and further etymology.

Adjective

fast

  1. solid, firm

Declension


Swedish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

  • audio(file)

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

Declension

Inflection of fast
Indefinite Positive Comparative Superlative2
Common singular fast fastare fastast
Neuter singular fast fastare fastast
Plural fasta fastare fastast
Definite Positive Comparative Superlative
Masculine singular1 faste fastare fastaste
All fasta fastare fastaste
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.
2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.

Adverb

fast

  1. fixed, firmly, steadily (synonymous to the adjective)
    att sitta fast
    to be stuck
    att sätta fast
    to attach
  2. almost, nearly
    och hade bedrifvit underslef af fast otrolig omfattning
    and had committed embezzlement of a 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.
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