# fast
## English
### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation, General Australian, New Zealand, General South African) enPR: fäst, IPA: /fɑːst/
** Audio (Received Pronunciation):(file)
** Rhymes: -ɑːst
* (General American, Northern England) enPR: făst, IPA: /fæst/
** Audio (US):(file)
** 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)
* (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
    That rope is dangerously loose. Make it fast!
* Firm against attack; fortified by nature or art; impregnable; strong.
    Synonyms: fortified, impenetrable
    Antonyms: penetrable, weak
** 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, […] [b]y John Morrison, 1809, →OCLC:out-lawes […] lurking in woods and fast places
* (of people) Steadfast, with unwavering feeling. (Now mostly in set phrases like fast friend(s).) [from 10th c.]
** 1933, Will Hudson, Irving Mills, Eddy DeLange, Moonglow:I still hear you sayin', "Dear one, hold me fast"
* Moving with great speed, or capable of doing so; swift, rapid. [from 14th c.]
    Synonyms: quick, rapid, speedy
    I am going to buy a fast car.
** (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.
* 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.
* Causing unusual rapidity of play or action.
    a fast racket, or tennis court
    a fast track
    a fast billiard table
    a fast dance floor
* (computing, of a piece of hardware) Able to transfer data in a short period of time.
** 2007 November 18, Jim Holt, “Mind of a Rock”, in The New York Times‎:But at the microlevel it consists of an unimaginable number of atoms connected by springy chemical bonds, all jiggling around at a rate that even our fastest supercomputer might envy.
* Deep or sound (of sleep); fast asleep (of people). [16th–19th c.]
    Synonyms: deep, sound
    Antonym: light
** c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]: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.
* (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
    All the washing has come out pink. That red tee-shirt was not fast.
** 1979, Kax Wilson, A History of Textiles, Westview Press, →ISBN, page 87:Mineral pigments were probably the first materials used for dyeing. They were generally not fast to water.
* (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.
* (dated) Having an extravagant lifestyle or immoral habits. [from 18th c.]
    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.
* 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
    There must be something wrong with the hall clock. It is always fast.
* (of photographic film) More sensitive to light than average. [from 20th c.]
* (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

* acid-fast
* as fast as one's legs could carry one
* at a fast clip
* bad news travels fast
* barefast
* bedfast
* breastfast
* come thick and fast
* cragfast
* don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly
* earthfast
* enfasten
* fail fast
* fail-fast
* fast-acting
* fast and furious
* fast and loose
* fast backward
* fast blue optical transient
* fast bowler
* fast bowling
* fast break
* fast breeder
* fast-breeder reactor
* fast buck
* fast busy signal
* fast casual
* fast company
* fastcore
* fast crab
* fasten
* faster than a minnow can swim a dipper
* faster than light
* faster-than-light
* faster than Minute Rice
* fast-evolving luminous transient
* fast fashion
* fast-fashion
* fast-flowing
* fast follower
* fast food
* fast-food
* fast foodie
* fast-foodie
* fast food music
* fast forward
* fast-forward
* fast Fourier transform
* fastgoing
* fast-growing, fastgrowing
* fast-handed
* fast ice
* fastish
* fast lane
* fast leg theory
* fastly
* fast-mo
* fast mover
* fast-moving
* fastness
* fast-neutron reactor
* fast one
* fast-paced
* fastpack
* fastpitch
* fast-pitch
* fast radio burst
* fast reactor
* fast rope
* fast sheet
* fast-tailed
* fast-talk
* fast-talker
* fast telegram
* fast times
* fast track
* fast-track
* fast travel
* fastwalker
* fast yellow AB
* get nowhere fast
* go fast
* go-fast
* go-fast boat
* go-faster stripe
* go faster stripes
* go nowhere fast
* hard-and-fast
* hard and fast
* headfast
* holdfast
* hold fast
* hyperfast
* in the fast lane
* lightning fast
* lockfast
* makefast
* make fast
* masterfast
* nailfast
* nonfast
* not so fast
* overfast
* play fast and loose
* pull a fast one
* rainfast
* semi-fast
* semifast
* serofast
* setfast
* shorefast
* sitfast
* stand fast
* steadfast
* sternfast
* sunfast
* superfast
* talk fast and loose
* thick and fast
* think fast
* tubfast
* tub-fast
* ultra-fast fashion
* ultrafast, ultra-fast
* unfast
* washfast
* waterfast
* wetfast

##### Translations
#### Noun

fast (plural fasts)
* (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
* (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)
* 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
    Hold this rope as fast as you can.
** c. 1596–1598 (date written), W[illiam] Shakespeare, The Excellent History of the Merchant of Venice. […] (First Quarto), [London]: […] J[ames] Roberts [for Thomas Heyes], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act II, scene v], signature D2, recto:Do as I bid you, ſhut doores after you, Faſt binde, faſt finde, A Prouerbe neuer ſtale in thrifty minde.
** 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. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] 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.
* (of sleeping) Deeply or soundly [from 13th c.].
    Synonym: deeply
    Antonym: lightly
    The princess was sleeping fast, and her servants were fast asleep too.
* Immediately following in place or time; close, very near [from 13th c.].
    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.
* Quickly, with great speed; within a short time [from 13th c.].
    Synonyms: fastly (now nonstandard), 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.
* Ahead of the correct time or schedule.
    Synonym: ahead
    Antonym: behind
    I think my watch is running fast.

##### 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)
* (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[ohn] M[acock] 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.
* (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.
* (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

* fastgang
* nonfasted
* outfast
* unfasted

##### Translations
#### Noun

fast (plural fasts)
* 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.
* 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).
    And so may we enter the Fasts at hand, beginning Lent the 30th. day of the Month Mechir

##### Derived terms

* breakfast
* break one's fast
* fast day
* Fast of Esther
* Fast of Gedaliah
* Fast of Tammuz
* Fast of Tebet

##### 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.
* ↑ “fast(e, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
* ↑ “fast, adv. and int.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

### Anagrams

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

## Catalan
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈfast]

### Noun

fast m (plural fasts or fastos)
* pomp
* 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: /fast/, [fasd̥]

#### Adjective

fast
* firm
* solid
* tight
* fixed
* permanent
* regular

##### Inflection

$^1$ 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: /fast/, [fasd̥]

#### Adverb

fast
* (dated) almost, nearly
    Synonyms: næsten, omtrent

### Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /faːst/, [fæːˀsd̥]

#### Verb

fast
* imperative of faste

## German
### Etymology 1

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

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /fast/
* IPA: /faʃt/ (Baden-Württemberg)
* Audio:(file)
* Audio (Austria):(file)
* Homophone: fasst

#### Adverb

fast
* almost; nearly
    Synonyms: beinahe, knapp, nahezu
    Antonym: ganz
    Fast 60 Spielfilme sind zu sehen. ― There are almost 60 feature films to see.
* (in a negative clause) hardly
    Synonym: kaum
* (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.

### Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /faːst/
* Audio:(file)

#### Verb

fast
* inflection of fasen:
** second/third-person singular present
** second-person plural present
** 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)
* strongly, with force
    að slá einhvern fast ― to strike someone with force

### See also

* fastur

## Middle English
### Etymology

From Old English fæste.

### Adverb

fast
* 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)
* solid, steady, firm, fixed, permanent
    fast telefon ― fixed phone

##### Derived terms

* fastboende
* fastland
* fastlegge
* fastmontert
* fastsette
* fastslå
* ildfast
* landfast
* syrefast
* værfast

### Etymology 2
#### Verb

fast
* 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: /fɑst/

### Adjective

fast (indefinite singular fast, definite singular and plural faste, comparative fastare, indefinite superlative fastast, definite superlative fastaste)
* solid, steady, firm, fixed, permanent, stuck

#### Derived terms

* fastland
* fastmontert
* fastsette
* fastslå
* landfast
* syrefast

### 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
* solid, firm

#### References

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

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French faste.

### Noun

fast n (uncountable)
* splendour, pomp

#### Declension
## Scottish Gaelic
### Verb

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

* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

fast
* caught (unable to move freely), captured
    Bankrånaren är nu fast.The bank robber has now been caught (by the police).
* fixed, fastened, unmoving
    Ge mig en fast punkt, och jag skall flytta världen.Give me one fixed spot, and I'll move the world.
* 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 fysiksolid state physics
* 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.

#### Declension

$^1$ The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative. $^2$ Dated or archaic. $^3$ Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

#### Related terms

* fastna
* fäst
* fästa
* fäste

### Adverb

fast
* fixed, firmly, steadily (synonymous to the adjective)
    att sitta fast ― to be stuck
    att sätta fast ― to attach
* (obsolete) almost, nearly
    och hade bedrifvit underslef af fast otrolig omfattning ― and had committed embezzlement of an almost unbelievable extent.

### Conjunction

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

#### Related terms

* fast å andra sidan
* fastän

### Anagrams

* fats, saft, staf