quicken
Part of speech: verb
noun
Morphological type: derivation
Topics: business
construction
manufacturing
Etymology: From Middle English quikenen (“to become alive again after dying; to raise (someone) from the dead; to regain consciousness or strength; to give vitality, revive; to regain validity; to nourish; to spare (the life of someone or something); to ignite; to illuminate; of events: to happen more quickly; of clouds: to form”) [and other forms], from quiken (“to come to life; to become alive again after dying; to give or regain vitality, revive; of a seed: to germinate, grow; to arouse (anger); to inspire; to reinforce, strengthen; to make (a substance) alchemically active; to nourish, sustain; to sharpen; to ignite; to illuminate; of news: to spread”) + -en (suffix forming the infinitive forms of verbs). Quiken is derived from Old English cwician (“to bring to life, vivify; to come to life, become living; to quicken”), from cwic (“alive, live, living; mentally agile; intelligent, keen”) (ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kwikwaz (“alive; lively; quick”) and Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- (“to live”)) + -ian (suffix forming verbs from adjectives and nouns). The English word may be analysed as quick (“moving with swiftness; occurring in a short time; (archaic) alive, living; (archaic) pregnant”) + -en (suffix attached to some adjectives forming transitive verbs meaning ‘to make [adjective]’).
Cognates
* Danish kvikne (“to quicken, revive”)
* Icelandic kvikna (“to ignite; to turn on”)
* Swedish kvickna (“to revive”)
Base: quick
Affixes: -en
Inflected forms:
form: quickens
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: quickening
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: quickened
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: quickened
pos: verb
tags: past
form: quickens
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: Senses relating to life or states of activity.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: […] Italy had quickened Cecil, not to tolerance, but to irritation. He saw that the local society was narrow, but, instead of saying, "Does this very much matter?" he rebelled, and tried to substitute for it the society he called broad.
gloss: Senses relating to life or states of activity.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: For ſurely, a rich Land, guardleſs and undefended, muſt needs have been a double Incitement, and ſuch an one, as might not only admit, but even invite the Enemy. It was like a fruitful Garden, or a fair Vineyard without an Hedge, that quickens the Appetite to enjoy ſo tempting, and withal ſo eaſy a Prize.
This quicken'd my Reſolution to reſtore her Money, and not only ſo, but I reſolv'd I would give her ſomething over and above her Loſs; […]
Strange! how the frequent interjected daſh,
Quickens a market and helps off the traſh,
Th' important letters that include the reſt,
Serve as a key to thoſe that are ſuppreſs'd,
Conjecture gripes the victims in his paw,
The world is charm'd, and Scrib. eſcapes the law.
gloss: Senses relating to life or states of activity.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
gloss: Senses relating to life or states of activity.
pos: verb
tags: also
figuratively
literary
transitive
examples: Whoſoever will goo about to ſave his lyfe⸝ shall looſe it: And whoſoever ſhall looſe his life⸝ ſhall quycken it.
I haue ſeen a medicine
That's able to breath life into a ſtone,
Quicken a rocke, […]
the Miſtris which I ſerue, quickens what's dead,
And makes my labours, pleaſures: […]
The egg, when laid, by warmth is made a chicken,
And Christ by grace the dead in sin does quicken.
still the freſh Spring finds
New plants to quicken, and new groves to green.
upon Earth
All good shall droop and sicken, and ill things
Shall with a spirit of unnatural life
Stir and be quickened … even as I am now.
gloss: Senses relating to life or states of activity.
pos: verb
tags: archaic
transitive
examples: […] she
Quickened the fire and laid the board, […]
Was it alight once? Still lives spark enough
For breath to quicken, run the smouldering ash
Red right through.
gloss: Senses relating to life or states of activity.
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
transitive
examples: Coole Violets, and Orpine growing ſtill,
Embathed Balme, and chearfull Galingale,
Freſh Coſtmarie, and breathfull Camomill,
Poppie, and drink-quickning Setuale, […]
It were good alſo to Enforce the Spirits by ſome Mixtures, that may excite and quicken them.
gloss: Senses relating to life or states of activity.
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
transitive
examples: Venus, for Hero was her prieſt, and Iuno Lucina the midwifes goddeſſe, for ſhe was now quickned, and caſt away by the cruelty of Æolus, tooke bread and ſalt and eate it, that they would bee ſmartlie reuenged on that truculent windy iailour, and they forgot it not, for Venus made his ſonne and his daughter to committe inceſt together.
gloss: Senses relating to life or states of activity.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: Born with her life, creature of poignant thirst
And exquisite hunger, at her heart Love lay
Quickening in darkness, till a voice that day
Cried on him, and the bonds of birth were burst.
The Chaplain's interest in the story visibly quickened.
The milch-goat looked up from her supper of waste paper; her perennial optimism quickened within her, and swelled to a great and mature confidence; […]
gloss: Senses relating to life or states of activity.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: The fair each moment riſes in her charms,
Repairs her ſmiles, awakens ev'ry grace,
And calls forth all the wonders of her face;
Sees by degrees a purer bluſh ariſe,
And keener lightnings quicken in her eyes.
She found no rest, and ever fail'd to draw
The quiet night into her blood, but lay
Contemplating her own unworthiness;
And when the pale and bloodless east began
To quicken to the sun, arose, […]
Meanwhile the light quickened, and gradually disclosed the form and outline of the adjacent domain.
gloss: Senses relating to life or states of activity.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
gloss: Senses relating to life or states of activity.
pos: verb
tags: also
figuratively
intransitive
examples: […] about a month ago she [Lady Castlemaine] quickened at my Lord Gerard's at dinner, and cried out that she was undone; and all the lords and men were fain to quit the room, and women called to help her.
Almighty Vigour ſtrove though all the Void,
And ſuch prolifick Influence employ'd,
That ancient, barren Night did pregnant grow,
And quicken'd with the World in Embrio.
Royal pregnancies were not announced in those days; the news generally crept out, and public anticipation was aroused only when the child quickened.
gloss: Senses relating to life or states of activity.
pos: verb
tags: also
figuratively
intransitive
literary
gloss: Senses relating to life or states of activity.
pos: verb
tags: also
figuratively
intransitive
literary
examples: O I, as ſummers flies, are in the ſhambles,
That quicken euen with blovving: […]
Goddeſs of Shades, beneath whoſe gloomy Reign
Yon ſpangled Arch glows with the ſtarry Train,
Who doſt the Cares of Heav'n and Earth allay,
Till Nature quicken'd by th'Inſpiring Ray,
Wakes to new Vigor with the riſing Day.
But in every Vein
Life quickens again
On the Boſom of May.
Below were men and horses pierced with worms,
And slowly quickening into lower forms;
By shards and scurf of salt, and scum of dross,
Old plash of rains, and refuse patch'd with moss.
gloss: Senses relating to life or states of activity.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
rare
gloss: Senses relating to speed.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: For you may ſooner by Imagination, quicken or ſlacke a Motion, than raiſe or ceaſe it; As it is eaſier to make a Dog goe ſlower, than to make him ſtand ſtill that he may not runne.
Whoever has been much accuſtomed to viſit ſuch manufactures, muſt frequently have been ſhown very pretty machines, which were the inventions of common workmen in order to facilitate and quicken their own particular part of the work.
Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of mauve-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees; she saw a crimson cardinal winging through the foliage, and amorous tanagers flashing like scarlet flames athwart the pines.
That day Arya quickened their pace, keeping the horses to a trot as long as she dared, and sometimes spurring to a gallop when she spied a flat stretch of field before them.
gloss: Senses relating to speed.
pos: verb
tags: archaic
transitive
examples: to quicken the sheer, that is, to make its curve more pronounced
gloss: Senses relating to speed.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: My heartbeat quickened when I heard him approach.
Tess's breath quickened.
His lips traveled to her wrist and she knew he must fell the leap of her pulse as her heart quickened and she tried to draw back her hand. She had not bargained on this—this treacherous warm tide of feeling that made her want to run her hands through his hair, to feel his lips upon her mouth.
On straights speed would quicken to what was apparently the maximum allowed on this stretch, 140 k.p.h., or 87.5 m.p.h., and then one would see the track disappearing ahead round a sharpish curve, for there are some of 35 and 40 chains' radius on this side of the summit as well.
gloss: In full quicken tree: the European rowan, rowan, or mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia).
pos: noun
tags: Ireland
Northern-England
examples: […] Miss Wannop moved off down the path: it was only suited for Indian file, and had on the left hand a ten-foot, untrimmed quicken hedge, the hawthorn blossoms just beginning to blacken at the edges and small green haws to show.
Derived words: enquicken
quickened
quickener
quickening
quickeningly
quicken up
requicken
unquickened
Translations: