fastnessn.

Brit.

/ˈfɑːs(t)nəs/,

/ˈfas(t)nəs/, U.S.

/ˈfæstnəs/

Forms: see fast adj. and -ness suffix; also late Old English fesnes, 1800s fas'ness (English regional).

Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: fast adj., -ness suffix.

Etymology: < fast adj. + -ness suffix.Compare Middle Low German vastnisse , vestnisse confirmation, Old High German festnissa firmness (Middle High German vestnisse , German †Festnis , †Festnus confirmation, fastening, fortification). In Old English the usual word for ‘fortress’ (compare sense 8) is fæsten , a derivative of the Germanic base of fast v.¹

I. The quality or state of being fast (in various senses of fast adj.).

a. The quality or state of being firmly fixed or attached; fixedness, stability. Now usually (of a colour or dye): the quality or state of not readily fading or washing out; permanence.Frequently figurative in early use; cf. sense 1b.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > absence of movement > [noun] > stability > condition of being firmly fixed

fastnesseOE

firmitya1450

stablishness1530

firmitude?1541

steadfastnessa1542

firmness1600

fixure1603

security1770

fixation1894

eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) ii. iv. 43 Seo burg wæs getimbred an fildum lande..; & þæs wealles micelness & fæstness [L. firmitas et magnitudo] is ungeliefedlic to secgenne.

lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) (2009) I. xxxii. 308 Behealdað nu þa widgilnesse and þa fæstnesse and þa hrædfernesse þisses heofenes.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 107 Þet no þing þet moȝe beualle ne moȝe ous ondo of þe ilke uestnesse ne of þise grace.

a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 49 If þat ilke pece haue no fastnes to þe hool boon, do þat pece awey.

a1500 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Trin. Dublin) l. 3259 On þis maner made he man, þorow hys myght first, Suld not be funde in hym fastnes [c1450 Ashm. fast], ne ferme be ne stabyll.

?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xlvi The wynde is likely to blowe it besyde y^e heed, for it hath no fastnes in the wode.

1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. i. ix. 16 Falsehood, which therein can have no such footing, or setled fastnesse.

1677 R. Gilpin Dæmonol. Sacra iii. xix. 161 His words be so far from the fastness of Nails, that they shall be as Wind.

1815 T. Cooper Pract. Treat. on Dyeing 172 Weld furnishes upon the whole the best colour; next to that, quercitron bark; which, considering its richness and fastness of colour, is upon the whole the cheapest drug.

1922 Textile Colorist Feb. 124/2 An after-treatment with bichromate improves its fastness to light and washing.

2014 Pakistan Textile Jrnl. (Nexis) 31 Dec. Considering both the fastness of colour and cost of dyeing reactive dyes are found to be best.

†b. Fidelity, loyalty, constancy. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > duty or obligation > recognition of duty > faithfulness or trustworthiness > fidelity or loyalty > [noun] > firm loyalty or constancy

constance1340

firmitya1450

fastnessc1485

substantialness1530

constancy1548

firmnessa1627

c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 229 He knawis nocht thair lautee na thair fastness.

c1508 Want of Wyse Men (Chepman & Myllar) in Poems R. Henryson (1908) III. 170 Thare is na faithfull fastnes founde in erd; Now are noucht thre may traistly trow the ferde.

1582 R. Stanyhurst in tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis 105 Thee fastnesse of foster brootherhod.

1648 E. Symmons Vindic. King Charles (new ed.) 331 Your tender care, and constant fastness to our Soveraign.

1681 ‘Philopatris’ Plot in Dream v. 143 As a further trial of my fastness to them..I was to negotiate some special business for them.

2. Strength or tenacity of hold or grip; (formerly) spec. †capacity for gripping or holding tightly; (figuratively) capacity for learning; retentiveness of memory (obsolete). Now rare.In later use usually followed by of, with hold as its object.In quot. OE: miserliness, tight-fistedness (cf. fast adj. 6a).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > retaining > [noun] > capacity for

fastnessOE

retention?a1425

retinencya1640

reservance1646

OE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) (Dict. Old Eng. transcript) (1871) lx. 453 Swa eft þa rummodan fæsthafolnysse læran, swa hi þa uncystigan on yfelre fæstnysse [eOE Hatton hneawnesse] ne gebringen.

1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Fastnes, tenacia, tenacitas.

1581 R. Mulcaster Positions v. 27 We finde also in them [sc. children], as a quickenes to take, so a fastnesse to retaine.

1678 N. Wanley Wonders Little World ii. ii. 97 He could recite..the entire bodies of the Laws, Being..for vastness and fastness of memory not inferiour to any of the Ancients.

1715 R. South 12 Serm. IV. 523 This is the sure, infallible Test of Love, that the Measure of its Strength is to be taken by the Fastness of its Hold.

1841 in H. Hammond Parænesis (new ed.) Pref. p. viii The steady putting forth of her great power, and the fastness of her hold upon the hearts of the people of England.

1919 H. C. Sheppard Psychol. made Practical 260 Each thought, each impression, whether objective or subjective, determines the fastness of hold which any of such entities..may hope to have on any given personality.

†3. The quality or state of being firm, hard, solid, or dense; solidity, hardness. Also figurative of literary style: conciseness, pithiness. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > constitution of matter > density or solidity > [noun]

fastness?a1200

spissitudec1440

solidiousness1495

grossness1527

massiveness1530

substantialness1530

substantiality1535

crassness1545

massiness1559

stiffness1577

spissness1598

solidness1600

density1603

solidity1603

crassitude1604

condensity1611

thightness1615

compactedness1644

compactness1646

body1647

crassities1659

denseness1669

tightnessa1728

corporeity1750

substantiability1816

society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > conciseness > [noun]

fastness?a1200

compendiousness1398

short speaking14..

shortness?c1450

brevity1509

briefness1530

pithiness1557

laconism1570

succinctness1609

parsimony1650

laconicism1656

nexility1656

syntomy1656

conciseness1659

closeness1712

compendiosity1727

pressness1728

abruptness1731

concision1774

laconicalness1830

compactness1841

terseness1864

Spartanhood1880

Spartanism1880

brachylogy1882–3

condensity1885

?a1200 (?OE) Peri Didaxeon (1896) 41 Þe spæudrenc ys..be[t]ra æfter mete, forþan þe..seo fastnysse þæs yfeles wætan on þan heafede and þæt oferflawende yfel on þan breostan byð astired æfter þan mete.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. xlvi. 1311 Salt hardeþ in fuyre... Þe fastnesse and hardnesse is ymade by druyenesse.

?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 119^v (MED) In a place in which..he fyndeþ fastenez & akyng.

1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions i. ii. 30 This earth then brought by y^e heate of the sonne into a more fastenesse.

a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) ii. f. 44^v To bring his style, from all lowse grosnesse, to soch firme fastnes in latin, as is in Demosthenes in Greeke.

1621 H. Ainsworth Annot. Five Bks. Moses & Bk. Psalmes Psalm xix. 11 Solid gold, called Paz, which hath the name of strength, fastnesse, or solidity.

1660 R. Sharrock Hist. Propagation & Improvem. Veg. 17 They think to hinder their quick descent by the fastness of the ground.

1675 N. Grew Compar. Anat. Trunks ii. vii. 75 Its fastness, [depending] on the closeness of the true Wood.

1828 J. Sutcliffe in J. Bischoff Comprehensive Hist. Woollen & Worsted Manufacturers (1842) II. 153 Without low-priced foreign wool they could not make so good an article: if made of Scotch wool alone, it would not have that fastness in texture.

†4. Closeness of alliance or confederacy. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social relations > association for a common purpose > [noun] > close

fastness1485

society > authority > rule or government > politics > international politics or relations > international agreements > [noun] > alliance or confederacy > close

fastness1485

1485–6 W. Caxton tr. Laurent Ryal Bk. lxxix. sig. i.vi That the blessyd name of our good fader Ihesu Cryst be soo confermed in vs, that he be our good fader. and we his good sones and his seruauntes..that no thyng..may come ne happene to desioyne thys fastnes.

1628 R. Cotton Danger wherein Kingdome Standeth 16 Nothing can prevent the Spanish Monarchie, but a fastnesse of the two Princes whole amitie.

5. With reference to a place, fortress, etc.: the quality or state of being difficult to attack or otherwise access; safety, security. Cf. sense 8. Now somewhat archaic.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > safety > [noun] > safety or security

frithc893

sickernessc1230

orec1275

suretya1387

sickerty1405

surenessc1425

surance1426

security?a1475

warrandice1512

assurance1559

fastness1596

impunity1800

1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. x. sig. V6^v To those fennes for fastnesse she did fly.

c1600 J. Dymmok Treat. Ireland (1842) 23 It is very hard to hurt him, by reason of the fastnes of his cuntry.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis ix, in tr. Virgil Wks. 492 The Foes had left the fastness of their Place.

1839 Lumsden & Son's Steam-boat Compan. 1 The wild fastness of Glencoe.

1900 J. S. King Hist. Bahmanî Dynasty x. 76 From the fastness of the fortress they stepped into the desert of death.

2008 D. Loyn Butcher & Bolt xi. 224 For the first time he could leave the fastness of his valley safely.

6. The quality of being fast in one's movements or actions, esp. high speed, swiftness.Only in occasional use; never an established alternative to speed, swiftness, rapidity.In quot. 1604 probably: quick-temperedness.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > [noun]

swiftnessc888

speedOE

swiftship?c1225

swifthead1340

speedfulnessc1386

quickness?a1425

hastinessc1425

speediheadc1450

swiftinessa1464

radeur1477

celerity1483

speediness1530

swithnessc1540

velocity1555

raptness1582

pernicity1592

rapidity1601

fastness1604

fleetness1625

rida1642

rapidness1650

mercuriousnessa1661

1604 R. Cudworth Suppl. in W. Perkins Comm. Epist. Galatians vi. 492 Thus in a familie, the husband must beare with the nicenes, and frowardnes of his wife: the wife with the fastnes, or hastines of her husband.

1727–36 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. Fastness, swiftness.

1871 H. Holland Recoll. Past Life (1872) 268 The increased fastness of living, incident to all classes and occupations of men.

2012 @bodeolanrewaju 31 Jan. in twitter.com (accessed 29 Oct. 2020) Chicharito will be too difficult for stoke defender to handle bc of his fastness.

7. The quality or fact of living life in an extravagant, unconventional, or dissipated way. Cf. fast adj. 9a.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > [noun]

goleshipc1000

golenessa1050

kaggerleȝcc1175

untowenshipa1250

follyc1300

wantonnessc1390

ragerya1393

nicetya1400

wantonhead1435

lightnessa1450

gole?a1500

free will?1518

nicenessa1533

looseness1576

licentiousness1586

waggishness1591

libertinage1611

libertinism1611

licence1713

fastness1859

permissiveness1946

1859 J. W. Carlyle Let. 24 Aug. in Coll. Lett. T. & J. W. Carlyle (2007) XXXV. 178 Sentiment, you see, is not well looked on by the present generation of Women; there is a growing taste for fastness or still worse, for strong-mindedness!

1881 C. New Serm. 101 Fastness is not manliness, but emptiness and weakness.

1923 Trained Nurse & Hosp. Rev. May 411/1 Habits of drinking and smoking and dancing, and looseness and fastness of living that are morally enervating.

2012 @Jayelle_Body 10 Jan. in twitter.com (accessed 13 Nov. 2020) My daughter better graduate high school a virgin like I did or I'm blaming her fastness on her father.

II. That which is fast or causes someone or something to be fast (in various senses of fast adj.).

8. A place which can easily be defended against attack; a stronghold; a fortress. Also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > fort or fortified town > [noun]

chestera855

boroughc893

fastnessOE

strength?c1225

warnestore1297

fortress13..

holdc1330

strongholdc1384

motec1390

fortalicec1425

garnisonc1430

garrisonc1430

town of war1441

wall-town1488

strengh1489

afforciament1509

piece1525

forcea1552

citadel1567

fort1569

place1575

holt1600

alcazar1623

fasthold1623

afforcement1642

castle-town1646

post1648

garrison-town1649

bridlea1661

palank1685

place of arms1704

ostrog1761

qila1761

presidio1763

gurry1786

thana1803

pa1823

castrum1836

lis1845

Gibraltar1856

training post1867

kasbah1902

jong1904

the world > action or operation > safety > [noun] > safety or invulnerability

impassibilitya1340

proofc1485

immunity?1567

unpassableness1645

impassiblenessa1656

invulnerableness1655

unwoundableness1661

invulnerability1775

fastness1864

OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 41 Munimen, ymbtrymming oððe fæstnys [c1225 Worcester festnesse].

1587 J. Hooker Chron. Ireland 157/1 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) II They..ouertooke them at a fastenes fast by the woods side.

1650 O. Cromwell Let. 30 July in Writings & Speeches (1939) (modernized text) II. 301 They would rather tempt us to attempt them in their fastness.

1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. i. 121 Separate herds..which inhabit distinct fastnesses.

1848 H. H. Wilson Hist. Brit. India 1805–35 III. vii. 341 A strong and almost inaccessible fastness at Bandi.

1864 J. R. Lowell Fireside Trav. 200 In the impregnable fastness of his great rich nature he [sc. the Roman] defies us.

1996 Condé Nast Traveler June 140/2 In remote fastnesses beyond the Salween River, the drug lords plied their trade.

†9. A source of support, strength, or comfort. In quots. with reference to God. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > [noun]

holtc1375

fastnessa1382

maintenance1384

supportc1391

suppowell1399

supportationc1405

subministrationa1425

conforturec1475

stay1532

back-stand1548

supportance1576

backing1598

voice1600

supportment1607

supporture1609

seconding1613

manutenency?1630

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Psalms xxiv. 14 Fastnesse is the Lord to men dredende hym.

a1400 Prymer (St. John's Cambr.) (1891) 109 Oure lord is a fastnesse to hem that dredeth hym.

†10. Something used to fasten or bind things together; a fastening. Obsolete (English regional in later use).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > [noun] > a fastening

fasteningOE

closing1382

festela1400

fastenera1425

fastingc1450

fastnessa1550

seizurea1616

closure1616

obligation1646

agraffe1772

fastenment1836

buckling1861

hitch1881

soul and body lashing1883

a1550 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Wemyss) cxxx. l. 1276 And sa þis Donald, as herd haif ȝe, Wes haldin in a chalmer fre; Blynd and geldit baith, he wes Thar in chalmer but fastnes.

1678 J. Worlidge Vinetum Britannicum (ed. 2) 118 Weights of..Lead, with Rings, Cords, or other Fastnesses to them.

1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. ‘That theer bull's bin 'ilin the dur o' 'is place, an' bruk the fas'ness.’

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2021; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	fastness
释义	fastnessn. Brit. /ˈfɑːs(t)nəs/, /ˈfas(t)nəs/, U.S. /ˈfæstnəs/ Forms: see fast adj. and -ness suffix; also late Old English fesnes, 1800s fas'ness (English regional). Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: fast adj., -ness suffix. Etymology: < fast adj. + -ness suffix.Compare Middle Low German vastnisse , vestnisse confirmation, Old High German festnissa firmness (Middle High German vestnisse , German †Festnis , †Festnus confirmation, fastening, fortification). In Old English the usual word for ‘fortress’ (compare sense 8) is fæsten , a derivative of the Germanic base of fast v.¹ I. The quality or state of being fast (in various senses of fast adj.). 1. a. The quality or state of being firmly fixed or attached; fixedness, stability. Now usually (of a colour or dye): the quality or state of not readily fading or washing out; permanence.Frequently figurative in early use; cf. sense 1b. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > absence of movement > [noun] > stability > condition of being firmly fixed fastnesseOE firmitya1450 stablishness1530 firmitude?1541 steadfastnessa1542 firmness1600 fixure1603 security1770 fixation1894 eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) ii. iv. 43 Seo burg wæs getimbred an fildum lande..; & þæs wealles micelness & fæstness [L. firmitas et magnitudo] is ungeliefedlic to secgenne. lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) (2009) I. xxxii. 308 Behealdað nu þa widgilnesse and þa fæstnesse and þa hrædfernesse þisses heofenes. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 107 Þet no þing þet moȝe beualle ne moȝe ous ondo of þe ilke uestnesse ne of þise grace. a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 49 If þat ilke pece haue no fastnes to þe hool boon, do þat pece awey. a1500 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Trin. Dublin) l. 3259 On þis maner made he man, þorow hys myght first, Suld not be funde in hym fastnes [c1450 Ashm. fast], ne ferme be ne stabyll. ?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xlvi The wynde is likely to blowe it besyde y^e heed, for it hath no fastnes in the wode. 1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. i. ix. 16 Falsehood, which therein can have no such footing, or setled fastnesse. 1677 R. Gilpin Dæmonol. Sacra iii. xix. 161 His words be so far from the fastness of Nails, that they shall be as Wind. 1815 T. Cooper Pract. Treat. on Dyeing 172 Weld furnishes upon the whole the best colour; next to that, quercitron bark; which, considering its richness and fastness of colour, is upon the whole the cheapest drug. 1922 Textile Colorist Feb. 124/2 An after-treatment with bichromate improves its fastness to light and washing. 2014 Pakistan Textile Jrnl. (Nexis) 31 Dec. Considering both the fastness of colour and cost of dyeing reactive dyes are found to be best. †b. Fidelity, loyalty, constancy. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > morality > duty or obligation > recognition of duty > faithfulness or trustworthiness > fidelity or loyalty > [noun] > firm loyalty or constancy constance1340 firmitya1450 fastnessc1485 substantialness1530 constancy1548 firmnessa1627 c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 229 He knawis nocht thair lautee na thair fastness. c1508 Want of Wyse Men (Chepman & Myllar) in Poems R. Henryson (1908) III. 170 Thare is na faithfull fastnes founde in erd; Now are noucht thre may traistly trow the ferde. 1582 R. Stanyhurst in tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis 105 Thee fastnesse of foster brootherhod. 1648 E. Symmons Vindic. King Charles (new ed.) 331 Your tender care, and constant fastness to our Soveraign. 1681 ‘Philopatris’ Plot in Dream v. 143 As a further trial of my fastness to them..I was to negotiate some special business for them. 2. Strength or tenacity of hold or grip; (formerly) spec. †capacity for gripping or holding tightly; (figuratively) capacity for learning; retentiveness of memory (obsolete). Now rare.In later use usually followed by of, with hold as its object.In quot. OE: miserliness, tight-fistedness (cf. fast adj. 6a). ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > retaining > [noun] > capacity for fastnessOE retention?a1425 retinencya1640 reservance1646 OE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) (Dict. Old Eng. transcript) (1871) lx. 453 Swa eft þa rummodan fæsthafolnysse læran, swa hi þa uncystigan on yfelre fæstnysse [eOE Hatton hneawnesse] ne gebringen. 1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Fastnes, tenacia, tenacitas. 1581 R. Mulcaster Positions v. 27 We finde also in them [sc. children], as a quickenes to take, so a fastnesse to retaine. 1678 N. Wanley Wonders Little World ii. ii. 97 He could recite..the entire bodies of the Laws, Being..for vastness and fastness of memory not inferiour to any of the Ancients. 1715 R. South 12 Serm. IV. 523 This is the sure, infallible Test of Love, that the Measure of its Strength is to be taken by the Fastness of its Hold. 1841 in H. Hammond Parænesis (new ed.) Pref. p. viii The steady putting forth of her great power, and the fastness of her hold upon the hearts of the people of England. 1919 H. C. Sheppard Psychol. made Practical 260 Each thought, each impression, whether objective or subjective, determines the fastness of hold which any of such entities..may hope to have on any given personality. †3. The quality or state of being firm, hard, solid, or dense; solidity, hardness. Also figurative of literary style: conciseness, pithiness. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > constitution of matter > density or solidity > [noun] fastness?a1200 spissitudec1440 solidiousness1495 grossness1527 massiveness1530 substantialness1530 substantiality1535 crassness1545 massiness1559 stiffness1577 spissness1598 solidness1600 density1603 solidity1603 crassitude1604 condensity1611 thightness1615 compactedness1644 compactness1646 body1647 crassities1659 denseness1669 tightnessa1728 corporeity1750 substantiability1816 society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > conciseness > [noun] fastness?a1200 compendiousness1398 short speaking14.. shortness?c1450 brevity1509 briefness1530 pithiness1557 laconism1570 succinctness1609 parsimony1650 laconicism1656 nexility1656 syntomy1656 conciseness1659 closeness1712 compendiosity1727 pressness1728 abruptness1731 concision1774 laconicalness1830 compactness1841 terseness1864 Spartanhood1880 Spartanism1880 brachylogy1882–3 condensity1885 ?a1200 (?OE) Peri Didaxeon (1896) 41 Þe spæudrenc ys..be[t]ra æfter mete, forþan þe..seo fastnysse þæs yfeles wætan on þan heafede and þæt oferflawende yfel on þan breostan byð astired æfter þan mete. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. xlvi. 1311 Salt hardeþ in fuyre... Þe fastnesse and hardnesse is ymade by druyenesse. ?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 119^v (MED) In a place in which..he fyndeþ fastenez & akyng. 1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions i. ii. 30 This earth then brought by y^e heate of the sonne into a more fastenesse. a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) ii. f. 44^v To bring his style, from all lowse grosnesse, to soch firme fastnes in latin, as is in Demosthenes in Greeke. 1621 H. Ainsworth Annot. Five Bks. Moses & Bk. Psalmes Psalm xix. 11 Solid gold, called Paz, which hath the name of strength, fastnesse, or solidity. 1660 R. Sharrock Hist. Propagation & Improvem. Veg. 17 They think to hinder their quick descent by the fastness of the ground. 1675 N. Grew Compar. Anat. Trunks ii. vii. 75 Its fastness, [depending] on the closeness of the true Wood. 1828 J. Sutcliffe in J. Bischoff Comprehensive Hist. Woollen & Worsted Manufacturers (1842) II. 153 Without low-priced foreign wool they could not make so good an article: if made of Scotch wool alone, it would not have that fastness in texture. †4. Closeness of alliance or confederacy. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social relations > association for a common purpose > [noun] > close fastness1485 society > authority > rule or government > politics > international politics or relations > international agreements > [noun] > alliance or confederacy > close fastness1485 1485–6 W. Caxton tr. Laurent Ryal Bk. lxxix. sig. i.vi That the blessyd name of our good fader Ihesu Cryst be soo confermed in vs, that he be our good fader. and we his good sones and his seruauntes..that no thyng..may come ne happene to desioyne thys fastnes. 1628 R. Cotton Danger wherein Kingdome Standeth 16 Nothing can prevent the Spanish Monarchie, but a fastnesse of the two Princes whole amitie. 5. With reference to a place, fortress, etc.: the quality or state of being difficult to attack or otherwise access; safety, security. Cf. sense 8. Now somewhat archaic. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > safety > [noun] > safety or security frithc893 sickernessc1230 orec1275 suretya1387 sickerty1405 surenessc1425 surance1426 security?a1475 warrandice1512 assurance1559 fastness1596 impunity1800 1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. x. sig. V6^v To those fennes for fastnesse she did fly. View more context for this quotation c1600 J. Dymmok Treat. Ireland (1842) 23 It is very hard to hurt him, by reason of the fastnes of his cuntry. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis ix, in tr. Virgil Wks. 492 The Foes had left the fastness of their Place. 1839 Lumsden & Son's Steam-boat Compan. 1 The wild fastness of Glencoe. 1900 J. S. King Hist. Bahmanî Dynasty x. 76 From the fastness of the fortress they stepped into the desert of death. 2008 D. Loyn Butcher & Bolt xi. 224 For the first time he could leave the fastness of his valley safely. 6. The quality of being fast in one's movements or actions, esp. high speed, swiftness.Only in occasional use; never an established alternative to speed, swiftness, rapidity.In quot. 1604 probably: quick-temperedness. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > [noun] swiftnessc888 speedOE swiftship?c1225 swifthead1340 speedfulnessc1386 quickness?a1425 hastinessc1425 speediheadc1450 swiftinessa1464 radeur1477 celerity1483 speediness1530 swithnessc1540 velocity1555 raptness1582 pernicity1592 rapidity1601 fastness1604 fleetness1625 rida1642 rapidness1650 mercuriousnessa1661 1604 R. Cudworth Suppl. in W. Perkins Comm. Epist. Galatians vi. 492 Thus in a familie, the husband must beare with the nicenes, and frowardnes of his wife: the wife with the fastnes, or hastines of her husband. 1727–36 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. Fastness, swiftness. 1871 H. Holland Recoll. Past Life (1872) 268 The increased fastness of living, incident to all classes and occupations of men. 2012 @bodeolanrewaju 31 Jan. in twitter.com (accessed 29 Oct. 2020) Chicharito will be too difficult for stoke defender to handle bc of his fastness. 7. The quality or fact of living life in an extravagant, unconventional, or dissipated way. Cf. fast adj. 9a. ΘΚΠ society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > [noun] goleshipc1000 golenessa1050 kaggerleȝcc1175 untowenshipa1250 follyc1300 wantonnessc1390 ragerya1393 nicetya1400 wantonhead1435 lightnessa1450 gole?a1500 free will?1518 nicenessa1533 looseness1576 licentiousness1586 waggishness1591 libertinage1611 libertinism1611 licence1713 fastness1859 permissiveness1946 1859 J. W. Carlyle Let. 24 Aug. in Coll. Lett. T. & J. W. Carlyle (2007) XXXV. 178 Sentiment, you see, is not well looked on by the present generation of Women; there is a growing taste for fastness or still worse, for strong-mindedness! 1881 C. New Serm. 101 Fastness is not manliness, but emptiness and weakness. 1923 Trained Nurse & Hosp. Rev. May 411/1 Habits of drinking and smoking and dancing, and looseness and fastness of living that are morally enervating. 2012 @Jayelle_Body 10 Jan. in twitter.com (accessed 13 Nov. 2020) My daughter better graduate high school a virgin like I did or I'm blaming her fastness on her father. II. That which is fast or causes someone or something to be fast (in various senses of fast adj.). 8. A place which can easily be defended against attack; a stronghold; a fortress. Also figurative. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > fort or fortified town > [noun] chestera855 boroughc893 fastnessOE strength?c1225 warnestore1297 fortress13.. holdc1330 strongholdc1384 motec1390 fortalicec1425 garnisonc1430 garrisonc1430 town of war1441 wall-town1488 strengh1489 afforciament1509 piece1525 forcea1552 citadel1567 fort1569 place1575 holt1600 alcazar1623 fasthold1623 afforcement1642 castle-town1646 post1648 garrison-town1649 bridlea1661 palank1685 place of arms1704 ostrog1761 qila1761 presidio1763 gurry1786 thana1803 pa1823 castrum1836 lis1845 Gibraltar1856 training post1867 kasbah1902 jong1904 the world > action or operation > safety > [noun] > safety or invulnerability impassibilitya1340 proofc1485 immunity?1567 unpassableness1645 impassiblenessa1656 invulnerableness1655 unwoundableness1661 invulnerability1775 fastness1864 OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 41 Munimen, ymbtrymming oððe fæstnys [c1225 Worcester festnesse]. 1587 J. Hooker Chron. Ireland 157/1 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) II They..ouertooke them at a fastenes fast by the woods side. 1650 O. Cromwell Let. 30 July in Writings & Speeches (1939) (modernized text) II. 301 They would rather tempt us to attempt them in their fastness. 1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. i. 121 Separate herds..which inhabit distinct fastnesses. 1848 H. H. Wilson Hist. Brit. India 1805–35 III. vii. 341 A strong and almost inaccessible fastness at Bandi. 1864 J. R. Lowell Fireside Trav. 200 In the impregnable fastness of his great rich nature he [sc. the Roman] defies us. 1996 Condé Nast Traveler June 140/2 In remote fastnesses beyond the Salween River, the drug lords plied their trade. †9. A source of support, strength, or comfort. In quots. with reference to God. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > [noun] holtc1375 fastnessa1382 maintenance1384 supportc1391 suppowell1399 supportationc1405 subministrationa1425 conforturec1475 stay1532 back-stand1548 supportance1576 backing1598 voice1600 supportment1607 supporture1609 seconding1613 manutenency?1630 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Psalms xxiv. 14 Fastnesse is the Lord to men dredende hym. a1400 Prymer (St. John's Cambr.) (1891) 109 Oure lord is a fastnesse to hem that dredeth hym. †10. Something used to fasten or bind things together; a fastening. Obsolete (English regional in later use). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > [noun] > a fastening fasteningOE closing1382 festela1400 fastenera1425 fastingc1450 fastnessa1550 seizurea1616 closure1616 obligation1646 agraffe1772 fastenment1836 buckling1861 hitch1881 soul and body lashing1883 a1550 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Wemyss) cxxx. l. 1276 And sa þis Donald, as herd haif ȝe, Wes haldin in a chalmer fre; Blynd and geldit baith, he wes Thar in chalmer but fastnes. 1678 J. Worlidge Vinetum Britannicum (ed. 2) 118 Weights of..Lead, with Rings, Cords, or other Fastnesses to them. 1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. ‘That theer bull's bin 'ilin the dur o' 'is place, an' bruk the fas'ness.’ This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2021; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.eOE
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