speedn.
/spiːd/, U.S. /spid/ I. Senses relating to abundance or success.† 1. Abundance. Obsolete.Also frequently in Old English ‘substance, means, wealth’.† 2. Power, might. Obsolete.† 4. † b. One who, or that which, promotes success or prosperity. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > abundance > [noun]
speedOE
fulsomenesslOE
wonea1300
fulsomeheada1325
cheapc1325
largitya1382
plenteousnessa1382
plenteoustea1382
plentya1382
abundancec1384
affluencec1390
largenessc1400
uberty?a1412
aboundingc1425
fullness1440
copiousness1447
rifenessc1450
copy1484
abundancy?1526
copiosity1543
plentifulness1555
ampleness1566
umberty?1578
acquire1592
amplitude1605
plentitude1609
plenitude1614
fertility1615
profluence1623
fluency1624
flushness1662
rowtha1689
sonsea1689
affluentness1727
raff1801
richness1814
OE Cynewulf Crist II 604 He us æt giefeð, ond æhta sped, welan ofer widlond.
OE Genesis 1084 Tubal Cain, se þurh snytro sped smiðcræftega wæs.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 12252 Off laferrd dom. off ahhtess sped.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 12079 Off þatt hemm weorelldahhtess spedd. Aȝȝ waxeþþ mare & mare.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 122 Of euerilc ougt, of euerilc sed, Was erðe mad moder of sped.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > [noun]
speed971
mightOE
ferec1175
evenc1225
powerc1300
possibilityc1385
actualitya1398
actualnessa1398
mowing?a1425
virtuality1483
cana1500
canning1549
reach1556
capability1587
strain1593
capableness1594
ablesse1598
fathoma1616
dacity1636
factivitya1643
capacity1647
range1695
span1805
quality1856
faculty1859
octane1989
971 Blickl. Hom. 179 Þonne syndon on þyssum Simone twa speda, mannes & deofles.
c1000 Ags. Ps. (1835) lxxxviii. 7 Þu eart mægena God,..nis þe ealra gelic ahwær on spedum.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 25 God..unspered al ðe fendes sped, And halp ðor he sag mikel ned.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2995 Her hem wantede migt and sped.
3. in combination.a1640 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger Little French Lawyer v. iii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Lv/2 They are men of a charitable vocation,..And put a good speed penny in my purse.
a. Success, prosperity, good fortune; profit, advancement, furtherance. Obsolete exc. Scottish or archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > [noun] > prosperity or success
speedc725
speedinga1300
exploitc1300
thriftc1305
chevance1393
withgangc1485
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > [noun]
speedc725
speedinga1300
exploitc1300
happingc1440
succeedingc1450
proof1574
successa1586
joy1945
c725 Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) P 707 Præuentus, spoed.
c725 Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) S 646 Successus, spoed.
OE Cynewulf Elene 1182 He ah æt wigge sped, sigor æt sæcce.
c1000 Ags. Ps. (1835) lv. 4 Ic..on God..gelyfe, þæt minre spræce sped folgie.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3929 Al..is fultum and his sped.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2221 [They] hauen it so to iacob brogt, And tolden him so of here sped.
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 11 For Slowthe is mihti to confounde The spied of every mannes werk.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Coll. Phys.) l. 22886 Þe mar man swink him þar aboutin Fra sped þe ferre he sal ben outin.
c1407 J. Lydgate Reson & Sensuallyte 4906 Now shal ye here..Al the processe of my spede.
1412–20 J. Lydgate tr. Hist. Troy iv. 4662 Myn entent is nat to repreue Ȝoure wyse conseil..Ȝif it conclude to þe comoun spede Of my peple and sauacioun.
1503–4 Act 19 Hen. VII c. 19 Preamb. For their owne spede and lucre they suffer their ledder to pass untruly coryed.
?1510 T. More in tr. G. F. Pico della Mirandola Lyfe I. Picus sig. g.iii What seruice may so desirable be As where all turnith to thyne owne spede.
1612 G. Chapman Widdowes Teares i. sig. B2 I am assured of my speede.
1786 R. Burns Poems 180 In ploughman phrase ‘God send you speed’.
1791 J. Learmont Poems Pastoral 51 We wiss him speed Till he unravel ilka quirk.
1899 G. Greig Logie o' Buchan xii. 203 Guid-bye than, Jamie; and I wish ye a' speed and forder.
b. With adjectives, as good, evil, etc.: Success, fortune, lot.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > chance or causelessness > [noun] > fortune or luck
sitheOE
hapc1275
fortunea1300
timingc1300
thriftc1305
speeda1325
casta1400
venturea1450
issuec1475
luck1481
success1548
speeding1573
chancing1583
potluck1592
ship1851
joss1913
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 309 Get ic wene I can a red, Ðat hem sal bringen iwel sped.
14.. Sir Beues (1894) 182/2 God send them evyll spede.
1451 Rolls of Parl. V. 219/2 The good spede of this Act of Resumption.
1535 Goodly Prymer in Eng. sig. Mv That temyng women may haue ioyfull spede in their labour.
1577 R. Holinshed Chron. II. 1730/1 In the assystance..al their hope of prosperous speede consysted.
1634 J. Canne Necessitie of Separation iv. 199 It is..worth the noting, what ill speede Mr. Dayr. hath still in all his testimonies.
1651 A. Weldon Court of King Charles 194 Another Parliament was summoned, wherein..there proved no better a good speed and successe than a mere frustration of all hopes on both hands.
1720 D. Defoe Mem. Cavalier 119 The King wished us good Speed.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas II. v. i. 270 You give way to difficulties with more haste than good speed.
c. to come (good) speed, to be successful. So to come bad, or no, speed, to be more or less unsuccessful. Scottish.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > fail or be unsuccessful [verb (intransitive)]
withsitc1330
fail1340
defaulta1382
errc1430
to fall (also go) by the wayside1526
misthrive1567
miss1599
to come bad, or no, speedc1600
shrink1608
abortivea1670
maroon1717
to flash in the pan1792
skunk1831
to go to the dickens1833
to miss fire1838
to fall flat1841
fizzle1847
to lose out1858
to fall down1873
to crap out1891
flivver1912
flop1919
skid1920
to lay an egg1929
to blow out1939
to strike out1946
bomb1963
to come (also have) a buster1968
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > succeed or be a success [verb (intransitive)]
speedc1175
fayc1300
provec1300
flourishc1400
passc1425
prosper1434
succeedc1450
to take placea1464
to come well to (our) pass1481
shift?1533
hitc1540
walka1556
fadge1573
thrive1587
work1599
to come (good) speedc1600
to go off1608
sort1613
go1699
answer1721
to get along1768
to turn up trumps1785
to come off1854
pan1865
scour1871
arrive1889
to work out1899
to ring the bell1900
to go over1907
click1916
happen1949
c1600 Diurnal of Remarkable Occurrents (1833) 19 He come no speid but depairtit with repulse.
1638 A. Cant Serm. 13 June (1699) 21 If I had hope to come speed with you.
a1653 Z. Boyd Zion's Flowers (1855) 57 I at the market have this day come speede.
1756 M. Calderwood Lett. & Jrnls. (1884) x. 262 There was one came about gathering charity,..but she came very ill speed.
1824 S. E. Ferrier Inheritance I. xxxiii. 362 No wonder he came such bad speed at the courting.
1824 S. E. Ferrier Inheritance I. xxxiii. 361 Somebody has come good speed.
1881 W. Gregor Notes Folk-lore N.-E. Scotl. xxii. 161 Sittin beggars cumna speed.
a. Assistance, aid, help. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > [noun]
fultumeOE
help971
succour?c1225
abetc1330
succouringc1330
speedc1340
subsidya1387
rescousc1390
chevisancea1400
juvamentc1400
supply1420
aid1430
favour1434
supplying1436
suffrage1445
availa1450
boteningc1450
succurrancec1450
adjuvancea1460
assistance1495
meeda1500
subventiona1500
suppliancea1500
adjutory?a1513
sistancea1513
adminiculation1531
abetment1533
assisting1553
adjument1576
society1586
aidance1593
opitulation1598
secourse1598
second1605
suppeditation1605
assistency1642
auxiliation1657
adjutancy1665
adjuvancy1677
abettal1834
sustenance1839
constructiveness1882
c1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 2882 And þat may be thurgh helpe and spede Of prayer of frendes and almusdede.
1399 Rolls of Parl. III. 451 [To] procede as hym thoght for the best.., for the spede of this nede and of all the Parlement.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 1607 Þurȝ þe sped of þe spyryt þat sprad hym with-inne.
1423 Rolls of Parl. IV. 256 In spede as wele of the Kynges nede, as of his peple.
?a1500 Chester Pl. x. 79 Haue here of me, to do thee speede, right a gay garment.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > promotion or help forward > [noun] > one who or that which
fostrild?c1225
nurser1363
speed1377
promoter1384
furtherer1390
speederc1400
upraiserc1440
promotor1517
nurse1526
advancer1540
promover1545
fosterera1586
increasera1625
fartherer1633
uplifter1650
cultivator1663
upbuilder1865
1377 Pol. Poems (Rolls) I. 215 He that was ur most spede Is selden seye and sone forȝete.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 21348 Of þe rode now for to rede ihesus criste he be mi spede.
c1450 Godstow Reg. 4 [Cross] of ihesu criste be euer oure spede.
1577 J. Grange Garden in Golden Aphroditis sig. Siv Adewe therefore, God be thy speede.
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. i. 186 Good maners be your speed . View more context for this quotation
1611 Troublesome Raigne Iohn (new ed.) i. sig. E4v S. Francis be your speed.
1681 W. Robertson Phraseologia generalis (1693) 1158 Christ be our speed.
II. Senses relating to swiftness or celerity.
5.
a. Quickness in moving or making progress from one place to another, usually as the result of special exertion; celerity, swiftness; also, power or rate of progress.In Old English only in the dative plural used adverbially. In Middle English frequently in adverbial phrases, as a good speed, or with prepositions (cf. 8, 9).
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
OE Genesis 2400 Gewiton him þa ædre ellorfuse æfter þære spræce spedum feran.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1598 Fro bersabe he ferde wið sped.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1765 William & þe mayde..gon forþ þurȝth þe gardin a wel god spede.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 16598 Him þai can to nede, At tak þe tan end o þe tre to ga þe better spede.
a1400 Sir Perc. 720 For to rynne scho myȝte not thole Ne folowe hym no spede.
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 1727 For mare spede be ship he went.
a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 292 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 104 He wald nocht spair for to spring on a gud speid.
1568 Christis Kirk on Grene in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1928) II. 266 He suld bene swift þat gat him throw speid.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iii. iv. 56 Madam, I goe with all conuenient speede . View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 700 Back to thy punishment,..and to thy speed add wings. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 105 Thus, form'd for speed, he challenges the Wind. View more context for this quotation
1758 S. Johnson Idler 20 May 49 The true cause of her speed were fear and love.
1797 H. Lee Canterbury Tales I. 355 He exerted all the speed fatigue would allow.
1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward II. vii. 149 The Scottish mountaineer was at liberty to put forth a speed which was unrivalled in his own glens.
1847 F. Marryat Children of New Forest II. viii. 172 That's a fine horse you were riding, sir. Has he much speed?
1891 F. W. Farrar Darkness & Dawn I. xii. 97 Pudens had seen him..run up the steps with a speed which a Roman regarded as very undignified.
b. Of things: Swiftness, rapidity, velocity, of direct or circular movement; rate of motion or revolution.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > [noun]
speedc1175
passa1393
pace?a1439
strake1558
rate1652
velocity1656
rapidity1701
rake1768
bat1824
clip1868
tempo1898
work rate1906
pacing1958
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > [noun] > motor vehicle > velocity
speedc1175
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 18094 All swa se waterr stræm. Aȝȝ fleteþþ forþ. & erneþþ. Towarrd te sæ wiþþ mikell sped.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. lxxxiij It began at the Ocean sea, and..spred ouer all Germany, and with vnspeakeable spede.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) i. i. 109 Her part..Was carried with more speed before the winde. View more context for this quotation
1619 in S. R. Gardiner Lett. Relations Eng. & Germany (1865) 1st Ser. 156 I know not whether I should have beene diverted a second time from taking the speede of the river if [etc.].
1747 T. Gray Ode Eton Coll. 4 What idle Progeny succeed To chase the rolling Circle's Speed?
1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward III. iv. 104 What has taken some time to narrate, happened, in fact, with the speed of light.
1857 Ld. Dufferin Lett. from High Latitudes (ed. 3) 410 Then, notwithstanding the slowness of the speed, it requires as much luck as skill to avoid collisions.
1883 M. P. Bale Saw-mills 209 If a sawing or planing machine is driven at a very great rate of speed.
c. With numerals or adjectives forming attributive combinations Frequently in sense 5d below; also elliptical, a bicycle having the number of gears indicated.
ΚΠ
1871 Routledge's Every Boy's Ann. Apr. (Suppl.) 3/2 Three-speed Pulley.
1885 Field 31 Jan. 121/3 A ‘ten-speed gear’ tricycle.
1904 Westm. Gaz. 5 July 12/1 Very high-speed passenger trains.
1955 Radio Times 22 Apr. 30/1 (advt.) 6-valve, 3-speed, autochange table radiogram.
1970 ‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Cookie Bird iii. 26 A runaway self-propelled two-speed-gear lawnmower.
1975 Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 3 May 44/1 Then they'll hop onto their sleek 3-, 5-, or 10-speeds and..explore America's city streets.
d. Any of the possible gear ratios of a machine, esp. a bicycle or motor vehicle; the equipment associated with this; = gear n. 7b.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > wheel > [noun] > cog or gear > which allows change of speed or direction > ratio of
speed1866
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [noun] > parts of vehicle moving on wheels > gear > ratio
speed1866
1866 Eng. Mechanic 22 June 263/1 I think in velocipede construction it is necessary to have two speeds... By pulling the lever A it throws the small wheels out of gear, and the driver can use the large wheels for level ground and the small ones for ascending hills.
1904 R. Kipling Traffics & Discov. 304 I was on the point of reversing and working my way back on the second speed ere I ended in some swamp, when I saw sunshine through the tangle ahead and lifted the brake.
1907 G. B. Shaw John Bull's Other Island iv. 80 The pig..put in the fourth speed with its right crubeen.
1926 T. E. Lawrence Seven Pillars (subscribers' ed.) ciii. 548 The armoured car was too heavy for the flints, and always she sank in a little, making heavy going on third speed.
1951 N. Mitford Blessing ii. ii. 170 I'll get you a bike with three speeds.
1974 Encycl. Brit. Macropædia II. 522/2 The simplest automobile transmission is the sliding-spur-gear type with three or four forward speeds and a reverse.
1980 P. Lively Judgement Day x. 129 A shiny new bike with three speeds.
6.
a. Quickness, promptness, or dispatch in the performance of some action or operation. Frequently in the phrase with (all) speed.For the proverbial contrast with haste, see haste n. Phrases 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [noun] > quickness or promptness
speedOE
speediness1530
earliness1575
soonness1668
the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > [noun] > expedition or dispatch
speedOE
diligence1490
expedition1529
dispatch1570
expedience1597
urgence1612
navity1623
expediteness1635
OE Genesis 2668 Spedum sægde eorlum Abimeleh,..waldendes word.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1083 Ðo seiden ðis angeles to loth wið sped.
c1475 Brome Abraham & Isaac in N. Davis Non-Cycle Plays & Fragm. (1970) 54 Thys fyere schall brene a full good spyd.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. FFiii Let vs ryse agayne with all spede.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 28v Barley..must be geathered with more speede then other graynes.
c1614 W. Mure tr. Virgil Dido & Æneas i. in Wks. (1898) I. 77 Let vs a navie then prepair with speid.
1665 S. Patrick Parable of Pilgrim xii. 81 All that surprises me is..that such feeble words as mine should..with such speed excite so high a degree of Love.
1701 W. Penn in Mem. Hist. Soc. Pennsylvania (1870) IX. 51 Get them transcribed by good hands with all speed.
1768 T. Gray Descent of Odin in Poems 87 Uprose the King of Men with speed.
1847 A. Helps Friends in Council I. i. viii. 128 Insist upon speed in learning... This speed gives the habit of concentrating attention.
1891 F. W. Farrar Darkness & Dawn II. lv. 217 The execution of the Christians was to be hurried on with all speed.
b. Photography. The relative rapidity with which a plate, film, etc., is acted upon by light or by a developer.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > action of taking photograph > technical factors > [noun] > speed
speed1892
1892 W. de W. Abney Instruct. Photogr. (ed. 9) 103 Measuring the speed and gradation of plates.
1935 S. C. Johnson Foulsham's Compl. Photographer iii. 26 The last of the four factors which must be considered in determining the length of an exposure is the speed of the plate or film.
1977 ‘J. le Carré’ Honourable Schoolboy vi. 123 Loading a cassette into the camera, he set the film speed.
c. Photography. = shutter speed n. at shutter n. Compounds 4.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > action of taking photograph > technical factors > [noun] > speed > shutter speed
shutter speed1889
speed1917
1917 P. L. Anderson Pict. Photogr. v. 95 Of course these high speeds are not necessary for indoor work, where an exposure of less than 1/8 second is practically never desired.
1947 A. Ransome Great Northern? xxiii. 286 He set the aperture at f.11, the speed at a twenty-fifth of a second.
1977 J. Hedgecoe Photographer's Handbk. 162 Speeds of 1/500–1/2000 sec allow you to freeze subject action beyond the perception of the eye.
d. The rate, measured in words per minute, at which a person can write shorthand or can type; spec. (frequently in plural of both skills) applied to the capacity of a particular person.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > system of writing > shorthand > [noun] > speed
speed1886
w.p.m.1936
1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 840/2 180 or 200 words a minute is no uncommon speed in certain styles of speech such as the conversational,—a speed which many [short~hand writers]..would never acquire.
1933 E. D. Smith & A. J. Munro Guide to High Speed Writing in Pitman's Shorthand i. 10 It is well within the capacity of the majority..to reach a speed of, say, 160 words a minute, and..all writers of the system should make up their minds that that is to be their minimum speed.
1957 C. Smith Case of Torches xi. 137 He..said there wouldn't be much shorthand or typing. So I thought—well, I don't want to lose my speeds, then I heard about this job.
1976 H. Tracy Death in Reserve i. 14 I'm a sort of secretary... I've got high speeds in shorthand and typing.
7. An amphetamine drug, esp. methamphetamine. Cf. speedball n. 1a. slang (originally U.S.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > stimulant drug(s) > specific stimulant drugs
amyl nitrite1881
Methedrine1939
Dexedrine1942
benzylpiperazine1947
dexamphetamine1949
dextro-amphetamine1949
methamphetamine1949
Drinamyl1950
benny1955
dexie1956
purple heart1961
crystal1964
French blue1964
meth1966
speed1967
splash1967
purple1968
crank1969
crystal meth1969
crystal methamphetamine1970
dex1984
ice1989
BZP1997
tik2004
1967 Avatar (Boston) 1 Sept. 17/1 The life expectancy of the average speed-freak..is less than five years.
1967 Economist 11 Nov. 628/2 Their deaths were just one instance of the violent crime that is being associated with the increasing use of an amphetamine with the trade name of Methedrine and the nick-name of ‘speed’.
1969 J. Fabian & J. Byrne Groupie viii. 66 Now he was on speed the paranoid fantasies were really beginning.
1970 N. Saunders Alternative London xxii. 175 Amphetamines (‘speed’) are stimulants which can temporarily reduce fatigue, increase mental activity and give you a general feeling of well-being.
1975 J. Symons Three Pipe Probl. ix. 65 ‘What was he on?’.. ‘Speed mostly. Sometimes acid.’
1978 G. Vidal Kalki v. 109 Dr Lowell produced a hypodermic needle. I let him shoot me up... I assumed that he had given me speed.
8. In various prepositional phrases:† a. in speed, with speed, speedily. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swiftly [phrase]
on fastec1275
as greyhound (let out) of leasha1300
a good (also great, etc.) shake13..
in hastec1300
(wiþ) gret yre13..
in speeda1325
good speeda1400
on (also upon) the wing or one's wing1508
with post1569
on or upon the speed1632
on the run?1679
by the run1787
like a house on fire (also afire)1809
at the double-quick1834
with a run1834
fast and furious1851
at the double1860
at the rate of knots1892
for (or on) the (high) jump1905
like blue murder1914
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1221 Abraham rapede him sone in sped For to fulfillen godes reed.
c1480 (a1400) St. Placidus 800 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 92 One þe morn scho went in sped to þe gret maister of þe knychtede.
c1480 (a1400) St. George 232 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 182 Ta þi horse in spede, & pas in haste fra þis stede.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalmes David (1823) xxxi. i Deliver me, deliver me in speed.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iii. iv. 49 Take this same letter..In speede to Mantua.
b. at speed (also †at his speed), †on or upon the speed, at a rapid rate of movement.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swiftly [phrase]
on fastec1275
as greyhound (let out) of leasha1300
a good (also great, etc.) shake13..
in hastec1300
(wiþ) gret yre13..
in speeda1325
good speeda1400
on (also upon) the wing or one's wing1508
with post1569
on or upon the speed1632
on the run?1679
by the run1787
like a house on fire (also afire)1809
at the double-quick1834
with a run1834
fast and furious1851
at the double1860
at the rate of knots1892
for (or on) the (high) jump1905
like blue murder1914
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. vi. 259 [He] stroke at me with his halfe-pike; but his horse being at his speed, I preuented his cruelty.
1646 D. Evance Noble Order 26 They are most upon the speed after [this game].
1670 J. Milton Hist. Brit. ii. 40 Riding on the speed down a steep Hill.
1781 W. Cowper Table Talk 685 Always at speed, and never drawing bit.
1807 R. Wilson Private Diary (1862) II. viii. 293 We were galloping at speed when an unfortunate marais received my horse.
1865 Visct. Milton & W. B. Cheadle N.-W. Passage by Land (1867) iv. 62 We gained on them rapidly, until within about 200 yards, when they went off at speed.
c. at (also †on) full speed, = 9b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swiftly [phrase] > at full speed
full speed1382
with topsailc1400
at spursa1500
on (also upon) the (spurs or) spur1525
amain1555
a main pace (also speed)1567
full tilt?a1600
upon full stretch1697
at full tilt1713
at (also on) full speed1749
(at) full split1836
full chisel1837
(at) full pelt1841
full swing1843
ventre à terre1848
full out1886
at full lick1889
hell-for-leather1889
all out1895
eyes out1895
flat out1932
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones IV. xi. ii. 97 The young Lady, looking behind her, saw several Horses coming after on full Speed . View more context for this quotation
1785 W. Cowper Task vi. 331 The horse..That skims the spacious meadow at full speed.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. v. 610 The waggoners drove off at full speed.
1876 M. M. Grant Sun-maid I. ii. 75 The Marquis drove at full speed.
9. In adverbial phrases (without article):† a. good speed, speedily, quickly. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swiftly [phrase]
on fastec1275
as greyhound (let out) of leasha1300
a good (also great, etc.) shake13..
in hastec1300
(wiþ) gret yre13..
in speeda1325
good speeda1400
on (also upon) the wing or one's wing1508
with post1569
on or upon the speed1632
on the run?1679
by the run1787
like a house on fire (also afire)1809
at the double-quick1834
with a run1834
fast and furious1851
at the double1860
at the rate of knots1892
for (or on) the (high) jump1905
like blue murder1914
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 4786 I sagh caf on þe watur flete;..dunward flette it wel god spede.
c1475 (?c1425) Avowing of King Arthur (1984) l. 628 Toward Carlele ryȝte He hies gode spede.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) iv. 507 Ȝon is the kyng, but dreid; Ga we furth till hym bettir speid.
a1513 W. Dunbar Ballat Abbot of Tungland in Poems (1998) I. 56 He fled away gud speid.
b. full speed, with the utmost speed possible. (Cf. 8c.) Also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swiftly [phrase] > at full speed
full speed1382
with topsailc1400
at spursa1500
on (also upon) the (spurs or) spur1525
amain1555
a main pace (also speed)1567
full tilt?a1600
upon full stretch1697
at full tilt1713
at (also on) full speed1749
(at) full split1836
full chisel1837
(at) full pelt1841
full swing1843
ventre à terre1848
full out1886
at full lick1889
hell-for-leather1889
all out1895
eyes out1895
flat out1932
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > [adjective] > going at full speed
careering1599
full speed1890
full out1920
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Deut. iii. 18 Fulspeed goo ȝe before ȝoure britheren.
1655 Ld. Orrery Parthenissa III. ii. iii. 224 He thrust himselfe into the Wood full speed.
1700 S. L. tr. C. Frick Relation Voy. in tr. C. Frick & C. Schweitzer Relation Two Voy. E.-Indies 212 I ran full speed towards her to help her.
1737 S. Berington Mem. G. di Lucca 74 Ten or a dozen arm'd Turks came upon us full Speed from the Town.
1835 W. Irving Tour on Prairies xxi. 187 Away several of them dashed, full speed.
1842 W. T. Brande Dict. Sci., Lit. & Art 1401/2 If a screw vessel be reversed until she attains full speed astern, and so then suddenly changed to full speed ahead, it will be found that a dynamometer diagram taken at that point..will have a straight, and not a serrated line.
1860 Mercantile Marine Mag. 7 139 The engines are going ‘full speed ahead’.
1890 Times 18 Sept. 4/2 The Blanche..went out..for her four hours' full-speed trial of her engines.
1919 E. Shackleton South i. 33 The engines running full speed astern produced no effect until all hands joined in ‘sallying’ ship.
1989 T. Parker Place called Bird vii. 79 I guess I'm a very organisational lady and a very organised one too, I run at full speed ahead most of the time.
10. † b. to have (also get) the speed of, to outdistance, get ahead of (one). Obsolete.
a. to make speed, to hurry, to make haste.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swift movement in specific manner > move swiftly in specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > move with urgent speed
rempeOE
fuseOE
rakeOE
hiec1175
i-fusec1275
rekec1275
hastec1300
pellc1300
platc1300
startc1300
buskc1330
rapc1330
rapec1330
skip1338
firk1340
chase1377
raikc1390
to hie one's waya1400
catchc1400
start?a1505
spur1513
hasten1534
to make speed1548
post1553
hurry1602
scud1602
curry1608
to put on?1611
properate1623
post-haste1628
whirryc1630
dust1650
kite1854
to get a move on1888
to hump it1888
belt1890
to get (or put) one's skates on1895
hotfoot1896
to rattle one's dags1968
shimmy1969
the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > proceed rapidly [verb (intransitive)] > hasten or hurry > to do something
spake12..
speeda1400
to make haste?a1475
to make speed1548
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Matt. iii. 30 Jesus left Galile..& maketh spede vnto Jordane.
1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Mattyns f. i O God, make spede to saue me.
1630 R. Norton tr. W. Camden Hist. Princesse Elizabeth i. 75 Though she made but slow speed about it.
1663 in Extracts State Papers (Friends' Hist. Soc.) (1911) 2nd Ser. 180 Make all possible speed and gett Matts and deales for a Bulke head there if to be had.
1868 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1877) II. vii. 117 They made good speed with their journey.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > move at specific rate [verb (transitive)] > gain (ground) upon > catch up or overtake > outstrip
to leave behinda1393
overgoc1425
preventa1500
outgo1530
out-trot1555
outstrip1567
stripa1592
outpacea1596
out-swift1606
to have (also get) the speed ofa1616
outstretcha1642
to give (a person or thing) the go-by1642
to gain bounds of1653
outrace1657
outspeed1661
to cast behind1681
distance1691
belag1721
repass1728
outfoot1740
outdistance1789
fore-reach1803
to have the foot of1832
to run away1843
slip1856
short-head1863
tine1871
forespeed1872
outrate1873
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) i. v. 34 Our Thane is comming: One of my fellowes had the speed of him. View more context for this quotation
1647 T. Fuller Good Thoughts in Worse Times ii. xiv. 83 The other had got the speed of him, having first accused himselfe,..and already obtained his pardon.
c. to be one's speed: to suit one's tastes, interests, or abilities; to be one's ‘cup of tea’ (cup n. Phrases 2 (ii)). colloquial (chiefly U.S.).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > liking or favourable regard > take a fancy or liking [verb (intransitive)] > be to one's taste or liking
to be one's speed1923
1923 E. L. Rice Adding Machine v. 77 ‘Did you ever carve a leg of lamb?’.. ‘No, corned beef was our speed.’
1954 R. P. Bissell High Water iii. 36 ‘I'm gonna buy you an Uncle Wiggly book,’ I said. ‘He'd be just your speed.’
1970 J. Sangster Touchfeather, Too i. 11 Lesbianism..isn't really my speed at all. I'm a normal type girl.
11.
a. An inflammatory disease of cattle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of cattle > [noun] > other disorders of cattle
murrainc1450
gall1577
gargyse1577
sprenges1577
wisp1577
closh1587
milting1587
moltlong1587
hammer1600
mallet1600
scurvy1604
wither1648
speed1704
nostril dropping1708
bladdera1722
heartsick1725
throstling1726
striking1776
feather-cling1799
hollow-horn1805
weed1811
blood striking1815
the slows1822
toad-bit1825
coast-fever1840
horn-distemper1843
rat's tail1847
whethering1847
milk fever1860
milt-sickness1867
pearl tumour1872
actinomycosis1877
pearl disease1877
rat-tail1880
lumpy jaw1891
niatism1895
cripple1897
rumenitis1897
Rhodesian fever1903
reticulitis1905
barbone1907
contagious abortion1910
trichomoniasis1915
shipping fever1932
New Forest disease1954
bovine spongiform encephalopathy1987
BSE1987
mad cow disease1988
East Coast fever2009
1704 Dict. Rusticum Speed, this Distemper in Cattle [1725 Fam. Dict., in Black Cattle] may well be so called, because it either mends or ends in three Days time.
a1800 S. Pegge Suppl. Grose's Provinc. Gloss. (1814) Speed, a disease among young cattle in the Autumn. North.
1834 W. Youatt Cattle 362 In the West Riding, where from the rapidity with which it runs its course it is called the speed, it also generally begins behind.
1881 J. P. Sheldon Dairy Farming 63/1 Calves are extremely liable to the fatal disease of ‘hyant’, ‘speed’.
b. A section of a cone-pulley giving a particular rate of speed.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > parts which provide power > [noun] > pulleys > parts of
shipper1852
speed1881
creep1909
V-belt1911
1881 F. Young Every Man his own Mechanic §550. 257 The steps or speeds of the cone pulleys are generally flat and driven by a flat leathern belt.
c. (See quot. 1889.)
ΚΠ
1889 W. Marcroft Ups & Downs 18 The class of machinery first made at the Hartford New Works, Werneth, was called speeds, generally known as roving frames.
Compounds
General attributive. C1. In the names of devices or apparatus for regulating or indicating speed. Descriptions of some of these are given by E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. (1875–84). The number of such combinations greatly increased in the later 19th cent., as speed-band, speed-board, speed-brake, speed-gear, etc.
speed-check n.
ΚΠ
1898 Westm. Gaz. 18 Nov. 9/1 The Sawyer footbrake—which appears to be a very reliable form of speed-check.
speed-clock n.
ΚΠ
1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. II. No. 3220 Watchman's detector clocks, steam or speed clock.
speed-cone n.
ΚΠ
1869 W. J. M. Rankine Cycl. Machine & Hand-tools 312 The most convenient way of changing the velocity-ratio of rotation of a pair of shafts..is by means of ‘speed-cones’.
speed-gauge n.
ΚΠ
1843 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 6 248/2 The name Sillomêtre..might be well rendered in English Speed-gauge.
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2261/2 Osborne's speed-gage is for the purpose of determining the rate of speed at which shafting or wheels are rotating.
speed indicator n.
ΚΠ
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products Speed-indicator, a gauge for testing the velocity of steam engines or machines.
1863 A. Young Naut. Dict. (ed. 2) 244 Tyssen's Ship's Log, or Speed Indicator.
1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 341 A roller blind shutter, with outside speed indicator.
speed light n.
ΚΠ
1898 R. Kipling Fleet in Being ii The Sub watches the speed-lights of the next ahead, for as those lanterns change so must he adjust his pace.
speed-meter n.
ΚΠ
1938 Times 14 Oct. 15/4 The driver of the omnibus..traversed the evidence of the speed-meter by pleading that his omnibus was so constructed as to be incapable of travelling at the alleged illegal speed.
1958 Manch. Guardian 21 Jan. 6/3 The use of radar speedmeters to enforce the law on the roads promises to be more successful than most efforts to reduce..road accidents.
speed pulley n.
ΚΠ
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 1262/2 The fly-wheel (of a foot-lathe), on which is the cord passing to the speed-pulley of the head-stock.
speed regulator n.
ΚΠ
1880 Engineer XLIX. 404 Speed regulator for light machinery.
speed rigger n.
ΚΠ
1888 C. T. Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 129 Speed riggers, riggers graduated to allow of the driving band being shifted to increase or reduce the running power.
C2. Denoting the attainment of, or capacity for, high-speed, as speed-bike, speed bowler, speed-gallop, speed launch, speed-skating (hence speed-skater, speed-skate).Also, in later use, speed-car, speed-lathe.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > winter sports > skating > [noun] > speed-skating
speed-skating1852
power skating1948
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > winter sports > skating > [noun] > speed-skating > skater
speed-skater1852
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > winter sports > skating > [noun] > skate > types of
rocker1820
High Dutcher1836
speed-skate1852
fen-runners1873
bobskate1903
tube1923
tube skate1923
clap skate1997
1852 R. F. Burton Falconry in Valley of Indus viii. 81 The four miles of best speed gallop.
1885 Daily News 24 Jan. 6/7 The performances of the exponents of speed skating.
1894 Westm. Gaz. 6 Jan. 5/2 The tendency is altogether in favour of the ‘speed’ skate as against the slow, antiquated article.
1897 Westm. Gaz. 27 Jan. 7/2 Speed-skaters..are thoroughly enjoying themselves.
1904 Trans. Inst. Naval Architects 46 161 The American speed launches.
1950 W. Hammond Cricketers' School v. 52 No one exemplified better than Larwood the true speed-bowler's action.
1955 S. Spender Coll. Poems 1928–53 ii. 74 Speed-bikes and tracks are real.
1977 Arab Times 3 Dec. 10/5 West Indian speed bowlers Andy Roberts and Michael Holding helped bring about the collapse of the Australian ‘super test’ cricket team.
C3. Miscellaneous. See speedball n., speedway n.
a.
speed-capacity n.
ΚΠ
1900 Daily Express 16 July 1/1 A motor car with a claimed speed capacity of 85 miles an hour.
speed-law n.
ΚΠ
1926 Scribner's Mag. Aug. 152/1 I hear you break speed-laws as recklessly as hearts.
speed-limit n.
speed-praise n.
ΚΠ
1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iii. 30 Thou that thrice..Loosest thy speede-praise, and thy life beside.
speed-rate n.
ΚΠ
1894 C. H. Cook Thames Rights 25 The reasons against fixing a speed-rate are these.
speed record n.
ΚΠ
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2262/2 Such a machine..does not fulfill the conditions of a speed-recorder.
1935 P. Frankau I find Four People iv. 235 About this time the copywriter accomplished a speed-record for journalism.
1942 E. Paul Narrow Street xvii. 132 The Bremen made her maiden trip to New York and set a speed record.
speed-stroke n.
ΚΠ
a1618 J. Sylvester Mem. Mortalitie ii, in Wks. (1880) II. 223 Having Death's speed-stroak undiscerned given.
speed-trial n.
ΚΠ
1883 W. H. Maw Recent Pract. Marine Engin. I. 286/2 It was not found possible to take indicator diagrams on the full speed trials, but a considerable number of trials were run at lower speeds progressing up to 11·74 knots per hour.
1885 Pall Mall Gaz. 14 Jan. 11/1 The speed trials of the Umbria..and the Collingwood.
b.
speed-time adj.
ΚΠ
1917 A. T. Dover Electr. Traction ii. 8 A speed-time curve, for a run between two stations, is usually made up of periods of—(1) acceleration; (2) constant speed, or ‘free running’..; (3) coasting..; and (4) retardation or braking.
1976 P. R. White Planning for Public Transport x. 216 In urban areas, higher rates of acceleration followed by a period of coasting can enable a given schedule to be covered using less energy (this is illustrated with reference to speed-time curves in Chapter 4).
speed-torque n.
ΚΠ
1920 Whittaker's Electr. Engineer's Pocket-bk. (ed. 4) 544 For electric traction on railways and tramways, a motor possessing a variable speed-torque characteristic is preferable to one possessing a constant speed-torque characteristic.
1962 G. A. T. Burdett Automatic Control Handbk. i. 2 The motor must often have a speed/torque characteristic to match that of the driven machine.
C4. † speed while n. Obsolete a short time.
speed-boat n. a high-speed motor boat.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > mechanically propelled vessels > [noun] > motor vessel > fast
speed-boat1911
fizz-boat1977
1911 New Fry's Mag. May 224/1 The number of speed~boats, pure and simple, has grown greatly.
1928 Daily Express 25 May 6 The speedboat,..with its underwater exhausts muffled, had approached near enough to open fire.
1929 ‘Seamark’ Down River i. 6 Hillary Kittredge..had fallen under the lure of speed-boat racing.
1930 J. Cannan No Walls of Jasper viii. 139 He bathed with his boys, treated them to rides in speed boats.
1940 R. Chandler Farewell, my Lovely xxxvii. 280 The speedboat scuffed the Montecito's ancient sides.
1976 H. Kemelman Wednesday Rabbi got Wet liii. 311 There are houses all around this little lake and each..must have a speedboat or an outboard.
speed-boating n. riding in a speed-boat.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > [noun] > boating > in specific type of boat
tow-boating1887
motor-boating1905
powerboating1906
faltbooting1926
speed-boating1928
scootering1957
jet-skiing1976
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > water sports except racing > other water sports > [noun] > riding in speedboat
speed-boating1928
1928 Sunday Disp. 5 Aug. 11/3 The heavy demand for petrol, created by the new sport of ‘speed’ boating.
1975 Country Life 30 Oct. 1129/1 A useful side effect of the speed-boating..was the weed being cut by the propellers of the boats.
speed bug n. [bug n.2 4a.] slang one who enjoys travelling at high speed; an addict of speed sports.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > riding in a vehicle > [noun] > one who rides in a vehicle > one fond of travelling at speed
speeder1891
speed merchant1913
speed bug1914
speed demon1941
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > racing with vehicles > [noun] > addict of speed sports
speed bug1914
speed demon1941
1914 Automobile Topics XXXIV. 191/1 The trials..were crowded with excitement for the speed bugs who filled the grandstands.
1928 Daily Express 14 July 4/5 There will be..a women's aquaplane race and various other ‘speedbug’ activities.
speed bump n. colloquial = sleeping policeman n. at sleeping adj. 1f.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > road > parts of road > [noun] > surface > ridge to slow traffic
hump1924
speed breaker1940
rumble strip1957
judder bar1960
sleeping policeman1972
road hump1974
speed hump1974
speed bump1975
1975 Public Wks. Aug. 73/1 Speed bumps had been installed in many apartment complexes and shopping center parking lots.
1978 T. L. Smith Money War (1979) i. 59 As he approached the speed bumps, Hogan slowed... They took the bumps gently and then pulled off the road.
speed cop n. slang a policeman or official detailed to enforce traffic laws, esp. a motorcycle patrolman.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > policeman > traffic policeman
traffic officer1852
traffic cop1905
highway patrol1909
speed cop1924
1924 Cape Argus 12 Jan. 20 These ‘speed cops’, however, wear uniform and are not got up to appear like ordinary motor-cyclists.
1925 Dollar Mag. Dec. 205 Speed-cops are posted on the highways with powerful motor-cycles to catch unwary speedsters.
1933 Amer. Speech 8 72/2 His Grace, on being stopped, demanded ‘Are you a speed-cop?’ The patriotic magistrates fined him £10. 10s. and suspended his license for three months.
1948 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 3 July 77/3 Speed cops still speak politely to me.
speed demon n. [demon n. 4] slang one who likes to travel at great speed, a ‘speed bug’; also transferred.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > riding in a vehicle > [noun] > one who rides in a vehicle > one fond of travelling at speed
speeder1891
speed merchant1913
speed bug1914
speed demon1941
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > racing with vehicles > [noun] > addict of speed sports
speed bug1914
speed demon1941
1941 Prince Chula Chakrabongse Dick Seaman xiv. 357 Racing motorists usually referred to driving in a race as either ‘cracking’ or ‘dicing’, the latter word having been derived from the journalists' former habit of writing about their being ‘speed demons dicing with death’.
1962 A. Lurie Love & Friendship vii. 113 Helen, the regular cashier, was a speed demon.
1971 Black Scholar Jan. 35/1 Jack Johnson..has been called many things, e.g. show off, fool, speed demon.
speed freak n. originally U.S. a person addicted to an amphetamine drug (cf. sense 7 above).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > drug addiction or craving > [noun] > drug addict > addicted to barbiturates or amphetamines
pill-popper1963
speed freak1967
1967 Avatar (Boston) 1 Sept. 17/1 The life expectancy of the average speed-freak..is less than five years.
1973 R. Mills Young Outsiders ii. 63 In the summer of 1970 Jimmy would have been labelled a ‘speedfreak’ within the circles in which he moved.
speed gun n. a hand-held device for estimating the speed of a moving vehicle (proprietary name in U.S.); see also sense Compounds 6.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > vehicular traffic > [noun] > traffic control > maximum legal speed > detection of infringements
trap1906
speed trap1927
radar speed trap1947
radar trap1962
amphometer1964
VASCAR1966
speed gun1972
1972 Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Office) 1 Aug. tm29/1 CMI, Incorporated, Minturn, Colo. Filed Feb. 1, 1971. Speed Gun for Traffic Radar..First use Dec. 10, 1970.
1972 Tuscaloosa (Alabama) News 14 Dec. 32/4 The hand-held Digital Doppler, a new tool police are using to catch speeders... The police purchased eight of the devices—also known as ‘speed guns’.
1976 Telegraph (Brisbane) 24 June 1 The speed guns are being used by traffic police mainly in areas of potential traffic hazard.
speed hog n. [hog n.1 6b] slang one who causes annoyance by exceeding the normal or legal speed limit.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > driving or operating a vehicle > driver or operator of vehicle > [noun] > driver of motor vehicle > fast or reckless
hell driver1699
scorcher1885
automaniac1902
speed merchant1913
speedster1921
thruster1925
cowboy1928
speed hog1928
speeder1974
1928 Daily Express 23 Aug. 9/4 The scheme to limit ‘speed-hogs’.
1974 Country Life 30 May 1360/1 I join issue with the RYA on their objection to..boat registration... Without it the speed hog..will often continue to go undetected.
speed king n. slang (originally U.S.) a motor-racing champion.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > racing with vehicles > motor racing > [noun] > driver
road racer1885
racing driver1903
racing motorist1904
speed king1913
stock-car driver1955
privateer1969
stock-car racer1976
stocker1976
1913 Illustr. Technical World Mag. June 493/1 (caption) Ralph De Palma. The ‘speed king’ of 1912.
1938 C. Graves Swiss Summer 108 German princes, English speed-kings..are usually to be found here.
1976 Western Mail (Cardiff) 22 Nov. 3/2 Yesterday's event was held to raise money for the memorial fund to the Welsh speed king who died in a rally incident in the summer.
speed limit n. (a) the maximum speed a vehicle is capable of achieving (quot. 1893); (b) the maximum speed permitted by law on certain types of road or to specified classes of vehicle.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > movement of vehicles > [noun] > maximum speed of vehicle
speed limit1893
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > vehicular traffic > [noun] > traffic control > maximum legal speed
speed limit1893
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > [noun] > motor vehicle > expressing speed or acceleration > maximum speed
speed limit1893
1893 Outing 22 104/2 Both assured her owner that she had not touched her speed limit.
1902 To-day 13 Mar. 648 The Automobile Club urges that the existing speed limit should be abolished.
1903 Punch 15 July 21 The Premier's chauffeur has been twice convicted of exceeding the legal speed-limit for Motor Cars.
1909 Chambers's Jrnl. Mar. 225/1 A speed-limit sometimes as low as..four and three-quarter miles per hour.
1926 Motor 26 Oct. 561/1 (heading) The speed limit. 35–40 m.p.h. or none at all?
1970 P. Laurie Scotl. Yard v. 113 Fifty mph..is only ten mph above the speed limit there.
1973 H. McCloy Change of Heart i. 6 As for my mother, I can't make her drive ten miles over the speed limit.
speed-man n. a cyclist who rides at a high rate of speed.
ΚΠ
1896 Cycling Times 10 June 2/4 Smith, who is a ‘speed man,’ may be able to push the same machine..to the tune of twenty [miles] an hour.
speed merchant n. colloquial one whose ‘business’ concerns the use of speed; spec. (a) Cricket a fast bowler; (b) one who enjoys driving or riding at high speed (cf. merchant adj. 1).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > riding in a vehicle > [noun] > one who rides in a vehicle > one fond of travelling at speed
speeder1891
speed merchant1913
speed bug1914
speed demon1941
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > driving or operating a vehicle > driver or operator of vehicle > [noun] > driver of motor vehicle > fast or reckless
hell driver1699
scorcher1885
automaniac1902
speed merchant1913
speedster1921
thruster1925
cowboy1928
speed hog1928
speeder1974
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > cricketer > [noun] > bowler > types of bowler
slow bowler1823
fast bowler1828
bias bowler1854
round-arm1858
demon bowler1861
left-hander1864
chucker1882
lobster1889
slow1895
leg-breaker1904
speed merchant1913
leg-spinner1920
spin bowler1920
off-spinner1924
quickie1934
tweaker1935
swerve-bowler1944
pace bowler1947
seam bowler1948
spinner1951
seamer1952
wrist-spinner1957
outswinger1958
swing bowler1958
quick1960
stock bowler1968
paceman1972
leggy1979
1913 J. B. Hobbs How to make Century xi. 80 The speed merchant was now sending up such hot samples that his every delivery was more likely to take a wicket than offer a chance of runs.
1923 Daily Mail 15 Feb. 6 The goggled ‘speed merchant’ cannot see so well as usual.
1928 Sunday Express 8 Apr. 2/3 This adventurous speed-merchant also hopes to have a crack at the motor-boat record.
1928 Weekly Disp. 20 May 20 To have to bat always against the three West Indian speed merchants on a wicket that is ‘kicking’ a bit.
1951 Ithaca (New York) Jrnl. 9 Aug. 21/1 [He] had a glass arm and he certainly was no speed merchant.
1982 J. B. Hilton Sunset Law i. 11 A County Court judge..drove at reckless speed about the highways, menacing speed-merchants with a Smith & Wesson.
speed-read v. (transitive and intransitive) to read rapidly by assimilating several phrases or sentences at once.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > reading > [verb (intransitive)] > rapidly
speed-read1960
society > communication > reading > [verb (transitive)] > read rapidly
skim1799
scan1926
speed-read1960
1960 Time 24 Nov. 21 Bagwell taught himself to speed-read, gulping whole paragraphs at a glance.
1973 Sat. Rev. World (U.S.) 20 Nov. 64/2 (caption) I speed-read your last book in two minutes and twenty seconds.
speed-reader n. one who speed-reads.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > reading > reader > [noun] > rapid
speed-reader1965
1965 N.Y. Times 5 June 22 The Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics Institute..teaches prospective speed-readers to see every word on the page—but to read three words at once, not one word out of three.
1975 ‘S. Marlowe’ Cawthorn Jrnls. xix. 162 He wished he had something to read... He was a speed-reader. He had an IQ of 140.
1983 Listener 20 Jan. 25/2 A library for an extra-terrestrial speed-reader cruising above the British Isles.
speed-reading n.
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society > communication > reading > [noun] > rapidly
scanning1937
speed-reading1965
1965 G. Jackson Let. 3 Oct. in Soledad Brother (1971) 89 Be sure to look into the course on speed reading.
1977 Time 3 Jan. 13/3 Having promised to read every bill brought up before the state senate, he ran into 2,300 of them. So he took a speed-reading course and read them all.
speed-road n. a speedway.
ΚΠ
1928 Daily Chron. 9 Aug. 5/1 The ‘autostrada’, the famous motor speed road between Milan and Como.
speed shop n. slang (see quot. 1954).
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society > occupation and work > workplace > workshop > [noun] > other types of workshop
shopc1325
tavern1521
machine shop1827
fitting-shop1840
planing mill1844
body shop1845
job shop1851
farm shop1862
craft workshop1906
fixit shop1949
speed shop1954
chop shop1971
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > testing, servicing, and storage of motor vehicles > [noun] > modifying to specific type > place where work done or parts sold
speed shop1954
1954 Amer. Speech 29 102 Speed shop, a parts house, where engine parts and equipment are sold, and sometimes where hot rods are built.
1962 Punch 17 Oct. 561/1 Engineering firms and speed shops supply every beefed or stripped refinement.
1977 Hot Car Oct. 49/3 You can often pick up reasonable headers off the shelf from a good speed shop.
speed trap n. a system operated by the police for detecting motorists exceeding the speed-limit.
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society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > vehicular traffic > [noun] > traffic control > maximum legal speed > detection of infringements
trap1906
speed trap1927
radar speed trap1947
radar trap1962
amphometer1964
VASCAR1966
speed gun1972
1927 U. Sinclair Oil! 9 ‘Sit still,’ said the man. ‘Don't look round. A speed-trap!’
1980 G. M. Fraser Mr American xviii. 344 She had been caught in a police speed trap on the way to Brighton.
Speed-walk n. U.S. a proprietary term for a moving walkway for conveying passengers; also (with lower-case initial) in general use; cf. travelator n.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > other means of conveyance > [noun] > moving pavement
moving sidewalk1871
moving platform1892
moving walkway1899
slidewalk1948
Speed-walk1955
travelator1955
moving pavement1960
1955 Britannica Bk. of Year 490/1 Speedwalk, a moving sidewalk.
1956 Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Office) 4 Sept. tm9 Passenger Belt Conveyors, Inc., Akron, Ohio... Speedwalk..For Passenger Belt Conveying Apparatus. First use Mar. 29, 1954.
1960 Times Rev. Industry Apr. 28/1 A twin-track passenger-carrying conveyor belt..is being constructed in London... Known as speed-walks.. and travolators, at least two dozen installations are already in use in the United States.
1978 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts 126 431/1 We can expect to see improvements in short-haul feeder and ancillary systems such as speedwalks, travelators and escalators.
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the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [noun] > a short or moderate space of time
weekeOE
littleOE
roomOE
stoundOE
startc1300
houra1350
furlong wayc1384
piecea1400
weea1400
speed whilec1400
hanlawhilea1500
snack1513
spirt?1550
snatch1563
fit1583
spurta1591
shortness1598
span1599
bit1653
thinking time1668
thinking-while1668
onwardling1674
way-bit1674
whilie1819
fillip1880
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 1285 Alle he spoyled spitously in a sped whyle.
speedwriter n.
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society > communication > writing > writer > writer according to system > [noun] > one who uses written symbols > writer in shorthand > types of
Pitmanite1908
speedwriter1955
Palantypist1958
1955 W. Gaddis Recognitions iii. ii. 740 You didn't send me a speedwriter down.
Speedwriting n. originally U.S. the proprietary name of a form of shorthand which uses the letters of the alphabet.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > system of writing > shorthand > [noun] > systems of
radiography?1616
polygraphy1747
Tironian notes1828
sound-hand1837
phonography1840
phraseography1845
idiography1847
Pitman1869
Pitman1916
Speedwriting1925
snelskrif1949
1925 Speedwriting (Brief Eng. Systems, Inc.) 7 (caption) Speedwriting, the wonderfully efficient new system of shorthand, developed by Miss Emma B. Dearborn, can be written after a few weeks' study, either by pencil or on any make of type~writer.
1927 Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Office) 8 Aug. 242/1 Speedwriting... Printed Lessons and Examination Sheets Issued from Time to Time. Claims use since Dec. 29, 1924.
1929 Radio Times 8 Nov. 439/2 Speedwriting (The Universal Shorthand).
1938 E. B. White Quo Vadimus? 24 They sell a new kind of shorthand course, called the Quigley Method of Intensive Speedwriting.
1962 New Scientist 5 July 11/1 Part of the Speedwriting method is to cut out most of the vowels and unnecessary movement in making other letters.
1976 T. Stoppard Dirty Linen 24 You do speedwriting I suppose?.. Yes, if I'm given enough time.
1982 A. Barr & P. York Official Sloane Ranger Handbk. 84/1 Every Sloane secretarial college has a nimbus of girls with their shorthand books or red speed~writing books.
C5. With verbal nouns and participial adjectives, as speed-making, speed-mingling, speed-multiplying, speed-producing.
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the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > [noun] > haste > action of
speed-making1548
hurrying1613
properation1615
1548 T. Cooper Bibliotheca Eliotæ (rev. ed.) Properantia, haast, speede makyng.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Acceleration, hast, or speedmaking.
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2262/1 This gearing-up or..speed-multiplying..is found in many kinds of machinery.
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2262/2 A system of speed-multiplying gear.
1885 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche ix. vi. 107 Betwixt the twin speed-mingling fans of gold.
1893 Outing 22 106 Another great speed-producing son of the same sire.
1901 Munsey's Mag. 25 737/1 When the colt settled into his stride again, the effort at speed making was continued as before.
C6. Photography. In names for an electronic flash-gun, as speed flash, speed gun, speed lamp, speed-light.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > camera > parts and accessories of camera > [noun] > flash-gun or tube
photoflash1926
flash-gun1930
speed flash1940
speed gun1940
speed lamp1940
speed-light1940
flash1945
flash tube1945
electronic flash1946
ring flash1954
1940 A. L. M. Sowerby Wall's Dict. Photogr. (ed. 15) 315 Externally, a speed-gun takes the form of a box or casing that can be attached to the camera to make the whole a single unit.
1950 W. F. Berg Exposure 339 A special kind of flash lamp is the speed flash, also known as multiple or electronic flash... One of the most important advantages of speed lamps is their exceedingly short flash time.
1953 Sun (Baltimore) 10 Jan. 5 (caption) A photo snapped of Prime Minister Winston Churchill..showed five-sided ‘spots’. It was raining at the time and was attributed to reflections from a speedlight.
1969 A. Feininger Compl. Colour Photographer ii. 45 Electronic flash or speedlight has..advantages over conventional flashbulbs.
1979 SLR Camera Jan. 36/1 The AE-1 is..an automated system camera. It includes a power winder for auto film transport, a speedlite for auto flash photography and an automatic exposure control.
Draft additions October 2009
Photography and Optics. The rapidity with which a lens allows a photographic emulsion to respond to light passing through it, typically expressed by the f-number of the lens; the degree to which a lens allows short exposures.A faster speed corresponds to a lower f number.
ΚΠ
1877 Photogr. News 20 July 340/2 As parts of the lens were covered up, a proportionate loss of light and speed would be the result.
1891 W. K. Burton Photogr. Optics vi. 58 It is inadvisable to lose any of the available speed of the lens by reducing the aperture representable by a whole number.
1946 Pop. Sci. Monthly Mar. 122/2 The principal application of the new glass will be in..‘fast’ lenses, such as those having a relative aperture (speed) of f/4.5 and larger.
1986 Pop. Mech. Sept. 56/3 Lens speed remains a fast f/1.2.
1993 Flyer July 51/1 I don't use a polarising filter..as it will drop the speed of the lens two stops.
2007 C. Nelson Master Guide Glamour Photogr. vi. 87 What really sets lenses apart is not focal length, though, it's speed.
Draft additions March 2003
up to speed: (a) up to full or working speed; at or up to a necessary or expected level of performance, up to scratch; (b) (in extended use) fully informed, up to date.
ΚΠ
1879 N.Y. Times 25 Nov. 5/3 The mare was shown and her qualities and record were expatiated on. She looked decent and up to speed.
1926 A. E. Newton Greatest Bk. in World v. 139 Starting due east, almost before you have had time to get up to speed, you will pass the Tredyffrin Country Club.
1927 A. E. Clayton Performance & Design Direct Current Machines xii. 264 If a motor be brought up to speed and then switched off, it will slow down as represented by the running-down curve.
1972 J. Quick & T. Labau Handbk. Film Production xvi. 178 When the camera has been brought up to speed the cameraman calls ‘speed’.
1974 N.Y. Times 15 Aug. 33/5 ‘To bring up to speed’ was used occasionally in the Watergate hearings, meaning ‘to brief’.
1980 Aviation Week & Space Technol. (Nexis) 8 Dec. 9 The number one task is to bring the new secretary up to speed to begin running the Defense Dept. with its $150-billion annual budget on Jan. 21.
1997 When Saturday Comes Jan. 13/1 By spending only four months of the year in the country, he could hardly expect to be properly up to speed on the local players on the fringes of the national squad.
Draft additions March 2003
colloquial. on speed: (a) (of a person) under the influence of amphetamines; (b) in similative figurative contexts (esp. in —— on speed): as if under the influence of amphetamines, esp. acting in an extremely frenetic or frenzied manner.
ΚΠ
1969 J. Fabian & J. Byrne Groupie viii. 66 Now he was on speed the paranoid fantasies were really beginning.
1975 C. James Fate of Felicity Fark vi. 55 On he gabbled as if ripped on Speed.
1991 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 16 Dec. a6/3 Mr. Mulroney has been scrambling across the country like a little Dutch boy on speed, trying to plug various leaks in the dikes of support.
1995 N. Blincoe Acid Casuals xxxi. 225 We found Burgess prowling round the offices of a broken-down club in Longsight, out of his mind on speed and vodka.
1999 C. Newland Society Within (2000) 192 Storming into her bedroom like the Tasmanian Devil on speed, it took her sister-in-law Sonia just one glance to guess who their unwanted visitor had been.
Draft additions March 2003
speed camera n. originally and chiefly British a mounted roadside camera, automatically triggered to capture speeding offences on film, esp. for use in subsequent penalties or prosecution (cf. Gatso n.); (also) a hand-held camera used for the same purpose (cf. speed gun n. at Compounds 4).
ΚΠ
1991 Times 11 Nov. 3/4 Mr Rifkind could reinforce this initiative by the introduction of random breath testing at special road-side check points, and the widespread implementation of red light and speed cameras, which would provide a further and substantial saving of young lives.
1993 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 9 Jan. 125 Speed camera records showed about 11% of drivers exceeding the speed limit in July 1990 compared with over 20% before the campaign.
1995 AA Mag. Winter 24 The flash of the speed camera is becoming an ever more common occurrence around the UK as police forces crack down on speeding motorists in their quest to improve road safety.
2002 Daily Record (Glasgow) (Nexis) 21 May 2 Police were also banned from using hand-held speed cameras in unmarked vehicles at the roadside.
Draft additions March 2006
speed dating n. a process by which people seeking romantic relationships attend organized events at which they have a short conversation with each of several potential partners.Originating in the U.S. Jewish community; some events still focus on people belonging to a particular ethnic or cultural group.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > match-making > [noun] > specific kind
computer dating1965
speed dating2000
2000 Los Angeles Times 15 Jan. (Orange County ed.) b10/1 If you're Jewish and dating in Southern California, you may want to try ‘speed dating’... Like other Aish HaTorah programs, speed dating is meant to reverse the increasing tendency of young Jews to marry outside the faith.
2001 Weekend Austral. (Brisbane) 17 Feb. (Review Suppl.) 7/2 A guaranteed conversation with 10 different single guys within an hour? Welcome to the newest idiot-proof introduction to introductions: speed dating.
2004 Evening Standard (Nexis) 11 July c18 Britain's first naked speeddating event will take place in Brighton next month.
Draft additions December 2003
speed garage n. British a form of garage music (garage n. and adj. Additions) originating in the United Kingdom in the late 1990s, characterized by a fast beat and a heavy bass line like that of drum and bass.
ΚΠ
1997 Anyone fancy talking about House Music? in alt.music.house (Usenet newsgroup) 3 Apr. If you ask me UK Garage, London Underground, Sunday Scene, Speed Garage, Garidge or whatever you want to call it seems to be taking over London at the moment.
2002 D. Aitkenhead Promised Land i. 10 Underground garage is now known as speed garage, and with its transfer to mainstream popularity seems to have lost much of its delicate subtlety.
Draft additions March 2003
speed hump n. = sleeping policeman n. at sleeping adj. 1f; cf. road hump n. at road n. Compounds 6, speed bump n. at Compounds 4.
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society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > road > parts of road > [noun] > surface > ridge to slow traffic
hump1924
speed breaker1940
rumble strip1957
judder bar1960
sleeping policeman1972
road hump1974
speed hump1974
speed bump1975
1946 N.Y. Times 27 Jan. 3 (advt.) Discouragement to autos was considered duty of many American municipalities when ‘horseless carriage’ first appeared on streets, terrifying pedestrians. Ordinances put anti-speed humps in paving.]
1974 Times 17 May 2/6 (heading) [Road Traffic] Bill proposes speed humps.
1983 Chicago Sun-Times 23 Aug. 15 The west suburb's council is considering a proposal that one or more ‘speed humps’ be built as an experiment.
2000 Transport Matters (Greater Manchester Transportation Unit) Spring 2/5 The transport blueprint aims to help pedestrians by: cutting traffic speeds near homes using speed humps, road narrowing and 20 mph areas.
Draft additions March 2014
speed limiter n. a device that prevents a vehicle from being driven above a certain speed.
ΚΠ
1914 Sci. Amer. 14 Feb. 148/1 The automatic governors employed to-day do not assist the driver in the operation of the vehicle. They are merely speed limiters.
1960 Pop. Mech. May 74/2 A new automatic speed limiter, actually a speed governor, holds the boat at a preset speed.
1985 Guardian (Nexis) 17 Jan. The committee also recommends..standardised speed limiters for coaches and lorries.
2005 Car & Driver Aug. 94/1 Big luxocars with 155-mph speed limiters are abundant.
Draft additions December 2015
speed pill n. colloquial (a) a (real or notional) pill which is administered or taken to make a racing animal or person move faster; (b) an amphetamine tablet; cf. sense 7 (now the usual sense).
ΚΠ
1909 Duluth (Minnesota) News-Tribune 25 July 4 This does not mean that he is familiar with the ‘speed pill’, but that he knows how to get a horse in proper shape and keep him on edge.
1919 Munsey's Mag. June 133/1 Joe Rogers comes tearing out of the park like he'd had a speed pill.
1968 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 3 Mar. 7 a/1 Amphetamines—These are also known as ‘speed pills’.
1994 Amer. Racing Pigeon News Feb. 18/1 He had told me to administer speed pills to his five entrants.
1997 Bangkok Post 26 Feb. i. 4/6 A man was arrested..for allegedly possessing 60,000 amphetamine tablets..as he was on his way to deliver the speed pills to clients in Bangkok.
2007 F. Owen No Speed Limit iv. 105 What were sold as speed pills were more often than not look-alike tablets..which contained no amphetamine.
Draft additions June 2016
speed dial n. a function on some telephones which allows numbers to be entered into a memory and dialled with the push of a single button; often (and in earliest use) attributive, as speed-dial button, speed-dial function, etc.
ΚΠ
1982 N.Y. Times 14 Mar. f25/2 With its 20 function buttons, you have direct access to a combination of speed-dial and intercom numbers.
1983 Computerworld 10 Oct. 68/4 The unit can also be used..to perform intelligent telephone features such as speed-dial, last number and automatic redial.
1992 Harper's Mag. Jan. 26/1 To make it easier, you can program the number into your telephone and use the speed-dial function.
1997 J. Hynes Publish & Perish 32 He lifted the phone and fingered the speed-dial button for Elizabeth's number.
2013 C. Doctorow Homeland x. 208 There were two people in my speed dial I hadn't called in months and months.
speed-dial v. transitive to dial (a telephone number) by using a speed dial function; to call (a person) in this way.
ΚΠ
1982 Kerrville (Texas) Mountain Sun 30 Oct. (advt.) All it takes is a touch of a button and your Phone Controller can speed dial..numbers.
1984 Computerworld (Nexis) 16 Apr. 56 Features of the product include the ability to store and speed-dial up to 250 local and long-distance numbers.
2005 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 30 June d3/2 Brokers from Manhattan to Montauk..frantically speed-dialed their news contacts to weigh in on the report, as television helicopters buzzed over the estate.
speed dialling n. the action or capability of dialling a telephone number stored in a memory with the push of a single button; the using of a speed dial function.
ΚΠ
1968 Harvey (Illinois) Tribune 14 Nov. 4/2 Some day they'll put callers a finger-tip away from such conveniences as..speed-dialling enabling a person to reach frequently-called numbers..by dialling fewer digits.
1980 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 6 Oct. The new set features an alphanumeric display, pushbutton dialing, on-hook dialing, speed dialing, [etc.].
2006 Whitelines Feb. 127/2 Each country will also have a different emergency phone number, which should be saved on your cell for speed-dialling.
Draft additions September 2017
speed breaker n. chiefly Indian English and U.S. regional (southern and south Midland). a ridge set in a road surface to encourage drivers to reduce their speed; = speed bump n. at Compounds 4.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > road > parts of road > [noun] > surface > ridge to slow traffic
hump1924
speed breaker1940
rumble strip1957
judder bar1960
sleeping policeman1972
road hump1974
speed hump1974
speed bump1975
1940 E. Liverpool (Ohio) Rev. 1 Aug. (Home ed.) 11/4 Small indeed may be the accident which causes spinal fracture. One of the commonest forms is the hitting of a speed breaker.
1976 Times of India 1 July 8/3 The hell chariot that bounded diabolically over speed breaker and pot hole.
2004 T. Khair Bus Stopped 81 Wait until you come to the first proper speed breaker, the huge ones that villagers construct on their own.
2013 New Yorker 14 Oct. 64/1 Let it be a nice highway, with speed breakers and lights.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
speedv.
/spiːd/, U.S. /spid/ I. Senses relating to success or accomplishment.† 5. To be profitable, expedient, or useful. Chiefly impersonal. Obsolete.
1. proverbial.1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. cii*v Oft in romanis I reid Airly sporne late speid.1593 R. Harvey Philadelphus 5 He that goeth aspying goeth aspeeding. [See also spare v.1 6c.]† b. Const. of: To succeed in getting, obtaining, or accomplishing. Obsolete.
a. intransitive. Of persons: to succeed or prosper; to meet with success or good fortune; to attain one's purpose or desire. Now archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > prosper or flourish [verb (intransitive)] > prosper or be successful
speed993
achievec1300
provec1300
edifya1400
chevise14..
exploit1477
cottonc1560
fadge1611
through1675
to make the riffle1853
arrive1889
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > succeed or be a success [verb (intransitive)] > achieve success (of persons)
speed993
achievec1300
escheve?a1400
succeed1509
to turn up trumps1595
fadge1611
to nick ita1637
to hit the mark (also nail, needle, pin)1655
to get on1768
to reap, win one's laurels1819
to go a long way1859
win out1861
score1882
to make it1885
to make a ten-strike1887
to make the grade1912
to make good1914
to bring home the bacon1924
to go places1931
993 Battle of Maldon 34 Ne þurfe we us spillan, gif ge spedaþ to þam.
a1122 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) ann. 656 Swa he spedde swa him Crist huðe, swa þet in feuna geare wæs þet mynstre gare.
1154 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) ann. 1140 Eustace..wende to bigæton Normandi þær þurh, oc he spedde litel.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 12317 He.. wollde winnenn crist..All alls he wann eue. & adam Ȝiff þatt he mihhte spedenn.
c1275 Moral Ode 258 in Old Eng. Misc. Ne his poure kunesmen at him ne myhte nouht spede.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 734 In his auen schap To sped he hopd haue na hap.
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. iii. 164 Menede hire to þe kyng To haue space to speken, spede ȝif heo mihte.
c1425 Brut 363 So the King come to Engelond ayen, for lesyng of moo of his peple, and þus he spedde not þere.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 12 Quhen he sawe, yat he mycht nocht jn that maner spede.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 39 Sum speidis [at law] for he in court hes meynis.
a1542 T. Wyatt Coll. Poems (1969) 2 Sonest he spedeth, that moost can fain.
1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 14 They..sent for ayde where they were most like to speed for the present, and left the future to look to it selfe.
a1688 J. Bunyan Israel's Hope Encouraged in Wks. (1855) I. 614 Wouldst thou be a man that would pray and prevail? Why, pray to God in the faith of the merits of Christ, and speed.
1825 W. Scott Betrothed vii, in Tales Crusaders II. 148 Here we come near to the spot where we hope to speed, or nowhere.
1835 R. Browning Paracelsus iii. 120 This he has done and nobly. Speed that may!
1836 J. Martin Disc. 367 It is a thing in which we are sure of speeding.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > make a success of [verb (transitive)] > succeed in or achieve a purpose
reacheOE
awinc1000
attain1393
speedc1400
comprehenda1450
escheve1489
to make out1535
consecute1536
compass1549
achievea1569
aspire1581
obtain1589
subdue1590
to go a long (also great, short, etc.) way1624
arrivea1657
kill1899
nail1981
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xxxiii. 151 Many grete lordes has assayd diuerse tymes to passe;..bot þai myght noȝt spede of þaire iournee.
?1515 Hyckescorner (de Worde) sig. B.iiiiv But there he coude not spede of his praye.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 727/1 And y maye spede of this ones, I care nat and I never sewe to him whyle I lyve.
?1573 L. Lloyd Pilgrimage of Princes f. 166v Until she spead of the like chaunce as Procris did, she could neuer rest.
1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. i. 41 Their young men may goe a wooing to diuers maides, till such time as they haue sped of a wife.
1643 W. Prynne Soveraigne Power Parl. App. 26 But he sped little of his purpose.
2.
a. With adverbs: To succeed or fare well, ill, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > a proceeding > proceed or carry on an action [verb (intransitive)] > get on well or badly
farec1000
speeda1122
wendc1325
hapc1350
wieldc1384
frame1509
shift?1533
to make out1776
to get on1861
a1122 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) ann. 1114 Sona þær æfter sende se cyng him..to Rome æfter þes ærcb' pallium, & an munec mid him.., & hi þær well spæddon.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 14242 Swa þatt teȝȝ mihhtenn spedenn wel. To winnenn erþlic ahhte.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3314 ‘Ille,’ he seiden, ‘haue we sped’.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1585 Ðu salt ðe betre sped If it beð bi ðin faderes red.
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 4279 Y trowe þou schalt fol euele spede.
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. iii. 270 Spille it and spare it nouȝte, þow shalt spede þe bettere.
a1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula 75 I spedde effectuously with sich a clistre þat is þer made.
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 113 b/1 He answerd that he had euyl spedde.
1577 R. Holinshed Hist. Eng. 189/2 in Chron. I Some warres he had, and sped diuersly.
1580 T. Tusser Fiue Hundred Pointes Good Husbandrie (new ed.) f. 19 But woorse shall he speed, that soweth ill seed.
a1628 J. Preston New Covenant (1634) 86 When we pray best, we speed best.
1676 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Iliads ii. 116 I wonder less that we no better speed.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Odyssey in Iliad & Odyssey II. vii. 61 For boldest men Speed ever best.
b. With how (or however).
ΚΠ
c1230 Hali Meid. 27 Hwase, of engel, lihteð to iwurðen lahere þen a beast,..loke hu ha spede!
c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 148 Heo tolden þe kinge al heore cas, hov heo hadde i-sped.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 17288 + 123 Þai..told vnto þer maisters how þat þai hade spedd.
a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Merlin (1913) II. l. 9656 Merlyne hadde hym told..Hou that they thanne spedden jn desert.
c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) lxxxi. 247 He demaunded how I had sped in my iourney.
1563 B. Googe Eglogs Epytaphes & Sonettes sig. I.iiii I entred in, with fearefull Harte, muche doutyng howe to speede.
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary ii. 109 Not caring how the messengers sped, so the letters were not understood.
1653 in E. M. Thompson Corr. Family of Hatton (1878) I. (Camden) 9 How~ever wee speed heere, 4 of our Est India shipps are taken by the Dutch.
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. x. 91 Well, my girls, how have you sped?
1814 R. Southey Roderick xxv. 501 Go tell thy father now how thou hast sped With all thy treasons!
1868 C. M. Yonge Cameos 1st Ser. xvii. 129 If she could thus treat a royal uncle, how must not men inferior in rank have sped?
c. With as or thus.
ΚΠ
1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης xvii. 157 In this Warr against the Church if hee hath sped so, as other haughty Monarchs whom God..hath hard'nd to the like enterprize.
1653 H. Holcroft tr. Procopius Persian Wars i. 24 in tr. Procopius Hist. Warres Justinian Thus the Romans spedd with these people.
3. impersonal. To go or fare (well or ill) with a person, etc. †In early use with dative or to.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > a proceeding > go well or ill with [verb (transitive)]
speedc1275
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 14726 Þu scalt..beode þer Godes godd-spel þe scal spede ful wel.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 9329 Þa iseh Vðer king þat him ne spedde naðing.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 8163 Þe cristine were of þe sarazins an onywar biset, & vor þe sarazins were ywar, hom spedde wel þe bet.
a1325 Life Adam 67 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878) 140 To Adam wende we, And loke we hou him spet Þat..He brak godes comandment.
?1542 H. Brinkelow Complaynt Roderyck Mors xxiv. sig. H2v Comenly it spedeth vnhappyly to that reame, where thei be embassytors.
1610 J. Guillim Display of Heraldrie iii. xii. 122 Though sometimes it speed with them contrary to their Titles.
1854 J. F. Ferrier Inst. Metaphysic Introd. 8 As time has advanced, it has constantly sped worse with philosophy, instead of speeding better.
4.
a. Of things: to prove successful; to thrive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > succeed or be a success [verb (intransitive)]
speedc1175
fayc1300
provec1300
flourishc1400
passc1425
prosper1434
succeedc1450
to take placea1464
to come well to (our) pass1481
shift?1533
hitc1540
walka1556
fadge1573
thrive1587
work1599
to come (good) speedc1600
to go off1608
sort1613
go1699
answer1721
to get along1768
to turn up trumps1785
to come off1854
pan1865
scour1871
arrive1889
to work out1899
to ring the bell1900
to go over1907
click1916
happen1949
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 1765 Godess enngle þeod. Ne maȝȝ nohht unnderrstanndenn Hu mikell cristess bede maȝȝ. Towarrd hiss faderr spedenn.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 28317 Oþer mans beginyng of gode dede Oft-sith i letted for to spede.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalmes David (1823) xxxvii. iii Lay all thy trusting On hym, and he will make it speed.
1626 W. Yonge Diary (1848) 93 Arminianism and Pelagianism do much speed abroad, in divers parts of this realm.
1726 J. Swift Cadenus & Vanessa 10 A Project..which if it sped, Wou'd shew the Merits of the Cause.
1866 Contemp. Rev. 1 263 The suits of the Bishop of Salisbury against Dr. Williams and of Dr. Fendall against Mr. Wilson had not sped.
b. With distinguishing words (as well, ill, how, etc.): to succeed, fare, go (on), make progress, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > a proceeding > proceed or carry on an action [verb (intransitive)] > be carried on or proceed > in specific way
goeOE
farec1230
speeda1250
to get on1813
a1250 Owl & Nightingale 763 Oft spet wel a lute lyste, Þar muche strengþe..myste.
c1400 Gamelyn 800 ‘I se wel,’ seyde Gamelyn, ‘the justice is sette; Go aforn, Adam, and loke how it spette.’
a1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula 95 And so schal it better spede.
1449 in Cal. Proc. Chancery Queen Elizabeth (1830) II. 55 The xxvj li. levyng behynde shall be wele and truly paied..unto the forseid Thomas like as the forseid werkes spedyn.
1542 H. Brinkelow Lamentacion sig. Av The Cytye neuer spedeth so euell as when they so renne a whorehuntyng.
1681 W. Robertson Phraseologia Generalis (at cited word) This business speeds well under our hands.
1733 W. Ellis Chiltern & Vale Farming 79 The Acorn here may speed very well.
1782 W. Cowper Conversation in Poems 228 Relate how many weeks they kept their bed, How an emetic or cathartic sped.
1855 W. H. Prescott Hist. Reign Philip II of Spain I. i. viii. 283 Philip's suit no longer sped so favorably as before.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > be advantageous or beneficial [verb (intransitive)]
dowc950
frameOE
fremeOE
helpc1000
gainc1175
holdc1175
vail1303
yainc1325
it is speedfulc1340
profit1340
speedc1380
prowa1400
bootc1400
prevailc1450
avail1489
mister1490
skill1528
stead1594
advantagea1616
conduce1624
c1380 Eng. Wycliffite Serm. in Sel. Wks. II. 109 It spediþ to ȝou þat o man die for þe puple.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Ecclus. xxxvii. 31 Forsothe not alle thingus to alle speden.
1423 Kingis Quair xxviii Ane wofull wrecche that to no wight may spede.
a1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula 3 For-als-miche in hard thingis it spedith to studiers for to perseuere and abide.
6. absolute.c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 551 On spec of a spote may spede to mysse Of þe syȝte of þe souerayn þat syttez so hyȝe.1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe III. xi. 271 Achieving an adventure, with only his good sword, and his good arm to speed.† c. In the adjuration so God me speed, etc. Obsolete.† d. Const. of or with: To provide or furnish (one) with something. Chiefly in past participle. Also reflexive. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To further or assist (a person); to cause to succeed or prosper. Also reflexive. Now archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > promotion or help forward > promote or help forward [verb (intransitive)]
speeda1240
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > promotion or help forward > promote or help forward (a person, plan, etc.) [verb (transitive)]
furtherc888
fremeOE
filsenc1175
fosterc1175
speeda1240
theec1250
advancec1300
upraisea1340
increasec1380
forthbearc1400
exploit?a1439
aid1502
to set forward(s)1530
farther1570
facilite1585
to set forthward1588
forward1598
facilitate1599
accommodate1611
succeed1613
bespeed1615
to set (a person) on (also upon) his (also her, etc.) legs1632
subserve1645
push1758
support1779
leg up1817
a1240 Sawles Warde in Old Eng. Hom. I. 267 Hwa se þis writ haueð ired, Ant crist him haueð swa isped, Ich bidde..Þet ȝe bidden ofte for me.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 29002 Seuen ar þai [sc. boons] þat vs mai spede Til al þat euer we haue of nede.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Reeve's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 113 I pray you speed vs heythen what ye may.
a1500 (?c1400) Sir Triamour (Cambr.) (1937) l. 1196 Y tryste in god þat he schall me spede.
1503–4 Act 19 Hen. VII c. 28 Preamb. The Kinges Highnes..is therfor enclyned to here & spede resonably the seid peticioners.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 727/1 Serve God well and he shall spede you in all your busynes.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) i. ii. 90 For let the Gods so speed mee, as I loue The name of Honor, more then I feare death. View more context for this quotation
b.
(a) In the phrase God speed me, thee, etc., or variations of this. (Cf. Godspeed n.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > there is much success [phrase] > wish for success
God speed mec1330
c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 2266 He may bidde god me spede.
c1400 Gamelyn 827 God spede me this day at my newe werk.
c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1700 God spede yow go forth and ley on faste.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xviii. 389 ‘Do than,’ he said, ‘and god the speid!’
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) ii. l. 93 Go hens,..the mekill dewill the speid.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. xxviii. f. xlijv Iesus mett them sayinge: God spede you.
1553 T. Wilson Arte Rhetorique (1580) 4 As for other that haue no witte, thei wil neuer learne it, therefore God speede them.
1617 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1848) (modernized text) II. 17 God speed him, and send him a better voyage than I even hope for!
1641 J. Milton Of Reformation 54 The little adoe..puts mee into the mood to tell you a tale ere I proceed further; and Menenius Agrippa speed us.
1677 G. Miege New Dict. French & Eng. ii. sig. Zz 2v/2 God speed you well.
1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe III. ii. 46 Rowena waved a graceful adieu to him..—the Saxon bad God speed him.
1866– in Sc. use ( Eng. Dial. Dict. ).
(b) Without object, as God speed.
ΚΠ
?1499 J. Skelton Bowge of Courte (de Worde) sig. Aviv God spede broder to me quod he than.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. iii. 33 Noe. God spede, dere wife! How fayre ye? Uxor. Now, as euer myght I thryfe, The wars I the see.
c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme cxxix. 28 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 221 God speed frendes, god giue you ioy.
1604 [see sense 6b(c)]. a1616 W. Shakespeare Richard III (1623) ii. iii. 6 Neighbours, God speed [1597 Good morrow neighbours].
(c) Also God speed the plough, etc.
ΚΠ
c1500 Spede the Plough 8 I pray to God, spede wele the plough.
?1569 T. Norton Warnyng agaynst Papistes sig. Oiv Let vs draw..together, and then say and sing merily, God spede the ploughe of England.
1589 J. Horsey Let. in E. A. Bond Russia at Close of 16th Cent. (1856) App. ii. 310 Thearby have they mayntayned their decayed trade..by meanes of their traffycque. God speed their plowe!
1604 T. Dekker & T. Middleton Honest Whore v. ii. 179 Duke. God speed father. Mad. God speed the plough: thou shalt not speed me.
?1610 J. Fletcher Faithfull Shepheardesse ii. sig. E2 Great Pan for Sirinx sake bid speed our plow.
1781 W. Cowper Charity 123 Heav'n speed the canvass, gallantly unfurl'd [etc.].
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > assertion or affirmation > [phrase] > formula used in taking an oath
so help me Godc1175
so God me speedc1330
so maideuxc1450
so help me bob1821
so help me1869
swelp1894
c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 1631 Þe king swore, so god him spede, Þat boþen schuld haue riȝt.
1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. xi. 107 ‘Ȝut sauereþ me nat þi sawe,’ quaþ ich, ‘so me crist spede’.
a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Merlin (1913) II. l. 12034 J wolde, so god me spede, That pes purchaced were betwixen vs two.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. x. 97 Whos is that chyld, so God the spede?
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > supply > provide or supply (something) [verb (transitive)] > provide or supply (a person or thing) with anything
feather?c1225
serve?c1225
astore1297
purveya1325
purveyc1325
warnishc1330
supply1384
bego1393
garnish?a1400
stuff14..
instore1432
relievec1480
providec1485
appurvey1487
support?1507
furnishc1515
repair1518
supply1529
speed1531
help (a person) to (also with)1569
sort1598
suffice1600
enduea1616
starta1640
employ1690
find1713
to fix out1725
issue1737
service1969
1531 W. Tyndale Answere Mores Dialoge f. vv We beleue, we deserue to be sped of all that oure blinde hertes desyre.
c1557 Enterlude of Youth (new ed.) sig. Biv I can spede the of a seruaunte of pryce That wil do the good seruice.
1576 G. Pettie Petite Pallace 36 She..began to cast in her head how she myght be sped of an other husband.
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. iii. xlvi. 119 For this time I am sped of sureties ynough.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 144 There also a man may be sped with bondslaues.
1665 R. Brathwait Comment Two Tales Chaucer (1901) 56 Of such an one she speeds her self, that it seems his Soul deserv'd well of her.
7. In past participle (see also sense 6):† d. Prepared, equipped; skilled or versed in something. Obsolete.
a. Furthered or brought to the end or condition desired; so dealt with as to be satisfied or well situated. (In later use also with well.)
ΚΠ
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 94 Er thou be sped, Thou schalt me leve such a wedd, That [etc.].
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 24752 Þat gifs me list of hir to rede, For he es all spedd þat scho will spede.
c1450 Reg. Oseney 111 If hit happe my wife to be i-spedde in child-beryng at Barton.
?1566 W. P. tr. C. S. Curio Pasquine in Traunce 35 For the moste part, she that went to bed a Virgin, arose from thence spedde with hir errande.
c1571 E. Campion Two Bks. Hist. Ireland (1963) i. vi. 23 And then yf they gett a peece of rugg to cover them they are well spedd.
c1605 (?a1500) London Lickpenny (Harl. 367) l. 35 in Anglia (1898) 20 413 But, lackyng mony, I could not be sped.
1657 W. Rand tr. P. Gassendi Mirrour of Nobility ii. 110 [He] went on purpose..into Dauphine; and returned sped, about the beginning of the year following.
1680 H. More Apocalypsis Apocalypseos 208 But they that have obtained their glorified body,..they are sped already, and are safe from this fate.
1713 J. Addison in Guardian 6 July 2/1 When the Maid was once sped she was not suffered to tantalise the Male Part of the Commonwealth.
1864 A. C. Swinburne Atalanta 368 That this great hunt with heroes for the hounds May leave thee memorable and us well sped.
b. In contexts implying an evil plight or awkward situation.
ΚΠ
1532 Remedy of Love in Wks. G. Chaucer 368 b/1 To warne him nowe he is too farre spedde; It is to late him to forbede.
a1593 C. Marlowe Tragicall Hist. Faustus (1616) sig. F3 Benu. 'Zons, hornes againe. Mart. Nay chafe not man, we all are sped.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 49 Like as those that be sped with the yellow jaunise.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) v. ii. 190 We three are married, but you two are sped . View more context for this quotation
1709 M. Prior Ladle in Poems 92 Told 'em, for Supper or for Bed They might go on, and be worse sped.
1821 W. Scott Kenilworth I. v. 95 ‘We are fairly sped now,’ said Foster; ‘yonder is thy lord's signal.’
c. Appointed or elected to (or as) something. rare.
ΚΠ
c1380 J. Wyclif Wks. (1880) 23 For who so may most gold brynge sunnest schal be sped to grete benefices.
1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses II. 18 His father got him to be sped a Kings-scholar at Westminster.
1903 J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang VI. ii. 307 Sped to New College = elected to a scholarship.
ΚΠ
a1450 tr. De Imitatione iii. xxi. 89 Wherfore be þou spedde & redy to fiȝtyng, if þou wolt haue þe victory.
a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Biiiv Can you a remedy for a tysyke That sheweth yourselfe thus spedde in physyke.
a1529 J. Skelton Phyllyp Sparowe (?1545) sig. C.iii In Chauser I am sped His tales I haue red.
8.
a. To promote or further (a matter); to bring to or towards a successful issue or termination; to accomplish or carry out.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > continuing > progress, advance, or further continuance > furtherance > further [verb (transitive)]
furtherc888
to bring onc1230
advancea1250
speeda1300
nourishc1300
avaunt1393
promotec1433
pasture?a1439
advantage?1459
promove1475
preferc1503
conduce1518
to set forth1528
to set forward(s)1530
to take forth1530
fillip1551
help1559
farther1570
foster1571
shoulder1577
to put forward1579
seconda1586
foment1596
hearten1598
to put on1604
fomentate1613
succeed1613
expeditea1618
producea1618
maturate1623
cultivate1641
encourage1677
push1693
forward1780
progress1780
admove1839
a1300 Cursor Mundi 23920 Mi will ic hope þou will me spede.
c1386 G. Chaucer Second Nun's Tale 357 Every maner boone That he God asked, it were sped ful soone.
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 162 Thei kepte that non other scholde Touchende of love his cause spede.
a1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula 36 Þan, forsoþe, may he..finaly spede þe forseid cure aboute four & tuenty wekes.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin v. 87 And ye haue also wele spedde the entente of Merlin.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. KKKviiiv This holy prayer..for his ennemyes, anone was spedde..for it conuerted saynt Paule.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 8 The next yere when king William had sped his businesse in the sayde Countrie, he returned into England.
1633 G. Herbert Cross in Temple iv Ev'n when my hopes seem to be sped, I am to grief alive.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals vii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 32 These Branches of a Stag..Young Mycon offers, Delia, to thy Shrine; But speed his hunting with thy Pow'r divine.
1771 E. Griffith Hist. Lady Barton II. 218 The only amends we can make you, for having sped our frolic, is to desire the favour of your company to dinner.
1847 R. W. Emerson Poems 36 He had so sped his wise affairs That he caught nature in his snares.
1850 E. B. Browning tr. Æschylus Prometheus Bound (rev. ed.) in Poems (new ed.) I. 163 Nor my sin, be it sped in the word that is said.
b. spec. To promote, expedite, prosecute (a bill, plea, etc.), as a matter of official or legal business.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > legal proceedings [verb (transitive)] > promote or expedite
speed1429
1429 Rolls of Parl. IV. 343/2 No Bill shal be sped but in the place ordeyned.
1482 in T. Rymer Fœdera (1711) XII. 164/2 In passyng and spedyng Letters of Transsumpt under the Seale of our Office of Mairaltie.
1566 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 466 Nocht to compone nor speid ony confirmatioun upoun the few abonewrittin.
a1601 W. Lambarde Archion (1635) 170 No Bill bee sped but in place ordayned for Councell.
1641 Termes de la Ley (1659) 94 All plees touching the life or maihem of a man, called Plees of the Crown, are usually held and sped in the King's name.
1726 J. Ayliffe Parergon Juris Canonici Anglicani 27 All those Writings and Matters, which..are sped in open Court at the Instance of one or both of the Parties Litigant.
1884 Law Rep.: Chancery Div. 27 63 The Plaintiffs ought to undertake to speed the action, that is to prosecute the action with due diligence.
9. † a. To treat of, deal with (a matter). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > occupy or engage (a person) [verb (transitive)] > conduct (an affair) > deal with (a matter)
takec1175
speedc1374
handc1440
to deal with1469
deduce1528
deal1586
wield1595
cope with1641
tractate1657
handlea1774
job1825
absorb1826
address1838
c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (1868) v. pr. i. 149 She hadde.. tournede þe cours of hir resoun to somme oþer þinges to ben tretid and to ben ysped.
c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. v. pr. iv. 161 Ȝit ne haþ it nat ben determined ne yspedd..diligently of any of yow.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 224 For mani [matters] ar þar for to spede.
b. To bring to an end; to finish or dispatch.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > completing > complete (an action or piece of work) [verb (transitive)] > get finished with (a task, etc.)
overcome?c1225
speedc1340
overtake?a1400
rid1467
finish1526
absolve1574
to work off1618
to get over ——a1646
to finish with1823
c1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 2682 Here es þe thred parte of þis buke spedde.
1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur iii. x. 111 Was there gras, otys, and breed for their horses; soone it was sped, and full hard was their souper.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 7601 When this speche was sped, speke þai no fferre.
1764 O. Goldsmith Traveller 11 At night returning, every labour sped, He sits him down the monarch of a shed.
1825 W. Scott Talisman iv, in Tales Crusaders IV. 52 Go, speed thine office quickly, sirrah.
c. To dispatch, destroy, kill (a person, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > killing > kill [verb (transitive)]
swevec725
quelmeOE
slayc893
quelleOE
of-falleOE
ofslayeOE
aquellc950
ayeteeOE
spillc950
beliveOE
to bring (also do) of (one's) life-dayOE
fordoa1000
forfarea1000
asweveOE
drepeOE
forleseOE
martyrOE
to do (also i-do, draw) of lifeOE
bringc1175
off-quellc1175
quenchc1175
forswelta1225
adeadc1225
to bring of daysc1225
to do to deathc1225
to draw (a person) to deathc1225
murder?c1225
aslayc1275
forferec1275
to lay to ground, to earth (Sc. at eird)c1275
martyrc1300
strangle1303
destroya1325
misdoa1325
killc1330
tailc1330
to take the life of (also fro)c1330
enda1340
to kill to (into, unto) death1362
brittena1375
deadc1374
to ding to deathc1380
mortifya1382
perisha1387
to dight to death1393
colea1400
fella1400
kill out (away, down, up)a1400
to slay up or downa1400
swelta1400
voida1400
deliverc1400
starvec1425
jugylc1440
morta1450
to bring to, on, or upon (one's) bierc1480
to put offc1485
to-slaya1500
to make away with1502
to put (a person or thing) to silencec1503
rida1513
to put downa1525
to hang out of the way1528
dispatch?1529
strikea1535
occidea1538
to firk to death, (out) of lifec1540
to fling to deathc1540
extinct1548
to make out of the way1551
to fet offa1556
to cut offc1565
to make away?1566
occise1575
spoil1578
senda1586
to put away1588
exanimate1593
unmortalize1593
speed1594
unlive1594
execute1597
dislive1598
extinguish1598
to lay along1599
to make hence1605
conclude1606
kill off1607
disanimate1609
feeze1609
to smite, stab in, under the fifth rib1611
to kill dead1615
transporta1616
spatch1616
to take off1619
mactate1623
to make meat of1632
to turn up1642
inanimate1647
pop1649
enecate1657
cadaverate1658
expedite1678
to make dog's meat of1679
to make mincemeat of1709
sluice1749
finisha1753
royna1770
still1778
do1780
deaden1807
deathifyc1810
to lay out1829
cool1833
to use up1833
puckeroo1840
to rub out1840
cadaverize1841
to put under the sod1847
suicide1852
outkill1860
to fix1875
to put under1879
corpse1884
stiffen1888
tip1891
to do away with1899
to take out1900
stretch1902
red-light1906
huff1919
to knock rotten1919
skittle1919
liquidate1924
clip1927
to set over1931
creasea1935
ice1941
lose1942
to put to sleep1942
zap1942
hit1955
to take down1967
wax1968
trash1973
ace1975
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > destroy or ruin a person
spillc950
amarOE
smitelOE
aspillc1175
mischievec1325
to bid (something) misadventurec1330
mara1375
fordoc1380
undo1390
wrack1564
to make roast meat of (also for)1565
wrake1567
wreck1590
speed1594
feeze1609
to do a person's business1667
cook1708
to settle a person's hash1795
diddle1806
to fix1836
raddle1951
1594 H. Plat Jewell House 74 They [sc. rats] shall not be able to rise..before you haue sped them.
1605 Play of Stucley in R. Simpson School of Shakspere (1878) I. 201 Braving braggart, since thou dost seek thy death, Look to thyself; I'll speed thee if I can.
1654 T. Fuller 2 Serm. 20 Thus no doubt Herod..was confident he..had sped and dispatcht the Iewish King amongst the rest.
1734 A. Pope Epist. to Arbuthnot 31 A dire Dilemma! either way I'm sped, If Foes, they write, if Friends, they read me dead.
1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe II. xvi. 310 But that I wore a shirt of Spanish mail under my plate-coat, I had been fairly sped.
1845 B. Disraeli Sybil III. vi. xii. 310 ‘Yes. I am sped,’ he said in a faint voice.
II. Senses relating to quickness or pace.
10. † c. To recall hastily. Obsolete. rare.
a. transitive. To send with speed or haste; to hurry (a person, etc.) out or away; also, to force to go.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swift movement in specific manner > move or cause to move swiftly in specific manner [verb (transitive)] > direct (one's way or steps) with haste > cause to move with haste
i-fuseOE
speeda1325
hastec1330
hasty?a1425
hasten?1537
press1611
hackney1617
scurry1850
shoot1895
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > causing to go away > command to go away [verb (transitive)] > send away or dismiss > with speed or haste
speeda1325
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3178 Egipte folc hem hauen ut sped.
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 106 Assaph-chan seeing all as he desired, speeds away a sure post with letters to Curroon.
1678 Spanish Hist. ii. 15 Eight Ships commanded by our Admiral were speeded out from Cadis.
1770 O. Goldsmith Deserted Village 309 If to the city sped—what waits him there?
1781 W. Cowper Expostulation 289 The cry in all thy ships is still the same—Speed us away to battle and to fame.
1845 C. Sumner True Grandeur Nations (1846) 10 The twenty thousand letters, which each fortnight are speeded from this port alone, could not be sent.
1885 Manch. Examiner 10 July 5/2 Every soul in that part of the mine would be sped into eternity.
b. To send out, cast, discharge, or direct, with some degree of quickness and force.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impelling or driving > projecting through space or throwing > throw [verb (transitive)] > project through space
to let flyOE
shootc1290
bolta1420
dischargec1500
speeda1569
outshoota1586
emit1711
wing1718
wise1721
arrow1796
wing1970
bomb-
a1569 A. Kingsmill Viewe Mans Estate (1580) 13 His tong spedyng wordes no faster then thei may seme wel bestowed.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Iliad in Iliad & Odyssey I. iii. 436 I sped my spear in vain.
1830 Ld. Tennyson Poems 43 His last arrow is sped.
1842 T. B. Macaulay Horatius xlv Through teeth, and skull, and helmet So fierce a thrust he sped.
1891 H. Herman His Angel xii. 236 The glance he sped towards his betrothed was brimful of expectant love.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > command > command or bidding > command [verb (transitive)] > summon > back
again-callc1390
revokec1425
rescrya1450
countermand1464
renvoy1477
reappeal1480
repeala1500
remand1525
recall1567
reclaim1590
return1590
speed1606
to call back1611
hark back1813
withcall1901
1606 G. W. tr. Justinus Hist. vi. 31 This their intent gaue matter of great mistrust vnto the Lacedemonians, causing them to speed home Agesilaus from his Persyan victories.
d. To enable (a person) to make speed in departing or travelling; to further the going or progress of; sometimes simply, to bid farewell to.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > departure, leaving, or going away > depart from or leave [verb (transitive)] > set out on (a journey, etc.) > enable (a person) to make speed in departing
speed1726
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous act or expression > use courteous actions or expressions to [verb (transitive)] > bid farewell to
beteachc1314
bid farewella1400
teacha1400
to beteach one good dayc1400
to bid (also say) adieu (to)c1425
farewella1586
lenvoy1596
adieu1602
speed1726
to tell a person goodbye1853
sayonara1883
1726 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey IV. xv. 84 True friendship's laws are by this rule exprest, Welcome the coming, speed the parting guest.
1734 A. Pope Satires of Horace ii. ii. 160 For I, who hold sage Homer's rule the best, Welcome the coming, speed the going guest.
1829 W. Scott Anne of Geierstein III. iii. 73 Assuring them, that..horses and faithful attendants should be ready to speed the youth on his journey to Nancy.
1849 D. Rock Church our Fathers II. 388 Everywhere the brief-bearer was received, treated, and speeded on his way.
1894 B. Chambers Butterfly 241 Next morning the host stood once more on the steps, speeding the parting Miss Scropes.
11.
a. To give speed to (a course, etc.); to hasten; to cause to be rapid in movement.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > cause to move swiftly [verb (transitive)]
featherc888
speeda1387
whirry1582
winga1596
rattle?1611
race1734
to send along1867
zip1891
roller-coast1962
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1871) III. 231 Þe cours was so i-sped þat the strokes come to-fore þe enemyes.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 19076 Up he ras, And to þe temple spede his pas.
1577 R. Holinshed Hist. Eng. 49/2 in Chron. I So through Fraunce [Claudius] sped his iourneys till hee came to ye side of the Occean sea.
1700 J. Dryden tr. Homer 1st Bk. Ilias in Fables 191 The helpless Priest reply'd no more, But sped his Steps along the hoarse-resounding Shore.
1746 P. Francis tr. Horace Art of Poetry 215 To the grand Event he [the poet] speeds his Course.
1807 J. Barlow Columbiad iii. 94 The king, undaunted in defensive war, Repels their hordes, and speeds their flight afar.
1855 F. Chamier My Trav. I. vi. 88 There before us passed traveller after traveller, each speeding his way to the hotel.
1885 W. D. Howells Rise Silas Lapham i. 24 Let me..take you out over the Milldam, and speed this mare a little. I'd like to show you what this mare can do.
b. To press or urge on, esp. in order to bring to an early result or termination; to expedite.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > do, deal with, acquire, etc., quickly [verb (transitive)] > cause to be done rapidly
speed1390
expeditea1618
mature1660
fast-track1971
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 180 The Souldan..In alle haste his cause spedde To sende for the mariage.
1463 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 17 To spede the tyme for ye sarmon.
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 639 Now tarie nocht thairfoir; speid hand, haif done.
1696 Mrs. Ray in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eminent Lit. Men (1843) (Camden) 202 I think it best to speed the finishing and fitting my Supplement for the Presse.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 17 O chast Lucina speed the Mother's pains, And haste the glorious Birth.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering II. 86 One of those prayers, or rather spells,..used by the vulgar and ignorant to speed the passage of a parting spirit.
1870 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer Iliad I. vi. 207 Command thy maids to speed the work.
c. To cause (time) to pass (away) quickly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > swift movement of time > cause to pass quickly [verb (transitive)]
fledge1614
speed1817
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy II. viii. 161 The incident..sped away a part of the time which hung so heavily on my hand.
1851 N. Hawthorne Snow Image (1879) 246 Then he strove to speed away the time.
d. To increase the speed or working rate of. Now chiefly with up. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > move at specific rate [verb (transitive)] > put on (speed) > accelerate
festinate1556
accelerate1570
quicken1605
swiften1638
urgea1721
press1742
smarten1825
speed1856
to hit up1893
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. I. xxvii. 353 Our plans were formed at once; there is nothing like emergency to speed, if not to instruct, the energies.
1894 Westm. Gaz. 4 Sept. 7/1 What of machinery? Shall we get that ‘speeded up’ sufficiently to counterbalance the shorter working day?
1909 C. F. G. Masterman Condition of Eng. ii. 23 When life has become ‘speeded up’ to the motor-car level.
1909 Chambers's Jrnl. 6/2 As though the Eastern worker..could be at the same time underfed yet ‘speeded up’ indefinitely.
1923 Daily Mail 12 June 6 The London and North-Eastern Railway are speeding up their services.
1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 3 Dec. 979/3 He brought youth to the theatre; he speeded it up.
1974 A. Lurie War between Tates xiv. 277 He has the sense of being slowed down and speeded up alternatively.
e. To give a specified speed to (a machine).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > render mechanical [verb (transitive)] > give specific speed to machine
speed1881
1881 Eng. Mechanic No. 874. 376/3 My own 46 in. [wheels] are speeded down to 40 in. for level roads.
1889 Engineer 68 458 When an engine is speeded to run 300 revolutions per minute.
1897 Daily News 10 July 4/3 On similar automatic machines, speeded alike.
12. reflexive.
a. To go with speed; to make haste in passing from one place to another. Now archaic.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > [verb (reflexive)] > speedily
hiec1290
rapea1325
buska1375
speeda1375
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 5169 Now..speke we of þe spaynols..hou þei sped hem to spayne.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 10555 Ga to mete him, þou þe spede.
c1400 Laud Troy Bk. 17817 Antenor him hamward spedde.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin i. 21 So he spedde hym oute of the town till he com to a ryver.
1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1845) xviii. 77 Venus and she made conjuncyon. Frome the combust way she had her so sped.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. ccclxxxvj They both talking long & much with the Emperor alone, spede them on their iourny.
1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. 374 Severne..with many windings and turnings in, and out, speedeth him unto the Ocean.
1678 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 44 Christian suddenly started up, and sped him on his way. View more context for this quotation
1821 W. Scott Kenilworth I. ix. 242 Dickie..bolted from the cottage, and sped him to the top of a neighbouring rising ground.
b. To act with speed; to make haste in doing, or to do, something. Now archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > act quickly [verb (reflexive)] > make haste
speed1390
hiea1400
hasty?a1425
enhaste1430
delivera1475
press1489
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swift movement in specific manner > move swiftly in specific manner [verb (reflexive)] > move swiftly and urgently
rapea1325
speed1390
behiea1400
hie1531
prest1581
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 256 And he with alle haste him spedde And made him naked and al warm.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 13538 Fra now behoues þe sun him spede For to do his fader dede.
1447 O. Bokenham Lyvys Seyntys (1835) 35 For to other thyngys I wold spede me.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection ii. sig. Tiiiiv These thinges..we shal spede vs..to declare euery day by it selfe.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 13236 Þe worthy..sped hir full specially my sped for to let.
1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades v. 86 Iris straight hir spedde To dresse them wel.
1651 N. Bacon Contin. Hist. Disc. Govt. 120 The Eagle stooped, and sped himselfe so well, as within six yeares he fastned upon the Sword and Scepter.
1682 J. Bunyan Holy War 230 Then speed you to do that which is written in my Law. View more context for this quotation
1805 W. Scott Lay of Last Minstrel ii. xxi. 49 Now speed thee what thou hast to do.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth ii, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. I. 51 Come, Dorothy, speed thee with the food, old woman.
13. intransitive.figurative.1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost ii. i. 119 Your wit's too hot, it speedes too fast, twill tire. View more context for this quotation1869 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 2nd Ser. 49 We might..have lightly sped across the slippery logic.1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona v. 51 His eyes speeding here and there without rest.
a. To go or move with speed. Also with it, up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > move swiftly [verb (intransitive)]
lakeOE
flyOE
runOE
scour13..
jace1393
hie1398
spina1400
fleetc1400
glentc1400
stripc1400
suea1450
carryc1450
speed1488
scud1532
streek1598
winga1616
to clip it1616
hackney1617
swifta1618
whirryc1630
dust1673
whew1684
race1702
stroke1735
cut1797
spank1807
skid1815
speela1818
crack1824
skimmer1824
slap1827
clip1832
skeet1838
marvel1841
lick1850
travel1850
rush1852
zip1852
sail1876
rabbit1887
move1906
high-tail1908
to ball the jack1914
buzz1914
shift1922
giddap1938
burn1942
hoosh1943
bomb1966
shred1977
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) iv. l. 779 ‘Speid fast,’ he said, ‘Wallace is lokit In’.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 139 Walk furth, pilgrame,..Speid home, for quhy anone cummis the nicht.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 7733 The grete horses..Sparit for no Spurse, speddyn to the flight.
1562 N. Winȝet Certain Tractates (1888) I. 3 Sum..speidis baith with airis and erect salis [etc.].
1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 696 From Aberford the said riveret Coc speedeth immediately to the river Wherf.
1637 T. Heywood Royall King i. iii I'le try to day which of our two good steeds Can speed it best; let the most swift take both.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 18 The Goats with strutting Dugs shall homeward speed.
1736 T. Gray Let. 8 May in Corr. T. Gray & W. Mason (1853) 4 O'er his head, Collecting all his force, the circle sped.
1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc ii. 128 From the disastrous plain of Agincourt I speeded homewards.
1835 E. Bulwer-Lytton Rienzi I. i. i. 10 The vessel thus referred to, was speeding rapidly down the river.
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. II. xxi. 211 The dogs speed from hut to hut, almost unguided by their drivers.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. vii. 51 Streams sped downwards, falling over the rocks.
1926 Scribner's Mag. Aug. 146/2 Speed up now on that bag or we shall be late.
b. Of time: To advance or pass quickly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > swift movement of time > be transitory, fly past [verb (intransitive)]
speeda1400
unlasta1400
fleeta1542
flit1574
fly1609
spin1849
a1400 Sir Beues (A.) 1475 Whan hit to þat time spedde, Þat Yuor scholde þat maide wedde.
1833 H. Martineau Cinnamon & Pearls i. 1 The brief twilight of the tropics had just sped away.
1858 E. H. Sears Athanasia ii. iii. 195 The day speeds on to the great evening.
1891 F. W. Farrar Darkness & Dawn II. xxxv. 16 The hours sped by almost unnoticed.
c. To make haste to do something; to be speedy in action.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > proceed rapidly [verb (intransitive)] > hasten or hurry > to do something
spake12..
speeda1400
to make haste?a1475
to make speed1548
a1400 Pistill of Susan 103 Spyces speden to spryng, In Erbers enhaled.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 13538 Now hihoueþ [read bihoueþ] þe son to spede For to do his fadir dede.
c1500 Lyfe Roberte Deuyll 188 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. (1864) I. 226 [He] prayed hys sonne, that he woulde spede, For to learne bothe to wryte and reade.
1577 M. Hanmer tr. Socrates Scholasticus v. vi, in Aunc. Eccl. Hist. 343 Being sore sick & speedinge to baptisme.
1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 126 First to Watch, and then to Speed.
d. With complement: to attain a speed of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > move at specific rate [verb (transitive)] > attain speed of
speed1900
1900 Westm. Gaz. 1 May 6/3 Her engines are twin-screw triple expansion,..and she will speed seventeen knots.
e. To drive a motor vehicle fast, esp. at an illegal speed; to break the speed limit in a motor vehicle. Also transitive.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > driving or operating a vehicle > drive a vehicle [verb (intransitive)] > drive or operate a motor vehicle > fast or recklessly
speed1904
blind1923
cowboy1933
tear-arse1942
fang1973
hoon1983
1904 N.Y. Times 13 June 1 Three automobilists were arrested to-day for speeding their machines.
1931 J. Galsworthy Maid in Waiting xiii. 118 ‘I'm going to speed,’ said Jean, looking back. The speedometer rose rapidly.
1941 M. Halsey Traffic Accidents & Congestion v. 41 The very word speed has come to mean speeding or going too fast.
1949 R. A. Byrd Driving to Live xi. 156 It becomes ridiculous, in the light of this new discovery [sc. road-stare phenomenon], for any driver to brag about his ability to speed.
1954 B. Preston Focus on Road Accidents ii. 63 If the motorist continued to speed and was caught, several times a day, every day, then he would soon stop speeding.
1969 New Yorker 14 June 29/2 If you speed, we'll charge you the same amount we charge anyone.
1979 D. Anthony Long Hard Cure viii. 72 I..went back to my car. I sped a little on the way back to town.
f. To be under the influence of an amphetamine drug. Also figurative. Usually as present participle. Cf. speed n. 7. slang.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > drug addiction or craving > be addicted to drugs [verb (intransitive)] > be addicted to barbiturates or amphetamines
speed1973
1973 R. Mills Young Outsiders ii. 60 If you are speeding you go out and do more things.
1977 Rolling Stone 7 Apr. 47/1 ‘The best diet for the road,’ he says, ‘is soup for lunch and candy for supper. It keeps the weight off and you're speeding on all that sugar by show time.’
1978 S. George Screen Test ii. 18 ‘You speeding?’ He shrugged. ‘Yes. Cancels the alcohol.’
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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