speedyadj.
/ˈspiːdi/, U.S. /ˈspidi/ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > [adjective]
fremefulc1000
i-duȝea1250
hendyc1275
begetela1325
profitablea1325
speedful1340
worth1340
speedyc1380
behoveful1382
fructuousc1386
fruitfulc1386
vailable1390
availantc1420
availingc1420
commodious1420
commodous?1440
available1474
behovablea1475
advantageousc1485
profitly1485
beneficiala1513
advantageable1548
sanative1548
gainful1555
vantageable1570
vantageous?1572
gainy1573
comfortable1576
conducent1578
advantageous1591
bootful1594
availful1598
conducible?1611
commoditous1621
conducing1624
conduceful1635
proficuousa1642
proficaciousa1660
beneficenta1676
conducive1710
benefactory1744
benignant1791
sanatorya1832
beneficiary1836
c1380 J. Wyclif Wks. (1880) 42 Þei schulle see þat it is spedy to here nedy.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 220 Therfore this..is a spedi condicioun and a myȝti forto helpe.
c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 50 It semiþ good, spedi, and meritori, þat þe kirk be honorid.
2. absolute.1742 E. Young Complaint: Night the Second 17 Why spur the speedy? why with Levities New-wing thy..day's too rapid flight?† b. speedy man n. one formerly employed to carry from Oxford to Winchester intimations of vacancies at New College. Obsolete.
a. Moving, or able to move, with speed; going or travelling quickly; swift.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > [adjective]
swiftc888
swifta1050
currentc1300
quickc1300
hastivea1325
hastyc1330
ingnel1340
swiftyc1380
speedfula1387
fasta1400
swippingc1420
speedy1487
fleet1528
tite?a1540
scudding1545
flighty1552
suddenly1556
flight1581
feathered1587
Pegasean1590
wing-footed1591
swift-winged?1592
thought-swift-flying1595
wind-winged?1596
swallow-winged1597
Pegasarian1607
skelping1607
rapid1608
night-swifta1616
celerious1632
clipping1635
perniciousa1656
volatile1655
quick-foot1658
meteorous1667
windy1697
high-flying1710
fleet-footed1726
aliped1727
wickc1760
velocious1775
flight-performing1785
fast-going1800
fast-moving1802
meteor1803
wight-wapping1830
fleety1841
speeding1847
swiftening1848
two-forty1855
fire-swift1865
pennate1870
spinning1882
percursory1884
zippy1889
meteoric1895
pacy1906
presto1952
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) vi. 591 He bad v of his cumpany That..on fut spediast ware..Ryn eftir hym.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) i. l. 230 Wallace was spedy and gretlye als agast.
1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1901) I. i. xi. 64 Ane knycht come to tullus on ane spedy hors.
1576 A. Fleming tr. L. Plancus in Panoplie Epist. 120 Foure swifte and speedie legions.
1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 421 The Barbary Horse is more speedy than the rest.
1641 J. Milton Reason Church-govt. 31 They..can best judge how speedy we are to their reliefe.
1716 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad II. v. 54 The speedy Javelin drove from Back to Breast.
1811 Sporting Mag. 37 135 To get not only speedy but lasting racers.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > message > [noun] > messenger > messenger sent from Oxford
speedy man1825
1825 C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy I. 260 A speedy-man by nimbler foe Lies buried in the earth below.
1825 C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy I. 260 note Wm. Perkins..the New College Speedy-man.
3.
a. Acting with speed; active, prompt, quick.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > [adjective] > prompt to act
radeOE
yevereOE
snellOE
ratheOE
spacka1200
quickc1300
eagerc1325
readyc1330
tallc1374
smartc1380
desirousc1386
rifec1390
promptc1425
speedy?1504
nimblea1547
present1548
go-ahead1825
?1504 M. Beaufort tr. Thomas à Kempis Ful Treat. Imytacyon Cryste (Pynson) iv. vii. 269 So neglygent vnto the seruyce of god, so spedy to thende therof.
1552 T. Wilson Rule of Reason (rev. ed.) sig. Piij The Gospell, then required spedie Preachers.
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xix. 195 Expeditio, or the speedie dispatcher.
1627 T. May tr. Lucan Pharsalia (new ed.) iii. 19 Three sisters speedy hands cannot suffice, For breaking threads has tyr'd the Destinies.
1702 in Mem. Hist. Soc. Pennsylvania (1870) IX. 125 Thy affairs here require a speedy hand.
1793 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse (ed. 2) §200 The mixtures..rendered the plaster less speedy in setting.
1821 W. Scott Kenilworth III. ix. 162 Speak out, and be speedy.
b. That quickly becomes so.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > [adjective] > that rapidly becomes so
speedy1628
1628 O. Felltham Resolves: 2nd Cent. iii. sig.H3v I will take heed both of a speedy Friend, and slow Enemie. Loue is neuer lasting that flames before it burns.
4.
a. Characterized by speed of motion or progress from one place to another.
ΚΠ
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Rom. i. 10 If by ony maner aftirward sum~tyme I haue esy, or spedy, weie in the wille of God of comynge to ȝou.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. cciii He then..beyng well furnished with spedy iorneys, came safe to his cytye of London.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. A8v Making speedy way through spersed ayre.
1618 M. Pring Acct. 18 Mar. in W. Foster Eng. Factories in India 1618–21 (1906) 30 The conveyaunce would bee cheape, secure and speedy.
1685 J. Dryden Albion & Albanius Epil. sig. (c)2v Feign'd Zeal..set out the speedier pace; But, the last heat, Plain Dealing won the Race.
a1701 H. Maundrell Journey Aleppo to Jerusalem (1703) 142 The nearest and speediest way.
1797 H. Lee Canterbury Tales I. 348 Favourable winds seemed for some time to promise them a speedy navigation.
1825 W. Scott Talisman ix, in Tales Crusaders IV. 185 A horseman..had returned on a speedy gallop to El Hakim.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xvi. 118 Our progress was much more speedy than it had been on starting in the morning.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. ix. 273 The speedier central motion [of the glacier].
b. Of time: Passing rapidly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > swift movement of time > [adjective] > passing rapidly
speedy1598
fleeting1609
1598 B. Yong tr. J. de Montemayor Diana 123 As she thinkes the howers of her life short and speedie.
5.
a. Characterized by speed in operation or action; taking place rapidly or quickly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > [adjective]
hiefulc1230
hastyc1330
swift1340
graithfula1400
yedera1400
short1480
speedy1529
expedite1540
quick1548
postingc1553
hasting1566
rushing1694
nimble1707
presto1767
presto change1835
quick-action1887
presto changeo1923
knife-edge1969
light speed1987
1529 in I. S. Leadam Select Cases Star Chamber (1911) II. 179 The king willing speding [? read spedy] remody for the same [sc. scarceness].
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iii. f. 156v We keepe vp Cattes for the auoyding of the mischiefe, neither is there a speedier remedy.
1602 J. Willis Art Stenogr. sig. A2v Secondly, in speedie writing: For he that is well practized in this Art, may write Verbatim, as fast as a man can treateably speake.
1653 W. Ramesey Astrologia Restaurata 128 It denoteth good success and speedy dispatch in the business.
1678 A. Marvell Acct. Growth Popery (new ed.) 21 Another Act for speedier convicting of Papists.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. ii. vii. 129 The speedy Determination of civil and criminal Causes.
1764 Museum Rusticum IV. 5 Therefore some speedy remedy should be applied.
1805 H. K. White Let. 27 June in Remains (1807) I. 163 The speedier disseminating of the blessed Gospel.
1843 C. Scudamore Med. Visit Gräfenberg 30 An impatient desire of urging crisis for the sake of a more speedy cure.
1870 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (ed. 2) I. iv. 148 The speedy fusion of Normans and English was greatly promoted by the fact [etc.].
b. Rapidly brought to pass or to an end; quickly accomplished, arrived at, or obtained.The distinction between this and the preceding sense is often very slight.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > [adjective] > quickly done or obtained
expeditiousa1616
speedya1616
expeditive1617
rapid1661
fast1863
quickie1927
fast track1968
fast-tracked1976
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) i. iii. 80 I will wish her speedy strength. View more context for this quotation
1648 in S. R. Gardiner Hamilton Papers (1880) 184 To expect opportunities to assist and serue you, of which yee will see speedy effects.
1703 T. Brown Mourning Poet in Wks. (1711) IV. 215 Neale started first, to raise a speedy Sum, A Million Lottery.
1748 T. Gray Ode Death Favourite Cat vi, in R. Dodsley Coll. Poems II. 269 She mew'd to ev'ry wat'ry God, Some speedy aid to send.
1803 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 10 274 I flatter myself that the controversy will come to a speedy termination.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xxii. 701 Unless they could send him a speedy supply, his troops would..desert by thousands.
1895 Law Times 99 544/1 There are under the existing rules some facilities for obtaining a speedy decision in such cases.
c. speedy trial n. (U.S. Law), a criminal trial held after a minimum of delay, considered to be a citizen's right; also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > trying or hearing of cause > [noun] > trial > other types of trial
oyer?a1475
trial by proviso1676
political trial1774
drumhead court-martial1835
trial at bar1866
speedy trial1894
show trial1928
treason trial1930
war trial1949
split trial1960
spy trial1972
1776 G. Mason Virginia Decl. Rights in Virginia Gaz. (Williamsburg) 1 June 2/2 In all capital or criminal prosecutions a man hath a right to demand the cause and nature of his accusation, to be confronted with the accusers or witnesses, to call for evidence in his favour, and a speedy trial by an impartial jury.
1789 J. Madison in Congress. Reg. 1 428 In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial.
1813 J. Overton Tennessee Rep. 1 253 The 9th section of the bill of rights secures to the citizen a speedy, public trial, and to demand the cause of accusation against him.
1880 Michigan Rep. 38 739 The right to a speedy and public trial in criminal cases by an impartial jury cannot be taken away by legislation.]
1894 Southeastern Reporter 18 284/1 The ‘speedy trial’, and the policy of the law to expedite the trial of criminal cases, forbid that the person accused of crime shall be detained in prison beyond any term of the court at which he can lawfully be tried.
1901 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 22 Oct. 1/6 Robt. Cameron, a penitentiary convict, before Judge Bole in the Speedy Trial court today, pleaded guilty to attempting to escape.
1926 J. Black You can't Win xviii. 262 I..decided to go before the court under the Speedy Trials Act. A defendant electing for a speedy trial dispenses with a jury and saves time and money for the community.
1951 F. H. Heller Sixth Amendment iv. 60 The right to a speedy trial may not be asserted merely in order to forestall the ends of public justice.
1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 30 June 1- c/3 Judge Sorte rejected defense motions to dismiss the charges against the couple on grounds of prejudicial pretrial news coverage and lack of a speedy trial.
6. quasi-adv. Speedily.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > [adverb]
yeverlyeOE
cofeOE
snellya1000
whatlichea1000
swiftlyc1000
yernea1023
skeetc1175
swithc1175
whatec1175
lightly?c1225
tidelyc1225
fastlyc1275
swithc1275
fastc1300
quickc1300
titec1300
quicklya1325
rada1325
snellc1330
titelyc1330
swithly?1370
hastlya1375
ketlya1375
ketec1380
speedlyc1380
speedfully1398
keenlya1400
skeetlya1400
speedilya1400
swiftc1400
yederlyc1400
apacea1423
rasha1475
runninglyc1475
speedful?c1480
rackly?a1500
rashly1533
stiffly1535
roundly1548
post1549
fleet1587
fleetly1598
speedy1601
raptly1646
fastisha1650
wingedly1651
rapidly1653
rapid1677
velociously1680
express1765
quicklike1782
spankingly1803
spankily1842
fleetingly1883
quick-foot1891
on the quick-foot1894
zippily1924
1601 R. Dolman tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. III. 288 To trie who should goe speediest.
1632 J. Hayward tr. G. F. Biondi Eromena 12 Polimero..had put himselfe in that shippe only to get out the speedier from Birsa.
1756 W. Toldervy Hist. Two Orphans III. 108 Humphry, having some reason to remember those sort of gentry, very speedy escaped into Drury-lane.
1796 J. Moser Hermit of Caucasus I. 172 Are causes decided as speedy, and at as small an expence as possible?
1871 S. B. James Duty & Doctr. (ed. 3) 61 You in your future,..you in your inevitable liability, you in your speedy-coming actual experience.
7. speedy cut n. an injury on the inner side of a horse's fore leg, near the knee, caused by the foot of the opposite leg when in motion. Also as v. transitive and attributive (sometimes with ellipse of cut).
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of horses > [noun] > disorders of legs > cutting
speedy cut1692
swift cut1725
swish cut1725
cut1831
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > habits and actions of horse > [noun] > striking one leg against other
interfere?1523
overreaching?1523
interfering1562
overreach1607
speedy cut1692
click1694
clicking1825
forging1843
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > habits and actions of horse > [noun] > striking one leg against other > part injured by or injury
speedy cut1692
brush1710
1692 London Gaz. No. 2787/4 Lost,..a sorrel Gelding, full-aged,..speedy-cuts the off Leg before.
1697 London Gaz. No. 3351/4 A brown bay Nag,..speedy cut.
1831 W. Youatt Horse xiii. 245 The inside of the leg, immediately under the knee,..is subject to injury from what is termed the speedy cut.
1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. II. No. 4693 Web, Fetlock, Speedy, Splint,..and Strengthening Boots.
a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 464/1 The upper or speedy-cut boot, which is concaved in front to fit..the hoof-boot.
Derivatives
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > [noun] > haste > action of causing
acceleration1490
hastening1545
properation1615
speedying1617
precipitation1621
hurry-up1944
1617 Earl Arundel in Buccleuch MSS (Hist. MSS Comm.) (1899) I. 193 For the speedying whereof..I doubt not but your Lordships' persuasions may prevail.
1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine App. 202 For the speedying of whose conversion, he pleased to compose the many different judgments of Christians into one truth.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.c1380