quick definition

English quick definition

Alternative forms

• kwik (eye dialect)

Etymology

From Middle English quik, quic, from Old English cwic (“alive”), from Proto-West Germanic *kwik(k)w, from Proto-Germanic *kwikwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós (“alive”), from *gʷeyh₃- (“to live”), *gʷeih₃w- (“to live”).

Cognate with Dutch kwik, kwiek, German keck, Swedish kvick; and (from Indo-European) with Ancient Greek βίος (bíos, “life”), Latin vivus, Lithuanian gývas (“alive”), Latvian dzīvs (“alive”), Russian живо́й (živój), Welsh byw (“alive”), Irish beo (“alive”), biathaigh (“feed”), Northern Kurdish jîn (“to live”), jiyan (“life”), giyan (“soul”), can (“soul”), Sanskrit जीव (jīva, “living”), Albanian nxit (“to urge, stimulate”). Doublet of jiva.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kwɪk/, [kʷw̥ɪk]

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (UK)

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• Audio (AU)

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• Rhymes: -ɪk

Adjective

quick (comparative quicker, superlative quickest)

1. Moving with speed, rapidity or swiftness, or capable of doing so; rapid; fast.

   I ran to the station – but I wasn't quick enough.

   He's a quick runner.

   • Speed definition

     The state of moving quickly or the capacity for rapid motion; rapidity. (1 of 10 speed definitions)

   • Rapidity definition

     speed, swiftness; the condition of being rapid (1 of 3 rapidity definitions)

   • Swiftness definition

     The state of being swift.

   • Rapid definition

     Very swift or quick. (1 of 5 rapid definitions)

   • Fast definition

     Firmly or securely fixed in place; stable. (1 of 13 fast definitions)
2. Occurring in a short time; happening or done rapidly.

   That was a quick meal.

3. Lively, fast-thinking, witty, intelligent.

   You have to be very quick to be able to compete in ad-lib theatrics.

   • Lively definition

     Full of life; energetic. (1 of 6 lively definitions)

   • Witty definition

     Wise, having good judgement. (1 of 5 witty definitions)

   • Intelligent definition

     Of high or especially quick cognitive capacity, bright. (1 of 5 intelligent definitions)
4. Mentally agile, alert, perceptive.

   My father is old but he still has a quick wit.

   • Alert definition

     Attentive; awake; on guard. (1 of 2 alert definitions)

   • Perceptive definition

     Having or showing keenness of perception, insight, understanding, or intuition.
5. Of temper: easily aroused to anger; quick-tempered.

   He is wont to be rather quick of temper when tired.

   • 1549, Hugh Latimer, The Sixth Sermon Preached Before King Edward, April 6 1549

     The bishop was somewhat quick with them, and signified that he was much offended.

   • Quick-Tempered definition

     Easily or quickly angered or frustrated.
6. (archaic) Alive, living.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, 2 Timothy 4:1:

     the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead

   • 1633, George Herbert, The Temple

     Man is no star, but a quick coal / Of mortal fire.

   • 1874, James Thomson, The City of Dreadful Night, X

     The inmost oratory of my soul,

     Wherein thou ever dwellest quick or dead,

     Is black with grief eternal for thy sake.

   • Alive definition

     Having life; living; not dead (1 of 7 alive definitions)

   • Living definition

     present participle of live
7. (now rare, archaic) Pregnant, especially at the stage where the foetus's movements can be felt; figuratively, alive with some emotion or feeling.
   • c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene ii]:

     she's quick; the child brags in her belly already: tis yours

   • 2012, Jerry White, London in the Eighteenth Century, Bodley Head 2017, p. 385:

     When sentenced she sought to avoid hanging by declaring herself with child – ironically, given her favourite deception – but a ‘jury of Matrons’ found her not quick.

   • Pregnant definition

     Carrying developing offspring within the body. (1 of 6 pregnant definitions)
8. Of water: flowing.

   • Flowing definition

     present participle of flow
9. Burning, flammable, fiery.

   • Burning definition

     present participle of burn

   • Flammable definition

     Capable of burning, especially a liquid. (1 of 3 flammable definitions)

   • Fiery definition

     Of or relating to fire. (1 of 7 fiery definitions)
10. Fresh; bracing; sharp; keen.
    • c. 1607–1608, William Shakeſpeare, The Late, And much admired Play, Called Pericles, Prince of Tyre. […]‎^[1], London: Imprinted at London for Henry Goſſon,  […], published 1609, OCLC 78596089, [Act IV, scene i]:

      […] the ayre is quicke there, / And it perces and ſharpens the ſtomacke,

    • Fresh definition

      Newly produced or obtained; recent. (1 of 10 fresh definitions)

    • Bracing definition

      present participle of brace

    • Sharp definition

      Terminating in a point or edge, especially one that can cut easily; not obtuse or rounded. (1 of 22 sharp definitions)

    • Keen definition

      Often with a prepositional phrase, or with to and an infinitive: showing a quick and ardent responsiveness or willingness; eager, enthusiastic, interested. (1 of 9 keen definitions)
11. (mining, of a vein of ore) productive; not "dead" or barren

    • Mining definition

      The activity of removing solid valuables from the earth. (1 of 4 mining definitions)

    • Vein definition

      A blood vessel that transports blood from the capillaries back to the heart. (1 of 9 vein definitions)

    • Ore definition

      Rock or other material that contains valuable or utilitarian materials; primarily a rock containing metals or gems for which it is typically mined and processed.

    • Productive definition

      Capable of producing something, especially in abundance; fertile. (1 of 7 productive definitions)

    • Dead definition

      No longer living. (1 of 24 dead definitions)

    • Barren definition

      Unable to bear children; sterile. (1 of 5 barren definitions)

Synonyms

• (moving with speed): fast, speedy, rapid, swift; see also Thesaurus:speedy
• (occurring in a short time): brief, momentary, short-lived; see also Thesaurus:ephemeral
• (fast-thinking): bright, droll, keen; see also Thesaurus:witty or Thesaurus:intelligent
• (easily aroused to anger): hotheaded, rattish, short-tempered, snippish, snippy
• (alive, living): extant, live, vital; see also Thesaurus:alive
• (pregnant): expecting, gravid, with child; see also Thesaurus:pregnant
• (flowing): fluent, fluminous; see also Thesaurus:flowing

Antonyms

• (moving with speed): slow

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Adverb

quick (comparative quicker, superlative quickest)

1. Quickly, in a quick manner.

   Get rich quick.

   Come here, quick!

   • 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], OCLC 153628242:

     If we consider how very quick the actions of the mind are performed.

   • Quickly definition

     Rapidly; with speed; fast. (1 of 2 quickly definitions)

Derived terms

• right quick

Translations

Noun

quick (plural quicks)

1. Raw or sensitive flesh, especially that underneath finger and toe nails.

   • Raw definition

     Not cooked. (1 of 11 raw definitions)

   • Sensitive definition

     Having the faculty of sensation; pertaining to the senses. (1 of 7 sensitive definitions)

   • Flesh definition

     The soft tissue of the body, especially muscle and fat. (1 of 11 flesh definitions)

   • Underneath definition

     Below; in a place beneath. (1 of 2 underneath definitions)

   • Finger definition

     A slender jointed extremity of the human hand, exclusive of the thumb. (1 of 33 finger definitions)

   • Toe definition

     Each of the five digits on the end of the foot. (1 of 11 toe definitions)

   • Nail definition

     The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals. (1 of 7 nail definitions)
2. Plants used in making a quickset hedge
   • 1641, John Evelyn, diary entry September 1641

     The works […] are curiously hedged with quick.

   • Plant definition

     An organism that is not an animal, especially an organism capable of photosynthesis. Typically a small or herbaceous organism of this kind, rather than a tree. (1 of 15 plant definitions)

   • Quickset definition

     Grown from cuttings planted directly into the ground

   • Hedge definition

     A thicket of bushes or other shrubbery, especially one planted as a fence between two portions of land, or to separate the parts of a garden. (1 of 6 hedge definitions)
3. The life; the mortal point; a vital part; a part susceptible to serious injury or keen feeling.
   • 1550, Hugh Latimer, Sermon Preached at Stamford, 9 October 1550

     This test nippeth, […] this toucheth the quick.

   • 1655, Thomas Fuller, Church-History of Britain

     How feebly and unlike themselves they reason when they come to the quick of the difference!

   • Life definition

     The state of organisms preceding their death, characterized by biological processes such as metabolism and reproduction and distinguishing them from inanimate objects; the state of being alive and living. (1 of 27 life definitions)

   • Mortal definition

     Susceptible to death by aging, sickness, injury, or wound; not immortal. (1 of 10 mortal definitions)

   • Vital definition

     Relating to, or characteristic of life. (1 of 8 vital definitions)
4. Quitchgrass.
   • 1849, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], published 1850, OCLC 3968433, canto LXXXVIII:

     Wild bird, whose warble, liquid sweet,
     Rings Eden thro' the budded quicks

   • Quitchgrass definition

     A species of grass, Elymus repens.
5. (cricket) A fast bowler.

   • Cricket definition

     An insect in the order Orthoptera, especially family Gryllidae, that makes a chirping sound by rubbing its wing casings against combs on its hind legs.

     1. In the form crickets: absolute silence; no communication.

     (1 of 5 cricket definitions)

   • Fast Bowler definition

     A bowler who specialises in bowling the ball fast in cricket; as opposed to a spin bowler.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

quick (third-person singular simple present quicks, present participle quicking, simple past and past participle quicked)

1. (transitive) To amalgamate surfaces prior to gilding or silvering by dipping them into a solution of mercury in nitric acid.

   • Amalgamate definition

     To merge, to combine, to blend, to join. (1 of 3 amalgamate definitions)

   • Surface definition

     The overside or up-side of a flat object such as a table, or of a liquid. (1 of 5 surface definitions)

   • Gild definition

     To cover with a thin layer of gold; to cover with gold leaf. (1 of 5 gild definitions)

   • Silver definition

     A lustrous, white, metallic element, atomic number 47, atomic weight 107.87, symbol Ag. (1 of 6 silver definitions)

   • Solution definition

     A homogeneous mixture, which may be liquid, gas or solid, formed by dissolving one or more substances. (1 of 7 solution definitions)

   • Mercury definition

     A metal.

     1. A silvery-colored, toxic, metallic chemical element, liquid at room temperature, with atomic number 80 and symbol Hg. (1 of 10 mercury definitions)

   • Nitric Acid definition

     A transparent, colourless to pale yellow, fuming corrosive liquid, HNO₃; a highly reactive oxidizing agent used in the production of fertilizers, explosives, and rocket fuels and in a wide variety of industrial processes; once called aqua fortis.
2. (transitive, archaic, poetic) To quicken.
   • 1917', Thomas Hardy, At the Word 'Farewell

     I rose as if quicked by a spur I was bound to obey.

   • Poetic definition

     Relating to poetry. (1 of 3 poetic definitions)

   • Quicken definition

     To give life to; to animate, make alive, revive. (1 of 7 quicken definitions)

References

• quick in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• quick in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• quick at OneLook Dictionary Search

French quick definition

Etymology

From English.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kwik/
• Rhymes: -ik

Noun

quick m (plural quicks)

1. quick waltz

See also

• slow

German quick definition

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle Low German quick, from Old Saxon quik, from Proto-West Germanic *kwik(k)w, from Proto-Germanic *kwikwaz; also a Central Franconian form. Doublet of keck, which see for more.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kvɪk/, [kʋɪk]

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

quick (comparative quicker, superlative am quicksten)

1. (rather rare, dated) lively
   • 1899, Theodor Fontane, chapter 12, in Der Stechlin:

     Die Wirtin des Hauses, Frau Hagelversicherungssekretär Schickedanz, hätte diesen gelegentlichen Aufenthalt der Nichte Hartwigs eigentlich beanstanden müssen, ließ es aber gehen, weil Hedwig ein heiteres, quickes und sehr anstelliges Ding war und manches besaß, was die Schickedanz mit der Ungehörigkeit des ewigen Dienstwechsels wieder aussöhnte.

     (please add an English translation of this quote)

Usage notes

• Much more common than the simplex is the pleonastic compound quicklebendig.

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

• “quick” in Duden online
• “quick” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.