I. ˈkwik adjective
( usually -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English quik, quike, from Old English cwic, cwicu; akin to Old Frisian & Old Saxon quik alive, Old High German quec, Old Norse kvikr, Gothic qiwai (nominative plural), Latin vivus alive, vivere to live, Greek zōē life, bios mode of life, Lithuanian gyvas living, Sanskrit jīva
1.
a. archaic : marked by the presence of life : not dead : living , alive , animate
shall judge the quick and the dead — 2 Tim 4:1 (Authorized Version)
b. archaic : arrived at a stage of pregnancy at which the motion of the fetus is perceptible
women … quick with child — Oliver Goldsmith
c. chiefly Britain : formed of living plants
a quick hedge
2. : that moves, functions, or is accomplished or obtained swiftly and with vigor, energy, and promptness or that is capable of so moving or functioning or of being so accomplished or obtained : rapid , speedy : as
a.
(1) : fast in understanding, thinking, or learning : speedy in mental processes : mentally agile : mentally nimble
a quick mind
quick thinking
quick students
(2) : reacting to stimuli with speed and keen sensitivity : delicate and sharp in perception
a quick sense of the tactful thing to do
a quick eye for beauty
(3) : aroused immediately and intensely
quick resentment
a quick temper
b.
(1) : fast in development or occurrence
a quick succession of events
(2) : done or taking place with rapidity : done or taking place within only a small interval of time
gave her a quick kiss
a quick finish to the race
gave them a quick look
especially : begun and ended in an instant
a quick flash of lightning
(3) : rapidly often almost instantaneously accomplished or achieved
a quick profit
a quick victory
(4) : consumed rapidly or hurriedly
had a quick bite to eat
especially : swallowed rapidly or hurriedly
had a quick drink at the bar
c.
(1) : marked by speed, readiness, or promptness of action
did a quick job
finished it with quick efficiency
(2) : marked by speed, readiness, or promptness of physical movement
walked with quick steps
d.
(1) : inclined to hastiness of action or treatment : overhasty
must not be too quick in the experiment
(2) : inclined to impatience or anger : easily aroused to impatience or anger
was too quick with her students
3. archaic
a. : not stagnant : running , flowing
gently winding valleys, with clear, quick water — Walter Pater
sweet and quick stream — John Evelyn
b. : extremely soft and mobile from being mixed with water so as to tend to suck down an object touching the surface
the patch of quick ground — P.H.Emerson
quick mud
4.
a.
(1) archaic : burning with intense heat : fiery
the quick flames — P.B.Shelley
: glowing
a quick coal — George Herbert
(2) obsolete : rapidly combustible
quick sulfur — Edmund Spenser
b. of soil : readily absorbing heat by reason of being highly porous in composition
5. obsolete : full of activity : busy , brisk
the markets were very quick — Henry Best
6. obsolete
a. : bitingly sharp in taste or odor : pungent
b. : stingingly severe : caustic
7. : turning, curving, or bending at a sharp angle
a quick turn in the road
8. : imbued, filled , charged , instinct
a speech quick with passion
Synonyms:
prompt , ready , apt : quick describes ability to respond instantly or rapidly, often an ability native rather than acquired, or a marked capacity for speedy perception or learning
examined the hall and the men who passed, with the same quick, sharp cunning with which he had examined the street — Liam O'Flaherty
a quick and brilliant student … was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was the valedictorian of his graduating class — Current Biography
prompt may apply to speedy response, often due to training, discipline, preparation, or extreme willingness to serve, sometimes servilely
prompt to spring forward when anything was wanted — R.L.Stevenson
like a competent man of affairs, he was prompt in meeting engagements — V.L.Parrington
a people, gentle, submissive, prompt to obey, and accustomed … to the inexorable demands of tyranny — Agnes Repplier
ready may suggest speed in response or compliance coupled with willingness, vigilance, impetus, skill, or facility
the young lady proved to be as ready as the squire, and the preliminaries [of the marriage] were arranged in little more than five minutes — T.L.Peacock
their ready guns begin to bark — E.L.Beach
not a ready speaker, and so … he had written out what he had to say — H.E.Scudder
apt may focus attention on the fact of possession of qualities, such as intelligence or talent, facilitating speedy response
have proved themselves not only apt pupils, but in many cases … have outstripped their teachers — D.C.Buchanan
to become apt in argument — C.T.Copeland
Synonym: see in addition fast .
II. adverb
( usually -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English quik, from quik, adjective
: quickly
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English quik, quike, from Old English cwic, cwicu, from cwic, cwicu, adjective
1. obsolete : a living thing
2. chiefly Britain : quickset 1
3.
[probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse kvikva, kvika quick (of the flesh), from kvikr alive — more at quick I]
a. : a raw painfully sensitive spot or area of exposed flesh: as
(1) : the extremely sensitive flesh underlying a fingernail or toenail
(2) : the extremely sensitive flesh underlying a corn, bunion, or callus
(3) : the extremely sensitive part of a sore or wound
(4) : the sensitive layers of tissue underlying the epidermis
b. : the inmost sensibilities of an individual
felt hurt to the quick by their remark
c. : the very center of something : the vital essence : heart
the quick of the matter
4. archaic : life 12
5. : quicksilver
6. : quickie
IV. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English quiken, from Old English cwician, from cwic, cwicu, adjective
archaic : quicken
V. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English (northern dialect) quike, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Swedish dialect kvicka, kveka, couch grass, Norwegian dialect kvika — more at quitch
: couch grass 1a