I. ˈspēd noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English spede, from Old English spēd; akin to Old High German spuot prosperity, success, speed, spāti late, Gothic spediza latecomer, Latin spes hope, spatium space, Lithuanian spėtas leisure, Sanskrit sphāra extensive, sphāyati it increases, grows fat; basic meaning: to increase, expand
1.
a. archaic : good fortune : favorable issue : success
b. archaic : something that falls to one's lot : fortune
send me good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master — Gen 24:12 (Authorized Version)
c. obsolete : one that furthers success or provides favorable conditions
now Hercules be thy speed , young man — Shakespeare
2.
a. : the act, action, or state of moving swiftly : celerity , dispatch , swiftness
this is the day of speed , of the atom, of wanting to get to places before you start — W.J.MacQueen-Pope
the animal escaped pursuit by speed rather than cunning
b. : rate of motion
a heavy person who moved at a glacial speed
drove at a reckless speed
specifically : rate of motion irrespective of direction : the magnitude of velocity expressed as a particular relationship
the car maintained a speed of 150 miles per hour
a record made to be played at a speed of 33 1/3 revolutions per minute
c. : capacity or power of motion
put all his speed into the attempt to reach the ball before it hit the ground
d. : momentum
set in motion an economic revival that gathered speed with the hastening sense of crisis — Oscar Handlin
3.
a. : swiftness of performance or execution : quickness
as the minuteness of the parts formed a great hindrance to my speed , I resolved … to make the being of a gigantic stature — Mary W. Shelley
a pastel sketch of flowers, full of life and speed — Adrian Bell
b. : rate of performance or action
trying to increase his reading speed
4.
a. : the sensitivity of a photographic film, plate, or paper that is often expressed numerically according to one of several systems
b. : the light gathering power of a lens or optical system expressed as relative aperture
c. : the time during which a camera shutter is open
5. : a transmission gear in automotive vehicles
shift to low speed
6.
a. : character or level of performance or activity
they need a new night watchman at the dam; that's about your speed — Elmer Davis
b. : a person or thing suited to one's tastes : cup of tea
bottled beer and a cigar are about their speed — A.J.Liebling
7. of a baseball pitcher : ability to throw a fast ball
has a good curve, but no speed
Synonyms: see haste
•
- at speed
II. verb
( sped ˈsped ; or speeded ; sped or speeded ; speeding ; speeds )
Etymology: Middle English speden, from Old English spēdan; akin to Middle Dutch spoeden to speed, Old Saxon spōdian to prosper, Old High German spuoten to prosper, succeed; derivative from the root of English speed (I)
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to experience good fortune : fare well : prosper
regarding the quality of the sheep the shepherds led, asking if the rams speeded — George Moore
b. : to get along : fare , succeed
a forlorn hope at the best … I should like to know how you speed — Charles Dickens
2.
a. : to go or pass quickly
the work sped on at a commendable rate until completed — I.M.Price
his college years sped by — Alexander MacDonald
b. : to move with speed : make haste
ordered an automobile and sped directly to the village — H.F.Wilkins
fighter planes which speed to intercept and identify — Lamp
c. : to go or drive at an excessive speed
was speeding on the icy highway and the car skidded
specifically : to drive at an illegal speed : exceed the speed limit
speeded for a while but slowed down when he saw a police car
3. : to move, work, or take place at a faster rate — usually used with up
the heart speeds up and the blood pressure rises — H.G.Armstrong
her embezzlements were speeding up — R.T.Moriarty
transitive verb
1.
a. archaic : to cause or help to prosper : aid
the Saxon bade God speed him — Sir Walter Scott
b. : to promote the development or success of : advance , further
two other things happened that sped the process — J.S.Martin
increasing the supply of banknotes and speeding the inflationary trend — R.A.Billington
c. archaic : to bring to a state of satisfaction or sufficiency : satisfy
2.
a. : to cause to move quickly : hasten
sped our craft forward — Nora Waln
he sped his pen to complete his treatises on government — U.B.Phillips
a camaraderie which sped the evening hours away all too quickly — Gwen Allmon
b.
(1) : to expedite the departure of : aid in going or traveling
some villager's departing soul was being ritually sped on its difficult road from earth to paradise — Arthur Grimble
cops obligingly scattering traffic to speed us on our way — Bennett Cerf
(2) : to say good-bye to
speed the parting guest
c. : to increase the rate of motion or operation of : accelerate — usually used with up
speeded up the engine
speeded up production
3. : to send out (as to a target) : direct , discharge
sped arrows from their heavy war bows — F.V.W.Mason
these short essays … sped with so intense a seriousness — Edmund Wilson
4.
a. archaic : to bring to completion : finish
b. archaic : destroy , kill
5. : to set, adjust, or design to or for a definite speed
Synonyms:
accelerate , quicken , hasten , hurry , precipitate : speed , although usually throwing stress upon the rapidity of motion or progress
bullets sped only a few feet over the Americans' heads — Dave Richardson
poised to speed down the runway — Richard Thruelsen
is also generally used to emphasize the becoming rapid or the achievement of such rapidity as by acceleration or increasing efficiency
his heart speeded a little as he neared the cluster of tents — L.C.Douglas
linked with fourteen miles of highway connections, it speeds traffic by shunting through-vehicles away from congested areas and carrying them swiftly across the boroughs — American Guide Series: New York City
accelerate emphasizes an increase in rate of motion or progress, not necessarily implying rapidity
accelerate your pace
efforts to accelerate our technological progress — H.H.Curtice
the development of the steamboat accelerated the stream of farm products flowing toward the South — American Guide Series: Ind.
quicken often adds to the idea of an increase in rapidity the notion of an increase in animation in the action, often also throwing stress upon the shortening of time consumed
how our steps quickened when we heard the exhilarating notes of the trumpets and drums — G.E.Fox
the pace of discovery in geology has been quickened by applying the principles and techniques of modern physics — Scientific American Reader
hasten may add the notion of urgency or of an earlier or sometimes premature outcome
assembled a force of volunteers and … hastened to the relief of the village — American Guide Series: Minnesota
as rapidly as physics and electronics are hastening the future — Time
hurry sometimes suggests the notion of a disturbing acceleration of pace and a consequent disorder in the activity or progress
hurry home after dark
events which were hurrying the war to the close — H.E.Scudder
the need for responsive action hurries us along and prevents us from ever realising fully what the emotion is that we feel — Roger Fry
precipitate implies usually an unexpectedly sudden or abrupt motion or progress
at that instant two animals precipitated against his calves, thereby nearly unbalancing him — John Buchan
one of the bitter disputes was precipitated by the question of women's suffrage — American Guide Series: Tennessee
the false charges that the radicals had maliciously precipitated the strike — Oscar Handlin
III. adjective
Etymology: speed (I)
: of or relating to speed : regulating, indicating, or attaining speed
IV. noun
: methamphetamine ; also : a related stimulant drug and especially an amphetamine
•
- up to speed