Source etymology 1
Original entry ↗A train that calls at only some stations it passes between its origin and destination, typically just the principal stations.
Firmly or securely fixed in place; stable. · Firm against attack; fortified by nature or art; impregnable; strong. · Steadfast, with unwavering feeling. (Now mostly in set phrases like fast friend(s).) · Moving with great speed, or capable of doing so; swift, rapid; light.
Ellipsis of stand fast, a warning not to pass between the arrow and the target.
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *fastuz Proto-West Germanic *fast Old English fæst Middle English fast English fast From Middle English fast, fest, from Old English fæst (“firm, secure”), from Proto-West Germanic *fast, from Proto-Germanic *fastuz; see it for cognates and further etymology. The development of “rapid” from an original sense of “secure” apparently happened first in the adverb and then transferred to the adjective; compare hard in expressions like “to run hard”. The original sense of “secure, firm” is now slightly archaic, but retained in the related fasten (“make secure”). Also compare close meaning change from Latin rapiō (“to snatch”) to Latin rapidus (“rapid, quick”), from Irish sciob (“to snatch”) to Irish sciobtha (“quick”).
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
This page abbreviates 11 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
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"A train that calls at only some stations it passes between its origin and destination, typically just the principal stations."
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