*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of quick

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós Proto-Germanic *kwikwaz Proto-West Germanic *kwiku Old English cwic Middle English quyk English quick From Middle Englis

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

Raw or sensitive flesh, especially that underneath finger and toe nails. · Plants used in making a quickset hedge. · The life; the mortal point; a vital part; a part susceptible to serious injury or keen feeling. · Synonym of living (“those who are alive”).

verb

To amalgamate surfaces prior to gilding or silvering by dipping them into a solution of mercury in nitric acid. · To quicken.

adj

Moving with speed, rapidity or swiftness, or capable of doing so; rapid; fast. · Occurring in a short time; happening or done rapidly. · Lively, fast-thinking, witty, intelligent. · Mentally agile, alert, perceptive.

adv

Quickly, in a quick manner. · Answer quickly.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós Proto-Germanic *kwikwaz Proto-West Germanic *kwiku Old English cwic Middle English quyk English quick From Middle English quik, quic (“living, alive, active”), from Old English cwic (“alive”), from Proto-West Germanic *kwiku (“alive, lively quick”), from Proto-Germanic *kwikwaz (“alive, lively, quick”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós (“alive”), from *gʷeyh₃- (“to live”), *gʷeyh₃w- (“to live”). For semantic development, compare lively. Cognate with Dutch kwik, kwiek (“lively, quick”), German keck (“sassy, cheeky”), Danish kvik (“lively, quick-witted, quick”), kvæg (“cattle”), Faroese kvikur (“quick”), Icelandic kvikur (“lively, quick”), Norn kvikk, hwikk (“living, swarming, teeming”), Norwegian kvikk (“quick, lively, quick-witted”), Swedish kvick (“quick, witty”), and also (from Indo-European) with Greek βίος (víos, “life”), Latin vivus (“alive”), Lithuanian gývas (“alive”), Latvian dzīvs (“alive”), Russian живо́й (živój, “alive, lively, quick”), Polish żywy (“alive”), Welsh byw (“alive”), Irish beo (“alive”), biathaigh (“to feed”), Northern Kurdish jîn (“to live”), jiyan (“life”), giyan (“soul”), can (“soul”), Sanskrit जीव (jīva, “alive”), Albanian nxit (“to urge, stimulate”). Doublet of jiva.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 12 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.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*gʷeyh₃-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:quyk",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃-\nProto-Indo-European *-wós\nProto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós\nProto-Germanic *kwikwaz\nProto-West Germanic *kwiku\nOld English cwic\nMiddle English quyk\nEnglish quick\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*kwikwaz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*kwiku\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"cwic\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"quyk\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"quick\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"quick\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "quik"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English quik"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "cwic",
        "4": "",
        "5": "alive"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English cwic (“alive”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*kwiku",
        "4": "",
        "5": "alive, lively quick"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *kwiku (“alive, lively quick”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*kwikwaz",
        "4": "",
        "5": "alive, lively, quick"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *kwikwaz (“alive, lively, quick”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*gʷih₃wós",
        "4": "",
        "5": "alive"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós (“alive”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "kwik"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch kwik"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "keck",
        "3": "",
        "4": "sassy, cheeky"
      },
      "expansion": "German keck (“sassy, cheeky”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "kvik",
        "3": "",
        "4": "lively, quick-witted, quick"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish kvik (“lively, quick-witted, quick”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo",
        "2": "kvikur",
        "3": "",
        "4": "quick"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese kvikur (“quick”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "kvikur",
        "3": "",
        "4": "lively, quick"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic kvikur (“lively, quick”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nrn",
        "2": "kvikk"
      },
      "expansion": "Norn kvikk"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "no",
        "2": "kvikk",
        "3": "",
        "4": "quick, lively, quick-witted"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian kvikk (“quick, lively, quick-witted”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "kvick",
        "3": "",
        "4": "quick, witty"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish kvick (“quick, witty”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "el",
        "2": "βίος",
        "3": "",
        "4": "life"
      },
      "expansion": "Greek βίος (víos, “life”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "vivus",
        "3": "",
        "4": "alive"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin vivus (“alive”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lt",
        "2": "gývas",
        "3": "",
        "4": "alive"
      },
      "expansion": "Lithuanian gývas (“alive”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lv",
        "2": "dzīvs",
        "3": "",
        "4": "alive"
      },
      "expansion": "Latvian dzīvs (“alive”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ru",
        "2": "живо́й",
        "3": "",
        "4": "alive, lively, quick"
      },
      "expansion": "Russian живо́й (živój, “alive, lively, quick”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "pl",
        "2": "żywy",
        "3": "",
        "4": "alive"
      },
      "expansion": "Polish żywy (“alive”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cy",
        "2": "byw",
        "3": "",
        "4": "alive"
      },
      "expansion": "Welsh byw (“alive”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ga",
        "2": "beo",
        "3": "",
        "4": "alive"
      },
      "expansion": "Irish beo (“alive”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "kmr",
        "2": "jîn",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to live"
      },
      "expansion": "Northern Kurdish jîn (“to live”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sa",
        "2": "जीव",
        "3": "",
        "4": "alive"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit जीव (jīva, “alive”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sq",
        "2": "nxit",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to urge, stimulate"
      },
      "expansion": "Albanian nxit (“to urge, stimulate”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "jiva"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of jiva"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:quyk",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃-\nProto-Indo-European *-wós\nProto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós\nProto-Germanic *kwikwaz\nProto-West Germanic *kwiku\nOld English cwic\nMiddle English quyk\nEnglish quick"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*gʷeyh₃-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gʷeyh₃-#Proto-Indo-European:_live"
    ],
    [
      "*-wós",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-wós#Proto-Indo-European:_adjectival_suffix"
    ],
    [
      "*gʷih₃wós",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gʷih₃wós"
    ],
    [
      "*kwikwaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kwikwaz"
    ],
    [
      "*kwiku",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/kwiku"
    ],
    [
      "cwic",
      "cwic#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "quyk",
      "quyk#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "quik",
      "quik#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "quic",
      "quic#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "cwic",
      "cwic#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*kwiku",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/kwiku"
    ],
    [
      "*kwikwaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kwikwaz"
    ],
    [
      "*gʷih₃wós",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gʷih₃wós"
    ],
    [
      "*gʷeyh₃-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gʷeyh₃-"
    ],
    [
      "*gʷeyh₃w-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gʷeyh₃w-"
    ],
    [
      "lively",
      "lively#English"
    ],
    [
      "kwik",
      "kwik#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "kwiek",
      "kwiek#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "keck",
      "keck#German"
    ],
    [
      "kvik",
      "kvik#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "kvæg",
      "kvæg#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "kvikur",
      "kvikur#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "kvikur",
      "kvikur#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "kvikk",
      "kvikk#Norn"
    ],
    [
      "hwikk",
      "hwikk#Norn"
    ],
    [
      "kvikk",
      "kvikk#Norwegian"
    ],
    [
      "kvick",
      "kvick#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "βίος",
      "βίος#Greek"
    ],
    [
      "vivus",
      "vivus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "gývas",
      "gyvas#Lithuanian"
    ],
    [
      "dzīvs",
      "dzīvs#Latvian"
    ],
    [
      "живо́й",
      "живой#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "żywy",
      "żywy#Polish"
    ],
    [
      "byw",
      "byw#Welsh"
    ],
    [
      "beo",
      "beo#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "biathaigh",
      "biathaigh#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "jîn",
      "jîn#Northern_Kurdish"
    ],
    [
      "jiyan",
      "jiyan#Northern_Kurdish"
    ],
    [
      "giyan",
      "giyan#Northern_Kurdish"
    ],
    [
      "can",
      "can#Northern_Kurdish"
    ],
    [
      "जीव",
      "जीव#Sanskrit"
    ],
    [
      "nxit",
      "nxit#Albanian"
    ],
    [
      "jiva",
      "jiva#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Raw or sensitive flesh, especially that underneath finger and toe nails.",
        "Plants used in making a quickset hedge.",
        "The life; the mortal point; a vital part; a part susceptible to serious injury or keen feeling.",
        "Synonym of living (“those who are alive”)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "with-definite-article"
      ],
      "recordId": "18d37db78468839113fa90c5debcd5f0af802e76d69f833d08cb22c098daf344",
      "rawRecordSha256": "c2840bfaf3c0ae56b6bf0146d7b669ac4355d1dee975a41a63a3ce25a3036993",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 146860
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To amalgamate surfaces prior to gilding or silvering by dipping them into a solution of mercury in nitric acid.",
        "To quicken."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive",
        "archaic",
        "poetic"
      ],
      "recordId": "42dcd2a277f38989b22cea34cad6d03ecb3b52865dad8f5166af9c036202842a",
      "rawRecordSha256": "f844216137714cea71473fb31f5bafb71464d432e8816eae60901df36fab3e1e",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 146861
    },
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Moving with speed, rapidity or swiftness, or capable of doing so; rapid; fast.",
        "Occurring in a short time; happening or done rapidly.",
        "Lively, fast-thinking, witty, intelligent.",
        "Mentally agile, alert, perceptive."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "8b1159decabdea0c4511743337a8cd8126b98e6ae86a2a92cdb71394501003b0",
      "rawRecordSha256": "436f87c26ac68da332c7cddbb9259a7394c20b80297f39924ded279d15a4539c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 146858
    },
    {
      "pos": "adv",
      "glosses": [
        "Quickly, in a quick manner.",
        "Answer quickly."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "90bd5762b2c1c51acdb49aabcc72ad8ddcb697f5e6b428d562557b4510d94870",
      "rawRecordSha256": "8a7c14091587049b2d79428c2230ab063e3c05ffbc53930c2fbb3bcd4835055c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 146859
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 12,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for quick →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-cXVpY2s