*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of rapid

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁p- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *h₁r̥h₁pyéti Proto-Italic *rapjō Latin rapiō Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Italic *-iðos Latin -idus Latin rapidusder. M

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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 ↗
adj

Very swift or quick. · Steep, changing altitude quickly. (of a slope) · Needing only a brief exposure time. (of a lens, plate, film, etc.) · Violent, severe.

adv

Rapidly.

noun

A rough section of a river or stream which is difficult to navigate due to the swift and turbulent motion of the water. · A burst of rapid fire. · Ellipsis of rapid chess.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁p- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *h₁r̥h₁pyéti Proto-Italic *rapjō Latin rapiō Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Italic *-iðos Latin -idus Latin rapidusder. Middle French rapidebor. ▲ Latin rapidusbor. English rapid Borrowed from Middle French rapide and its etymon Latin rapidus.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

This page abbreviates 1 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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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 rapid →

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-cmFwaWQ