Etymologically
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speedy

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈspiː.di/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English spedi,[2][3][4] formed from English speed + -y,[5][6][4][7] after or beside Old English spēdig (“prosperous, successful, wealthy”),[3][2][8] which matches Middle Dutch spoedich (modern spoedig) and Middle Low German spôdig.[5] The noun speed is from spēd (“success, prosperity”).[3][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Advantageous, helpful, effective: about 1380, in Wyclif's works;[5] the Wycliffite Bible of about 1384 calls the word of God quyk and spedy in worching, translating Latin efficax.[2]

Semantic evolution

Like speed, which first meant "success, prosperity", the adjective first meant "advantageous, helpful", following the Old English sense "prosperous, wealthy"; that meaning died out in the 15th century.[3][5][6][8] The sense of speed as swiftness appears in the 14th century:[3][4] the OED has "marked by speed of motion" from 1382 and "moving quickly" from 1487, in Barbour's Bruce.[5] It was used of people who act promptly from about 1504, of actions that happen quickly from 1529, and of time passing quickly from 1598.[5] Johnson (1755) defined it as "quick; swift; nimble; quick of dispatch".[10] In United States law a speedy trial, one held with little delay and regarded as a citizen's right, is recorded from 1894.[5] In Cornish mining speedy ground was ground easily dug,[11] and Irish slang has speedy for a police motorbike.[12]

Timeline

  • c. 1380 – advantageous, helpful (obsolete by 1449).[5]
  • 1382 – marked by speed of motion.[5]
  • 1487 – moving quickly, swift.[5]
  • c. 1504 – prompt, quick to act.[5]
  • 1529 – happening or done quickly.[5]
  • 1894 – speedy trial (United States law).[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Moving or able to move fast; swift: a speedy little car.[13][4][5]
  2. Done or happening without delay; prompt: We all wish him a speedy return to health.[13][4][5]
  3. speedy trial: (law) a criminal trial held without undue delay, as a right of the accused.[5][14]
  4. (obsolete, c. 1380–1449) Advantageous, helpful.[5][2][6]

Word family

  • speedily
  • speediness
  • overspeedy
  • unspeedy

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ a b Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement
  9. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  11. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  12. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  13. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  14. ^ Garner, Bryan A., ed. (2004), Black's Law Dictionary, 8th ed., St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson West