quick English · revision 2655

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 700|origins=ine-pro *gʷei-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kwɪk/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|quik|t=alive, lively]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) [[inh|ang|cwic|t=living, alive]], cwicu,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[gem-pro|*kwikwaz]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) the source also of Old Saxon quik, Dutch kwik, Old High German quec “lively” (German keck “bold”) and Old Norse kvikr “living”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*gʷei-|alt=*gwei-|t=to live]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) the source also of Latin vīvus “alive”, Greek bíos “life”, Lithuanian gývas and Sanskrit jīvá- “living”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English cwic, “alive”, is found about 725 in ''Beowulf'', and earlier in compounds such as cuicbēam, “aspen”, about 700.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The original sense, “living, alive”, survives in ''the quick and the dead'', from the Apostles' Creed,^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline) and in [[quicksand]], so called because it moves as if alive.^(Cresswell 2021) The sense “lively, active, swift, speedy” developed by about 1300, from the idea of being full of life.^(Etymonline) Carl Darling Buck noted that ''quick'' keeps a notion of “sudden, soon over”, where ''fast'' can last: a fast horse but a quick starter.^(Etymonline) Of persons, “mentally quick, prompt to respond”, is from the late 15th century,^(Etymonline) and of an action, “done in a short time”, from the 1540s.^(Etymonline) In Middle English ''quick'' also described a woman in an advanced stage of pregnancy, when the child can be felt moving.^(Etymonline) The tender flesh under a nail, ''the quick'', is from the late 14th century^(Etymonline) or 1523,^(Barnhart 1988) and ''to cut to the quick'' from the 1520s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 700 – Old English cuic- in compounds.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 725 – Old English cwic, alive.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – swift, speedy.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 14th century – the tender flesh under a nail.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 15th century – mentally quick.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1520s – ''cut to the quick''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1540s – done in a short time.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Moving or acting fast; [[rapid]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Taking little time: ''a quick look''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Quick to understand or respond; [[clever]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Easily roused: ''a quick temper''.^(AHD)

+ # ''(archaic)'' Alive; living.^(AHD)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The sensitive flesh under the fingernails or toenails.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # The deepest feelings: ''cut to the quick''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(archaic)'' The living: ''the quick and the dead''.^(AHD)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Quickly.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[quickly]]

+ * [[quickness]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[quicken]]

+ * [[quicksand]]

+ * [[quicksilver]]

+ * [[quickset]]

+ * [[vivid]]

+ * [[vital]]

+ * [[biology]]

+ * [[zoo]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The adverb ''quick'' is common in speech, as in ''come quick'', but formal writing requires ''quickly''.^(AHD) An unrelated ''quick'', couch grass, from before 1387, is a northern form of [[quitch]].^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}