| 释义 |
▪ I. fast, n.1|fɑːst, -æ-|
Also 3–6 faste, Orm. fasste.
[Early ME. faste, prob. a. ON. fasta (Da. faste, Sw. fasta), = OS. fasta, OHG. fasta (MHG. vaste), f. OTeut. fastêjan to fast. The OE. synonym was fæsten: see fasten n.]
1. An act or instance of fasting:
a. as a religious observance, or as an expression of grief.
c1200Ormin 11329 All wiþþutenn mete & drinnch Heold Crist hiss fasste þære. a1300Cursor M. 6523 (Cott.) But sum o þaim þis fast forsoke, And þai þis riche manna toke. c1400Mandeville (1839) xii. 134 The seke men be not constreyned to þat fast. 1546Langley Pol. Verg. De Invent. vi. iii. 116 a, He kepeth not the true fast whyche forbeareth flesh, or forgoeth his supper. 1557N. T. (Genev.) Acts xxvii. 9 Because also the tyme of the Fast was now passed. 1633Ford 'Tis Pity i. iii, I have..even starv'd My veins with daily fasts. 1700S. L. tr. C. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 350 We kept a Fast in our Ship, to beg God's assistance. 1851H. Martineau Hist. Peace (1877) III. iv. xiv. 133 The day appointed for a general fast. 1857Buckle Civiliz. I. viii. 515 The reformed clergy..appointed a public fast.
fig.a1300Cursor M. 29031 (Cott.) Þe thrid es better þan þe twa wit gastli fast all giltes for-ga. 1545Brinklow Compl. 57 The Scripture teacheth what true fast is..that is to say; To lett them out of bondage which be in danger..to deale thy bread to the hungry, &c. [See Isa. lviii. 6.]
b. in general. to break (one's) fast: see break v. 9 c.
c1440Promp. Parv. 151/1 Faste of abstynence, jejunium. 1669Dryden Tyran. Love ii. i, She's..refus'd to cast One glance to feed me for so long a fast. 1671Milton P.R. ii. 247 That fast To virtue I impute not. 1843Hood Song of Shirt v, I hardly fear his terrible shape..It seems so like my own, Because of the fasts I keep.
†c. The action of fasting; abstinence from food. Also personified. Obs. rare.
[a1300,1545: see 1 fig.] 1603Shakes. Meas. for M. i. ii. 130 Surfet is the father of much fast. 1632Milton Penseroso 46 Spare Fast, that oft with gods doth diet. 1795Montford Castle I. 13 Ate with a voracity obviously the result of pining fast.
2. A day or season appointed for fasting.
a1300Cursor M. 6570 (Cott.) Qua held þe fast mang oþer men? 1565J. Calfhill Answ. Treat. Crosse v. 125 b, That whiche bred in the Church a miserable schisme..the Easter fast. 1611Bible Jonah iii. 5 The people of Nineueh..proclaimed a fast. 1732Law Serious C. i. (ed. 2) 13 All the Feasts and Fasts of the Church. 1847S. Austin Ranke's Hist. Ref. III. 75 In March 1552, the people of Zurich broke the fast and ate eggs and meat. 1852Hawthorne Blithedale Rom. xvi. (1883) 477 Except on..the Fourth of July, the autumnal cattle-show, Thanksgiving, or the annual Fast.
3. attrib. and Comb., as fast-book, fast-sermon; † fast-lost a., lost through a fast; fast-mass, Shrovetide; † fast-spittle = fasting-spittle; fast-week Sc., the week preceding the celebration of the Sacrament, and including the fast-day. Also fast-day, Fast-gong.
1607Shakes. Timon ii. ii. 180 Feast won, fast lost. 1637Laud Sp. Star-Chamb. 14 June 20 The Prayer for seasonable weather was purged out of this last Fast-booke. 1681J. Chetham Angler's Vade-m. (1689) 52 The stinging of Hornets is cured by..applying outwardly Cow-dung and Fast-spittle. 1681Wood Life (Oxf. Hist. Soc.) II. 514 Mr. Birch..preached the fast sermon at St. Marie's. 1866Chambers' Encycl. s.v. Shrovetide, These days were sometimes called..Fast-mass. 1891J. M. Barrie Little Minister (1892) iii. 21 A garret in which the minister could sleep if he had guests, as during the Fast week.
▪ II. fast, n.2 Naut.|fɑːst, -æ-|
Also 5 fest.
[ME. fest, a. ON. fest-r, f. festa to fasten, f. fast-r fast a. In mod.Eng. assimilated to the adj.]
A rope, etc. by which a ship or boat is fastened to a wharf.
c1440Promp. Parv. 158/1 Fest or teyynge of a schyppe, or bootys, scalamus. 1678Littleton Lat. Dict., Fast..rope to fasten a boat or ship, prymnesium. 1763Sir S. T. Janssen Smuggling laid open 222 The Captain..employed..His Majesty's Officer..to cast off his Fasts, fastened on Shore. 1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxix. 104 The topsails were at the mast-head, the fast just ready to be cast off. 1856Kane Arct. Expl. I. iii. 35 We succeeded in changing our fasts to another berg. 1863in Robson Bards of Tyne 246 While their keel's at the fest.
†2. = anchor-hold1. Obs.
1638T. Jackson Creed ix. xv. Wks. 1673 II. 984 The cable [may be] very strong, when the fest or Anchor-hold is slippery. Ibid. ix. xix. II. 998.
▪ III. fast, n.3|fɑːst, -æ-|
[The adj. used absol. or ellipt.]
Something that is fast or fixed; spec. (see quots.).
1836Polwhele Corn.-Eng. Voc. 76 Fast. The fast is the understratum supposed never to have been moved or broken up since the creation. 1853Kane Grinnell Exp. x. (1856) 73 Forming an icy margin or beach known technically as the ‘land ice’, or ‘the fast’. 1883Gresley Coal-Mining Gloss., Fast, the first hard bed of rock met with after sinking through running sand or quick ground.
▪ IV. † fast, n.4 Obs.
[ad. Fr. faste, ad. L. fastus.]
Arrogance, pompousness.
1673Phil. Trans. VIII. 6027 He examines..the Fast and Gravity of the Spanish language. 1762–71H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. i. Wks. 1798 III. 27 Perhaps the generous sentiment implied in his motto..contained more true glory than all the Fast couched under Louis's [XIV] emblem of the sun.
▪ V. fast, a.|fɑːst, -æ-|
Forms: 1–2 fæst, 2 fest, 3 Orm. fasst, 4 south. dial. vest, 4–6 faste, 3– fast.
[Com. Teut.: OE. fæst corresponds to OFris. fest, OS. fast (Du. vast), OHG. festi (MHG. veste, mod.HG. fest), ON. fastr; prob. repr. OTeut. *fastu- (the word having, like other adj. u stems, passed into the o and i declensions), cogn. with Goth. fastan to keep, guard, observe.]
I. Firm.
1. a. Firmly fixed in its place; not easily moved or shaken; settled, stable. Obs. or arch. exc. as said predicatively of something fixed as in a socket (e.g. a nail, a post), where the sense approaches 4.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xii, Se þe wille fæst hus timbrian ne sceall he hit no settan upon þone hehstan cnol. c1000Sax. Leechd. III. 268 Ealle mæst hi [steorran] synd fæste on þam firmamentum. c1374Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 313 Als fast As in a tempest is a roten mast. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 321 It is necessarie þat þe patient ligge also stille as he mai wiþouten remevyng til þe boon be fast. 1535Coverdale 1 Chron. xvii. [xvi.] 30 He hath made the compase of the world so fast, that it can not be moued. 1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 179 If you lay not such a fast foundation. 1656Ridgley Pract. Physick 291 Pain of the Colick is moveable; of the stone, fast. 1674N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 74 A great heap of fast and loose bodies hudled up together. 1765A. Dickson Treat. Agric. v. (ed. 2) 159 In lands..where the fast stones have been carefully digged out. 1820Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. II. 264 It was ready to drop out. Some..expressed a wish that the harpoon were better fast. 1858J. Martineau Stud. Chr. 36 Structures hollowed in the fast mountain. 1871Morley Voltaire iv. (1886) 161 Something..which sets a fast gulf between them and those who are..irredeemably saturated with corruption.
b. In immaterial sense; esp. Of a person, his attributes, feelings, etc.: Not easily turned aside, constant, firm, steadfast. Now only in fast foe (arch.), fast friend; in the latter the adj. is commonly apprehended in sense 4.
c900Bæda's Hist. iv. iii. §4 Þonne eode he to cirican..& on sealmsonge fæste moode awunade. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 119 Þe holi gost..alihte hem of brihtere and of festere bileue þe hie hedden er. c1340Hampole Psalter i. 1 He is man þt is fast & stabile ageyns ese. 1340Ayenb. 116 Vayre zuete uader make oure herten ueste an stedeuest. a1400–50Alexander 4616 We þat fourmed is & fast. 1485Caxton Paris & V. 69 He had alle waye faste byleue in our Lord. 1508Fisher Wks. (1876) 271 A fast hope and confydence that he had in prayer. 1513More in Grafton Chron. II. 778 Catesby..founde him [Hastings] so fast..that [etc.]. 1607Shakes. Cor. ii. iii. 192 If he should still malignantly remaine Fast Foe to th' Plebij. 1611Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. ix. xix. §23. 716 He had beene fast vpon the part of King Henry, while that part was in wealth. 1697W. Dampier Voy. (1698) I. 158 The Indian neighbourhood..were our fast friends, and ready to receive and assist us. 1793Burke Cond. Minority Wks. 1842 I. 621 England must be the fast friend, or the determined enemy, of France. 1833H. Martineau Loom & Lugger ii. v. 91 We shall..be fast friends. 1878Browning La Saisiaz 68 There's the nice distinction 'twixt fast foes and faulty friends.
†c. Pleonastically. fast and sure: well assured, certain. Obs.
1522Skelton Sp. Parrot 504, I make the faste and sure. c1550Bale K. Johan (Camden) 20, I wyll not breke yt, ye may be fast and suer.
d. † Of sleep: Deep, sound, unbroken. Of persons: = fast asleep. Obs. exc. dial.
1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iv. v. 1 Fast I warrant her. 1605― Macb. v. i. 9 All this while in a most fast sleepe. 1743Fielding Journey i. i, She was in a fast sleep. 1762Foote Orators ii. Wks. 1799 I. 211 Smoke the justice, he is as fast as a church. 1861H. Kingsley Ravenshoe xli, ‘They waked we sharp enough; but as for she! she's fast.’
e. fast aground, fast ashore: (of a vessel) fixed on the ground, the shore. fast asleep: fixed in sleep, sound asleep, in a deep sleep.
In these phrases fast seems to have been originally the grammatical predicate; now it is usually apprehended as an adv. qualifying aground, ashore, asleep.
1555T. Haukes in Foxe A. & M. (1631) III. xi. 260 The old Bishop..was fast asleepe. c1620Z. Boyd Zion's Flowers (1855) 12, I see a man..Hard fast asleepe. 1725De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 331 Running fast aground. 1751Smollett Per. Pic. ii, We were fast ashore before you knew anything of the matter. 1771― Humph. Cl. (1846) 329 In half an hour I was fast asleep in bed. 1837Dickens Pickw. viii, The fat boy, for once, had not been fast asleep. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Fast aground, immoveable or high and dry.
f. Of a colour: That will not quickly fade or wash out; permanent. Also fast-colour attrib.
1658W. Sanderson Graphice 80 Fast and firm colours, as Umber, Oke. 1840F. D. Bennett Whaling Voy. II. 92 Its texture is strong and neat; its colours are fast. 1884I. Levinstein in Manch. Exam. 6 Oct. 4/5 The fastest red dye known on cotton. 1939H. G. Wells Holy Terror i. iii. 72 There's that fool Lord Horatio Bohun and his purple shirts—mauve shirts really they are, for he never had the wit to get his shirts fast colour. Ibid. iii. iii. 317 We are the Revolution from the West and all fast-colour Revolutions come out of the West. 1962B.S.I. News June 10/1 There is a good deal of loose use of expressions such as ‘guaranteed fast colours’ and ‘fast colours’, without any indication of what the colours are fast to—and without even any recognition that a colour that is fast to light is not necessarily fast to washing, and vice versa. 1962J. T. Marsh Self-Smoothing Fabrics xviii. 298 Since 1952–53 there has been an increasing use of vat dyes with thermo⁓setting resins on cotton, for fast-colour work has become a particularly important factor in the U.S.A.
g. fast line (Surveying): see quot. hard and fast line: see hard a.
1807Hutton Course Math. II. 73 When a line is measured whose position is determined..it is called a fast line.
h. Of an organism: resistant to the stain-removing or toxic action of a (specified) agent. Used chiefly in Comb. preceded by the name of the agent. (Cf. fast a. 1 f.)
1904[see acid-fast adj.]. 1907Jrnl. R. Inst. Public Health XV. 453 The atoxyl-fast strain is also resistant to a number of substances related to atoxyl. 1949E. J. Pulaski in S. A. Waksman Streptomycin xxxiv. 491 Wide variation in susceptibility is observed and initially strepto⁓mycin-fast organisms are found. 1951A. Grollman Pharmacol. & Therapeutics i. 26 By subjecting susceptible organisms to inadequate doses of a drug it is possible to render them ‘drug fast’. 1964M. Hynes Med. Bacteriol. (ed. 8) v. 48 An ‘acid-fast’ organism is one which when stained resists decolourization with 25 per cent sulphuric acid. Ibid., The smegma bacillus..is acid-fast, but not alcohol-fast.
†2.
a. Firmly or closely knit together, compact, dense, solid, hard. Obs. exc. dial.
c1000Sax. Leechd. I. 114 Ðeos wyrt..bið cenned..on fæstum stowum. c1200Ormin 1602 Wiþþ fasst & findiȝ laf & harrd. 1398Trevisa Barth De P.R. xvii. ii. (1495) 598 Trees that ben moost sad and faste. 1581Marbeck Bk. of Notes 1038 Then is hayle ingendered, because y⊇ thing is become more fast. 1601Holland Pliny xvi. xl, The Cherrie tree wood is firme and fast. 1609C. Butler Fem. Mon. i. (1623) C j, The stuffe [new Fustian] is so fast that it holdeth the sting. 1661J. Childrey Brit. Bacon. 16 Tin is a fast metal, and not apt to dissolve. 1765A. Dickson Treat. Agric. (ed. 2) 316 The half of the earth, e f, with the fast land below, is thrown into the furrow E F. 1805Scott Last Minstr. iv. xvii, In close array and fast. 1881Leicestersh. Gloss., This ere bread cuts so fasst.
†b. Of style: Compact, terse. Obs.
a1568R. Ascham Scholem. ii. (Arb.) 113 If Osorius would..translate Demosthenes, with so straite, fast, and temperate a style in latine, as he is in Greeke.
c. Frozen. N. Amer. ? Obs.
1706Boston News-Letter 21 Jan. 2/2 New York Jan. 7th..Hudsons River was froze over and continued fast several days. 1743J. Isham Obs. Hudsons Bay (1949) XII. 179 The Lakes and Rivers near the ocean some affirm, are fast all the Summer. 1796E. Drinker Jrnl. 23 Dec. (1889) 296 Clear and very cold. Wind N.W. The river fast to day. 1854in Beaver (1924) Dec. 31 We have had the pleasure of seeing the river fast this morning.
†3. Of a fortress: Strong. Of a place or district: Secure against attack or access. Obs. Cf. fastness.
c900Bæda's Hist. iii. xvi, Seo burᵹ wæs to þon fæst þæt [etc.]. c1205Lay. 9775 Sone he gon faren..in to Ex-chæstre, þa burh wes þa fæstre. 1571Hanmer Chron. Irel. (1633) 113 They found the country fast with woods, bogges, and paces trenched. 1596Spenser State Irel. (1633) 100 Robbers and Outlawes..lurking in Woods and fast places. 1633T. Stafford Pac. Hib. vii. (1821) 86 A strong and fast Countrey.
4. a. Firmly attached to something else; that cannot easily escape or be extricated; fixed to the spot; lit. and fig. Said both of persons and things.
c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. (MS.A) 352 Presse hem þat þei bicome fast togidere. a1400–50Alexander 747* (Dublin MS.) In rapes fast for ryfyng of bernes. c1440Promp. Parv. 151/2 Fast, or festyd be clevynge to, or naylynge, fixus, confixus. 1535Coverdale Ps. lxxvii[i]. 8, I am so fast in preson, that I can not get forth. 1603Knolles Hist. Turks 685 Being..almost fast in the deep mud. 1659B. Harris Parival's Iron Age 86 France..by keeping herself fast with them..hath drawn no small advantages from them [Swiss]. 1682Milton Hist. Mosc. v, I am now fast in your Country. 1700S. L. tr. C. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 41 The Hook struck into his Throat, and had him fast. 1772–84Cook Voy. (1790) VI. 2236 Captain King..remained fast till the return of the boat. 1806–7J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) i. Introd., If you and your mind and your nerves are such fast cronies. 1827Scott Jrnl. (1890) II. 13 Mr. Scrope, who is fast with the gout. 1833Tennyson Poems 120 We must bind And keep you fast, my Rosalind. 1878H. Phillips Poems fr. Sp. & Germ. 16 Prisoner fast was Virgil taken.
b. Of a knot, band, etc.: Firmly tied, not easily loosed. Also fig. of an alliance, etc.
1553T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 40 For that faste kinred and aliaunce, which is betwixt us. 1583Hollyband Campo di Fior 21 Tye the latcheth of a loose knot, and not of a fast one. 1641Milton Ch. Govt. Wks. 1738 I. 63 Our Prelates..have enter'd into fast League with the principal Enemy against whom they were sent. 1724R. Falconer Voy. (1769) 232 To lie still as if their Chains were fast.
c. to make fast: to bind, connect, or fix firmly. In nautical use also absol.
c1340Cursor M. 16684 (Trin.) Abouen his heed..a bord was made fast. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 174 Þer ben maad fast wiþ þe ballokis .ij. vessels. 1526Tindale Acts xvi. 24 Which iayler..made their fete fast in the stockes. 1627Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. v. 22 In stead of tying, sea men alwayes say, make fast. 1697W. Dampier Voy. (1698) I. 17 [He] took the end of a Line, and made it fast about his Neck. 1748F. Smith Voy. Disc. N.-W. Pass. I. 45 Captain More..made fast to another Piece [of ice]. 1835Marryat Jac. Faithf. vii, Make the boat fast, there's a good lad. 1872C. Gibbon For the King i, The horses were made fast in one corner of the court.
fig.a1310in Wright Lyric P. ix. 37 Betre is make forewardes faste, then afterward to mene ant mynne. 1553T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 144 A Gentleman, being handfasted to a Gentlewoman..afterwardes lost her, being made faster to another manne, then ever she was to hym. 1560Rolland Crt. Venus iv. 469 Ȝe man mak fast that salbe to ȝow laid.
d. fig. In a perplexity or difficulty; ‘in a fix’. to be fast for: to be in want of. dial.
1863Mrs. Toogood Yorksh. Dial., I sent to borrow your saddle, for I..was fast for one. 1877Cheshire Gloss., ‘I've getten fast amang it.’ 1883Almondbury Gloss., ‘Why don't you get on with your job?’ ‘Nay, Au'm fast.’
e. Whale-fishing. Of the whale: Having a harpoon sticking in it. Also of the boat, to which the harpoon is attached. Cf. fast-boat, -fish, -ship (see 11).
1820Scoresby Acc. Arct. Reg. II. 320 Whether the fish, at the time of being harpooned by the second ship, was fast or loose? 1823― Jrnl. 444 Amongst this run of fish, the king George was fast to three. 1839T. Beale Sperm Whale 181 The immense creature almost flew..throwing tons of spray high into the air, shewing that he was ‘fast.’
f. Constipated; costive. Obs. exc. dial.
c1000Sax. Leechd. I. 74 Gif mannes innoð to fæst sy. 1877N.W. Linc. Gloss., Fast, costive.
5. Of a door, window, etc.: Close shut, bolted, or locked. Also, to make (a door, etc.) fast.
c1305Edmund Conf. 416 in E.E.P. (1862) 82 Make faste þe dore after þe. c1320Cast. Love 876 Thorgh the fast ȝate he con in teo, At the owt-goyng he lette hit fast be. c1425Seven Sag. 1355 (P.) The wyf fonde the dore faste. 1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 160 He that cumth last make all fast. 1623Massinger Dk. Milan v. ii, I'll first make fast the door. 1748Richardson Clarissa Wks. 1883 VI. 290, I thought I heard her coming to open the door..but it was only to draw another bolt, to make it still the faster. 1832H. Martineau Hill & Valley i. 9 He..walked round the cottage to see that the windows were fast. 1853Kingsley Hypatia xxviii. 359 The door..was fast. With a single blow he burst it open.
6. a. Gripping, tenacious. Const. of. Obs. exc. in to take fast hold (of).
c1510More Picus Wks. 5/2 A meruelouse fast memorie. 1608Bp. Hall Char. Virtues & V. ii. 76 He greets his friend..with..so fast a closure, that [etc.]. 1611Bible Prov. iv. 13 Take fast hold of instruction. 1625Bacon Ess., Gardens (Arb.) 557 Roses Damask & Red are fast Flowers of their Smels. 1662J. Davies Voy. Ambass. 272 These Conductors..laid..fast hold on their hands. 1724R. Falconer Voy. (1769) 62 Laying fast hold of the Skirt of my Waistcoat.
†b. Close-fisted, mean, niggardly. Obs.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 143 Þa feste Men þa þet mei lutel to wreche. a1300Pop. Science 275 A slouȝ wrecche and ferblet, fast and loth to ȝeve his god.
7. Mining.
a. In fast country, fast ground, applied to that part of the bed of minerals which lies next the rock (cf. 4).
1671Phil. Trans. VI. 2096 The (then real but now imaginary) surface of the Earth, which is termed by the Miners, the Shelf, Fast Countrey or Ground that was never moved in the Flood. Ibid. 2099 When we come to the Shelf or Fast Countrey. 1753Chambers Cycl. Supp., Fast Ground or Fast Country.
b. fast end, fast wall (see quots.). Cf. 1.
1851Greenwell Coal-trade Terms Northumb. & Durh. 25 Fast Wall, a sheth wall; the wall in which, at the top or bottom of a course, the bearing up or bearing down stopping is placed. 1881Raymond Mining Gloss., Fast-end..a gangway with rock on both sides. 1883Gresley Coal min. Gloss., Fast End, the limit of a stall in one direction.
II. Rapid.[This sense was app. developed first in the adv., and thence transferred to the adj.: see fast adv.] 8. a. Of action, motion, or progress: Quick, swift. Hence of an agent: (a) Moving quickly; (b) Imparting quick motion to something. fast and furious: see furious a. 1 d.[In the first quot. the sense may be ‘strong, vigorous’ (cf. 1, 2 and the adv. 1 d.)] a1300Cursor M. 7169 (Cott.) Sampson..gaue a braid sa fers and fast, þat all þe bandes of him brast. 1552Huloet, Fast wryter, impiger scriba. 1594Shakes. Rich. III, iii. i. 103 Idle Weeds are fast in growth. c1610Speed in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 109 With a fast eye you had overune it. a1627Middleton Chaste Maid v. i, A fair, fast, legible hand. 1662J. Davies tr. Mandelslo's Trav. E. Ind. 120 A hundred Boats, all which row for the fastest. 1712Swift Jrnl. to Stella 12 Dec., I am slower, but MD is faster. 1788Franklin Autobiog. Wks. 1887 I. 287 His ship..foul to a degree that must necessarily hinder her fast sailing. 1837Dickens Pickw. xiv, The vixenish mare with the fast pace. 1837C. J. Apperley The Road (1851) 32 The average price of horses for fast coaches. 1886Manch. Exam. 7 Jan. 5/2 The want felt in Lancashire of a good fast bowler. 1886T. Hopkins 'Twixt Love & Duty xli, The fast train was exchanged for a local one. 1888Steel Cricket iii. 164 It is strange that English first-class cricket is so devoid of really fast bowling.
b. Coming in quick succession. freq. in Shelley; otherwise rare.
1815Shelley Alastor 533 For as fast years flow away The smooth brow gathers. a1822― Coliseum Ess. & Lett. (Camelot) 59 Like the fast drops of a fountain.
c. Of a clock or watch: Indicating a time more advanced than the true time.
1840Penny Cycl. XVII. 405/1 In an observatory it is always desirable that a clock should..be slow rather than fast. Mod. My watch is fast. ‘It is six by my watch.’ ‘I think you must be fast.’
d. Photogr. Needing only brief exposure (emulsion, film); shortening the necessary exposure time (lens); providing a brief exposure time (shutter).
1902A. Watkins Photogr. 115 The folded focussing cloth can be held in front of the lens before drawing the slide. Probably half the subjects usually taken with a fast shutter would be better done in this way. 1923Brit. Jrnl. Photogr. Alm. 1924 165 (Advt.), Ilford Roll Films... Exceptionally fast. 1939Henney & Dudley Handbk. Photogr. viii. 214 In all the common methods of specifying film speed, the larger numerical units indicate the faster..emulsions. 1958Amat. Photographer 31 Dec. 914/2 The benefits of a fast lens are greatest with a 35-mm camera. 1968A. Diment Gt. Spy Race vii. 107 It was a good, fast film and I worked the re-wind lever like the bolt on a rifle.
e. Used in nuclear physics to denote various processes, devices, etc., that involve fast neutrons (see sense 11), as fast breeder (reactor), a breeder reactor that is a fast reactor; fast fission, the fission of a nucleus by a fast neutron; fast pile, fast reactor, a nuclear reactor in which fission is caused primarily by fast (unmoderated) neutrons.
1945H. D. Smyth Gen. Acct. Devel. Atomic Energy Mil. Purposes viii. 79 The enhancement may be taken into account by multiplying the original number of neutrons N by a factor ε which is called the fast-fission effect or the fast-multiplication factor. Ibid. 91 The original fast neutrons are slightly increased in number by fast fission. 1947Sci. News Let. 6 Sept. 147 ‘Fast reactor’ uses man-made plutonium. 1949Nucleonics Dec. 40 The ‘fast’ pile, in which the neutrons produce fission at practically the same energy at which they themselves are released by fission. 1954Wall St. Jrnl. 11 Oct. 3/4 There are two more experimental reactor types to be built under the A.E.C.'s present plans—a so-called homogeneous reactor and a ‘fast breeder’ reactor. 1954Sci. Amer. Dec. 39/1 The homogeneous reactor and the fast breeder represent the boldest extrapolations among the five reactor projects. 1957Technology July 184 Remoteness was considered essential for the site of an experimental fast-breeder reactor. In this respect, Dounreay was ideal. 1964A. Salmon Nuclear Reactor iii. 31 The fast reactor cannot use natural, or near natural, uranium because inelastic scattering by the 238U reduces the mean neutron energy into a region where fast fissions are not sufficient to overcome the losses due to leakage of neutrons from the reactor and to capture in the 238U. 1968New Scientist 1 Feb. 230/2 Most industrialized countries are growing enthusiastic..about fast reactors, which they foresee as the next successful breed of nuclear power generators.
9. Adapted to, or productive of, quick movement.
a. With reference to locomotion or transport.
b. Cricket and Football. Said of the ground when hard and dry.
c. Billiards. Said of a table of which the cushions are very elastic.
a.1857B. Taylor North. Trav. 245 As it was not a ‘fast’ station, we were subject to the possibility of waiting two or three hours for horses. Mod. A fast line (of railway).
b.1888Steel Cricket iii. 150 Finishing his stroke as he would do on a fast wicket. 1891Field 7 Mar. 345/3 The ground [at a football match] was very fast.
c.1873Bennett & Cavendish Billiards 21 By a moderately fast table is meant one on which if a player strikes a ball as hard as he can, it will run five times the length of the table.
10. a. Of persons: Living too fast (see fast adv. 7); extravagant in habits; devoted to pleasure, dissipated; usually implying a greater or less degree of immorality. Also in fast life, fast living, etc. b. Often applied to women in milder sense: Studiedly unrefined in habits and manners, disregardful of propriety or decorum. c. Of language, etc.: Characteristic of ‘fast’ people. d. Of a place: Inhabited or frequented by ‘fast’ people.
1745E. Heywood Female Spect. (1748) II. 273 In deep consultation..how to repair the defects of age and fast living. 1841J. T. J. Hewlett Parish Clerk I. 179 All the fast men were anxious to make their acquaintance. 1852L. Oliphant Journey to Katmandu 191 Lucknow is a fast place. 1856F. E. Paget Owlet Owlst. 140 If a fast young lady be detestable anywhere, what must she be in a country parsonage? 1861Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. i. (1889) 2 The college was decidedly fast. 1870Ramsay Remin. v. (ed. 18) 119 I never heard..all these fast terms. 1874Burnand My Time xxiii. 203 My lot was cast in a fast set.
III. 11. Comb. and locutions: fast back, fastback, (a) in Bookbinding, a back that adheres to the sheets as distinguished from a loose back or spring back; (b) orig. U.S., on a motor car; a back that slopes in one continuous line from the top of the car to the rear bumper; hence, such a car; freq. attrib.; fast-boat, a whaling-boat which has made itself fast to a whale, i.e. has harpooned it; fast buck U.S. [buck n.8], a quickly earned dollar; † fast-fingered a. = close-fisted; fast fish, a whale which has been harpooned and is therefore fast to the boat; fast-footed a., (a) Cricket, denoting the action or method of keeping the back foot immobile in batting; (b) fast-moving, speedy of foot; fast-freight, U.S. (Railways), goods for rapid transportation, whence fast-freight-line; fast-gated a., dial. going at a rapid rate; fast-goer, one who goes fast; † fast-hand v., to grasp tightly; † fast-handed a. = close-fisted; fast-hold, (a) a stronghold; lit. and fig.; (b) confinement, durance; fast ice, ice covering sea-water but usually attached to land (cf. fast n.3 and fast a. 2 c); fast lane, (a) a traffic lane, usu. that farthest from the outer edge of a motorway or dual carriageway, intended for drivers who wish to overtake slower cars; (b) fig., esp. denoting a glamorous or highly-pressured lifestyle; freq. in phr. in the fast lane and attrib.; fast neutron, a neutron with kinetic energy greater than some arbitrary value, esp. one that has not been slowed down by the action of a moderator after being produced by the fission of a nucleus; fast one slang (orig. U.S.), esp. in phrases, as to pull (or put over) a fast one, to take unfair advantage by (rapid) action of some sort; fast-pulley, also in fast and loose pulley (see quots.); fast ship, a ship which has secured a particular whale, by means of its boats; fast-shot (see quot.); fast store Computers (see quot. 1962); also called fast-, quick-access storage; fast track orig. U.S., (a) Horse-racing, a race-track on which the going is dry and hard, enabling the horses to race at high speed; (b) a hectic place or post, esp. in business; a route to rapid advancement or development; (c) as adj., (i) high-flying; suitable for rapid promotion; (ii) chiefly U.S., of planning, construction, etc.: accelerated; fast tracker U.S., a high-flyer; an ambitious or thrusting person; fast worker colloq., one who makes rapid progress, used esp. in amatory contexts. Also fast and loose.
1912A. J. Philip Business of Bookbinding xv. 181 Books which are to have leather backs are now individually examined and tested to find out which should have *fast backs and which open backs. 1965Economist 7 Aug. 552/2 The 1600 [Volkswagen car] is given a ‘fast’ (or sharply sloping) back. 1968Autocar 14 Mar. 27/1 German fastback fitted with new fully automatic transmission. 1969Guardian 7 Oct. 5/4 A fastback family saloon.
1820Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. I. 480 It frequently drags the *fast-boat with such speed through the water, that it is..soon out of sight. 1839T. Beale Sperm Whale 165 Those in the ‘fast’ boat haul themselves gently towards the whale.
1949New Yorker 5 Nov. 82 Tryin' to hustle me a *fast buck. 1969Observer 23 Nov. 7/1 A friend who made a fast buck out of selling dirty postcards. 1971Publishers' Weekly 22 Mar. 33 In recent years, the Norman Rockwell kind of vision has been sullied by cynical, fast-buck door-to-door operators.
1607Hieron Wks. I. 339 How *fast fingered and close handed are they, when any thing should come from them to a good purpose?
1820Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. II. 244 The first effort of a ‘*fast-fish’ or whale that has been struck, is to escape from the boat.
1897Encycl. Sport I. 228/2 The ‘*fast-footed’ style of hitting. 1907Westm. Gaz. 21 Aug. 7/1 To play right over it in attempting a fast-footed drive. 1960T. McLean Kings of Rugby xi. 143 Watson, who had not been conspicuously fast-footed as Faull made his run, restored his reputation [etc.].
1881Chicago Times 12 Mar., The Commercial Express *Fast-Freight line.
1875Waugh Old Cronies iv. in Tufts Heather (1892) I. 221 A *fast-gated spendthrift.
1837Dickens Sk. Boz 2nd Ser. 42 [His] great aim..was to be considered as a ‘knowing card’, a ‘*fast-goer’. 1885M. E. Braddon Wyllard's Weird I. vii. 183 In a hunting country, the fast⁓goers generally get together.
1632J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 104 She perceived it was a woman who *fast⁓handing a little plancke, floted on the sea.
1611Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. Proeme, Nature in those gifts hath beene both liberall..and prodigall, though Fortune as sparing and *fast handed against me. 1622Bacon Hen. VII 207 The King also beeing fast handed, and loth to part with a second Dowrie.
1802Hatred III. 152 A banditti..secured themselves from punishment by retiring to this *fast hold. 1832Fraser's Mag. V. 566 The wild cat, the fox, and the badger, are almost entirely exterminated from their fastholds. 1870Daily News 8 Sept. 6 When the last fast⁓hold of priestly influence is rapidly disappearing in the West.
1932Geogr. Rev. XXII. 81 The relative lightness and flatness of the sea ice over the entire length of our flight classified it as belonging to the pack-ice zone intermediate between the polar cap ice of the central basin and the *fast ice of the coastal shelves. 1956Nature 31 Mar. 599/2 About five thousand Emperor penguins were found on the fast-ice in an adjoining bay... A few days after arrival the sea ice on which the penguins had been nesting broke up.
1966T. Wisdom High-Performance Driving xi. 111 One is frustrated on a motor⁓way by the driver ahead in the ‘*fast’ lane (if only he appreciated that it is the overtaking lane). 1971K. Royce Concrete Boot x. 120 I'd been batting away on the fast lane, peering ahead..through the cars in front of me. 1978Detroit Free Press 16 Apr. (Parade) 20/4 The image usually associated with the superjet, ‘fast lane’ set. 1981Christian Science Monitor 9 Oct. 14 (heading) Cambodian united front talks in fast lane to nowhere. 1984Tampa (Florida) Tribune 5 Apr. 4d/1 Nero's sense of humor compensates for any drudgery in his fast-lane schedule.
1933Physical Rev. XLIV. 236 (heading) Disintegration of neon nuclei by *fast neutrons. 1945H. D. Smyth Gen. Acct. Devel. Atomic Energy Mil. Purposes vi. 53 The program would provide the theoretical and experimental data required for the design of a fast-neutron chain-reacting bomb. 1956A. H. Compton Atomic Quest i. 55 It was the fast neutrons coming directly from the atom's fission that would take part in an atomic explosion; in the controlled reaction where a moderator was used, it was the slow neutrons that were most important. 1968New Scientist 8 Feb. 305/1 Experiments in fast-neutron therapy have so far concentrated mainly on animals.
1923H. C. Witwer in Cosmopolitan Nov. 98/1 He's trying to put over a *fast one! 1932J. Sayre Rackety Rax xiii. 103 Brick pulled a fast one in the St. Mary's game. 1932Wodehouse Hot Water xvii. 282 The thought that a girl capable of thinking up a fast one like that should be madly throwing herself away on Blair Eggleston..was infinitely saddening. 1933J. G. Cozzens Cure of Flesh ii. 157 You never know when they may pull a fast one on you. 1937R. Stout Red Box ix. 127 There was a chance you were putting over a fast one. 1943H. Bolitho Combat Report 107, I said..that they must not try to pull a fast one on me. 1943Hunt & Pringle Service Slang 31 A Fast One: (a) any remark giving rise to Thought. (b) a trick, especially one calculated to shift the onus. ‘Pulling a fast one’ on your associates is very much the same as ‘putting one over’ on them. 1953R. Lehmann Echoing Grove 250 [Amer. loq.] The last thing I meant was to try and pull a fast one, but I guess that's what I'm doing. 1958‘A. Gilbert’ Death against Clock 96 Mad to think they can pull a fast one..over the whole community.
1856S. C. Brees Terms Archit., etc., *Fast and loose pulleys, a very simple..contrivance for disengaging and re-engaging machinery, consisting of two pulleys. One pulley is fixed on an axle, another, having a bush, is loose. The band conveying the motion may consequently be shifted from one pulley to the other at pleasure. 1874Knight Dict. Mech., Fast-pulley (Machinery), one keyed to the shaft so as to revolve therewith.
1820Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. II. 250 These signals serve to indicate..the exclusive title of the ‘*fast-ship’ to the entangled whale.
1846Brockett Gloss. N. Country Words (ed. 3) 161 When a shot has discharged without disturbing the coal..it is said to be a *fast shot.
1955Scope Electronic Computers in Office (Office Managem. Assoc.) 36 The *fast store has a capacity of 390 forty binary digit words. 1962Gloss. Terms Autom. Data Proc. (B.S.I.) 64 Fast store, an imprecise term referring to a store whose access time is relatively short. 1964T. W. McRae Impact of Computers on Accounting i. 8 Apart from these historical or backing stores we need a fast access store for handling that part of the data which is being currently processed by the computer.
1934R. S. Dowst Playing the Races 175 *Fast track, a track in condition to permit maximum speed. 1965R. M. Nixon in N.Y. Times Mag. 25 Apr. 14/4 New York..is a place where you can't slow down—a fast track. Any person tends to vegetate unless he is moving on a fast track. 1968Bulletin (Sydney) 3 Feb. 22/2 The ‘fast track’ men want to go some place in the corporation. 1968T. Ainslie Compl. Guide Thoroughbred Racing vii. 108 Information about the running styles, preferred distances, [etc.]..of most horses is based on fast-track performances. 1970Archit. Rec. CXLVIII. 91/1 Unit theory design is a synthesis of concepts: the module (structural or functional), the systems approach..and the ‘fast track’ approach to programing, design and construction. 1984Business Rev. Weekly Feb. 29/3 There are not enough signs now that the US is entering this fast track. 1984Times 15 Dec. 7/1 Many a thrusting young manager or fast-track public servant has had his hopes dashed.
1977Fortune June 160/2 Some of the *fast trackers seem so preoccupied with getting ahead that they don't always notice the implications of what they do. 1982Peters & Waterman In Search of Excellence viii. 265 He almost always put his fast-trackers in the tiny divisions.
1921S. Ford Inez & Trilby May xii. 212 The dark stranger is getting a bit free. He is patting Inez on the arm... ‘One of these *fast workers, I take it,’ says I. 1929J. B. Priestley Good Companions ii. v. 373 He had had two while some fellows..had not been able to secure a single drink... He was undoubtedly a fast worker. 1961I. Murdoch Severed Head xxiii. 195 ‘I'm going to get married.’.. ‘Admit you're a fast worker!’ 1965‘R. Foley’ Suffer a Witch (1966) v. 95 And you had dinner with him practically the next evening?.. He seems to be a fast worker.
Add:[III.] 11. fast break U.S. Basketball (Handball, etc.), a swift attack made from a defensive position.
1938St. Paul (Minnesota) Pioneer Press 3 Jan. 41/1 Addington slipped on a *fast break just after Minnesota tied. 1947Life 20 Jan. 51/1 (caption) The fast break..gets Kentucky players..down court in position for a shot well ahead of three Wabash College defenders. 1973Park & Fahey Team Handball 14 Shots blocked and easily caught by the goalie often result in fast-break 2on1 situations for the opposing team. 1980Hoy & Carter Tackle Basketball vi. 86 The fast break is said to begin with the blocking out of attacking players and the securing of rebounds, but it can be initiated immediately after a score by one's opponents.
also fast-break v. intr., to make a fast break.
1964Anderson & Albeck Coaching better Basketball viii. 177 It is not uncommon to see as many as 50 free throws in some games, furnishing excellent occasions to *fast break. 1980Hoy & Carter Tackle Basketball vi. 97 The defenders either intercept, rebound or recover the ball from the basket, at which time they fast-break down court.
so fast-breaking ppl. a. and vbl. n.
1937Washington Even. Star b7/8 Nebraska..simply was unable to keep pace with the *fast-breaking Colonials. 1940Minneapolis Morning Tribune 9 Jan. 12/1 The in-shots their fast breaking tactics earned them. 1967Sports Illustr. 17 Apr. 31/3 Wilt was taking himself out of the offensive play, giving his fast-breaking teammates the scoring advantage.
fast train, an express train, esp. one that stops at only a few stations along the route.
1886T. Hopkins 'Twixt Love & Duty xli. 345 The *fast train was exchanged for a local one. 1935Railway Wonders of World I. 655/3 The train on the left was a non-stop express, and that on the right a fast train which called at several of the principal stations. 1987Church Times 3 Apr. 8/2 A highly glossy gourmet magazine..has found its way down the line to Holy Trinity, Reading (‘fast trains every forty minutes’).
▪ VI. fast, adv.|fɑːst, -æ-|
Forms: 1 fæste, 3 fæste, feste, south. dial. væste, veste, 3–6 faste, 3 Orm. fasste, south. dial. vaste, 3– fast; comp. 1 fæstor, 3 fæstre, south. dial. vastre, 3– faster.
[OE. fæste = OS. fasto (Du. vast), OHG. fasto (MHG. vaste firmly, fixedly, closely, quickly, mod.G. fast almost), ON. fast:—OTeut. *fastô, f. fastu- fast a.]
1. a. In a fast manner, so as not to be moved or shaken; lit. and fig.; firmly, fixedly. Often with stand, sit, stick, etc. † to sit fast upon: to insist upon.
c900Bæda's Hist. ii. xiii, Þa sceat he mid þy spere, þæt hit sticode fæste on þæm heriᵹe. c1205Lay. 9562 Heore grið heo setten fæste. c1300Beket 1306 Whan ech man of the lond faste aȝen him is. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 188 It wole make hise heeris longe & make hem sitte faste. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 8 b, Persones that..stycke fast in theyr owne blynde fantasy. 1535Coverdale Ps. xxxiii. 9 For..loke what he commaundeth, it stondeth fast. 1563–87Foxe A. & M. (1684) III. 112 Whose faith may be the faster fixed on Gods verity. 1566T. Stapleton Ret. Untr. Jewel i. 37 He sitteth so fast upon the bare wordes. 1611Bible 1 Cor. xvi. 13 Stand fast in the faith. 1726G. Shelvocke Voy. round World (1757) 202 Their fire had little or no effect. All stood fast with us. 1777H. Gates in Sparks Corr. Amer. Rev. (1853) I. 548, I have seen the Mohawk River fast frozen on the 10th of November. 1789Cowper Ann. Mem. 1789. 45 The symbol of a righteous reign Sat fast on George's brows again. 1815Scott Paul's Lett. (1839) 124 Stand fast, 95th..we must not be beat. 1843Macaulay Lays Anc. Rome, Virginia, No cries were there, but teeth set fast. 1879F. W. Robinson Coward Conscience i. i, Stick fast to the hand-rail.
b. to sleep fast: to sleep soundly.
(For fast asleep see fast a. 1 e.)
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 201 Sume men slapeð faste and sume nappeð. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 2780 In eiþer [stone] a dragon þer inne slepe vaste. c1381Chaucer Parl. Foules 94 Tooke rest, that made me to slepe faste. 1483Caxton G. de la Tour F viij, Whyle he fast slept she cutte awey the heerys of his heede. 1557K. Arthur (W. Copland) vi. i, So syr Launcelot slepte passyng fast. 1667Milton P.L. ix. 182 Him fast sleeping soon he found. 1758Johnson Let. 9 Jan., I must have indeed slept very fast. 1819Byron Juan ii. xcix, The day before fast sleeping on the water, They found a turtle. 1844Mrs. Browning Sonnets, Comfort, He sleeps the faster that he wept before.
†c. Expressing fixity of attention, effort, or purpose: Earnestly, steadily, diligently, zealously.
c1200Ormin 9241 Menn himm sohhtenn fasste to, Forr himm to seon & herenn. c1300Havelok 2148 Þanne bihelden he him faste. c1325Poem Times Edw. II, 57 The clerkes of the cuntré wolen him faste wowe. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 42 The barnage..Assemblyt thaim, and fayndyt fast To cheyss a king thar land to ster. Ibid. iv. 616 Eftyr the fyr he lukyt fast. 14..Tundale's Vis. 2053 Tundale lystenyd fast and logh. c1430Syr Tryam. 65 Syr Marrok, hys steward, Was faste abowtewarde To do hys lady gyle. 1533Bellenden Livy (1822) 413 The army at Veos desirit fast to have thare money for thare wageis. 1535Coverdale Judith x. 23 She loked fast vpon him, & fell downe vpon the earth. 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, v. ii. 21 Thou art so fast mine enemie. 1644Milton Areop. (Arb.) 69 Others as fast reading, trying all things.
†d. Expressing vigour in action: Stoutly, strongly, vigorously. Obs.
1297R. Glouc. (1724) 399 Hii..bysegede þe cyte, & asaylede vaste. c1320Sir Tristr. 2783 Tristrem as aman, Fast he gan to fiȝt. 1375Barbour Bruce xiii. 129 Be thai [presit]..A little fastar..thai discumfit soyn sall be. c1420Anturs of Arth. xlvii, Fast he foundes atte his face With a squrd kene. c1450Myrc 1627 Wepeth faste and ys sory. 1570Buchanan Chamæleon Wks. (1892) 51 Albeit Chamæleon..ragit neuir sa fast the contrait was concludit.
2. a. With firm grasp, attachment, or adhesion; so as not to permit of escape or detachment; tightly, securely. Often with bind, hold, etc. lit. and fig. See also hold v.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxv. §2 Swiþe fæste to somne ᵹelimed. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 103 Þe man þe halt faste his sinne..he is demd fro heuene to helle. c1205Lay. 15337 Þa wes Uortigerne væste ibunden. c1220Bestiary 212 And feste ðe forðward fast at thin herte, ðat tu firmest higtes. c1300St. Brandan 93 With bole huden stronge y-nou y-nailed therto faste. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 684 This es the leef that hanges noght faste. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 315 Þan take faste þe boon & drawe it to his place aȝen. 1480Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxlii. 283 Kyng Richard was deposed and was kept fast in hold. 1542–3Act 34–5 Hen. VIII, c. 6 Pinnes..such as shal..haue the heads soudered fast to the shanke. 1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 308 Something to hold fast, among many thinges that I have read. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. ii. v. 53 Fast binde, fast finde, A prouerbe neuer stale in thriftie minde. 1667Milton P.L. vi. 543 Let each..gripe fast his orbed Shield. 1685Lond. Gaz. No. 2095/3 All the Ships in the Downs Ride fast. 1771E. Griffith tr. Viaud's Shipwreck 31 Clinging fast to the side of our vessel. 1816J. Wilson City of Plague ii. iii. 290 Fear binds us fast to guilt. 1838Thirlwall Greece II. 306 To exhort them to choose and hold fast the good. 1850Mrs. Browning Rom. Page, And wedded fast were we.
†b. fig. Of a command or prohibition: Strictly.
c1310St. Swithin 76 in E.E.P. (1862) 45 His men faste he bad Þat hi ne scholde him burie noȝt in church. 13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 1147 To defowle hit euer vpon folde fast he forbedes. 1535Coverdale Jer. xxxv. 14 The wordes..are fast and surely kepte.
†c. Of defence or concealment: Securely. Obs.
1481Bk. St. Albans E iv b, In moore or in moos he hidyth hem fast. 1535Coverdale 2 Macc. xii. 13 A cite, which was very fast kepte with brydges.
d. With passive notion: So as to be unable to move. to stick fast: often fig. to be nonplussed, unable to get any further.
1526–34Tindale Acts xxvii. 41 The foore parte stucke fast and moved not. 1635Laud Wks. (1860) VII. 174 When he saw the man and his horse stuck fast in the quagmire. 1768J. Byron Narr. Patagonia 15 Providentially we stuck fast between two great rocks. 1847Marryat Childr. N. Forest xxi, Many of them stuck fast..and attempted to clear themselves in vain. 1850W. B. Clarke Wreck of Favorite 68, I found my limbs completely set fast from the intensity of the cold.
†e. quasi-int. (See quot.) Obs.
1720Strype in Stow's Surv. Lond. I. xxix. 250/1 [The charter of the Fraternity of St. George, 1537, ordained] that in Case any Person were shot..by any of these Archers, he was not to be..molested, if he had immediately before he shot, used that common Word, Fast.
3. In a close-fitting manner; so as to leave no opening or outlet. Often with additional notion of security.
c1205Lay. 15320 Þa ȝæten heo tunden uaste. c1340Cursor M. 2788 (Trin.) Faste þe dores gon he bare. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) ii. 7 Þe Iews..sett a coroun on his heued and thrast it þeron so fast þat þe blude ran doune. c1430Two Cookery-bks. 27 Do it ouer þe fyre & hele it faste. 1600J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa ii. 167 Each one of these cels is shut fast with a little doore. 1667Milton P.L. iv. 190 Some rich Burgher whose substantial dores, Cross-barrd and bolted fast, fear no assault. 1781Cowper Hope 658 While Bigotry..His eyes shut fast, his fingers in his ears. 1850Kingsley Alt. Locke xxxvii, Crossthwaite had kept his face fast buried in his hands. 1850B. Taylor Eldorado iv. (1862) 36 With their hats pulled fast over their brows. 1854H. Miller Footpr. Creat. i. (1874) 2 Fast jammed in between a steep hill and the sea.
4. a. Of proximity; lit. and fig. Close, hard; very near. Now only in fast beside, fast by (arch. or poet.), and with vbs. expressing following, where the sense approaches 6.
c1275Lay. 9 Faste by Radistone. c1325Song Yesterday 68 in E.E.P. (1862) 135 To-ward vr ende we drawe ful fast. c1340Cursor M. 15782 (Trin.) Wiþ þat word..þei bigon to awake And him faste aboute biset. c1400Mandeville (1839) xxi. 228 The See that touched & was fast to the mount. c1400Destr. Troy 326 Ther were fyldes full faire fast þere besyde. c1420Palladius on Husb. viii. 169 If Aust be fast nygh September. c1425Seven Sag. 3009 (P.) Faste by hym he hyr sete. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531), Whiche worlde..decaynge draweth fast to an ende. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. xii. 25 Fast before the king he did alight. 1603Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 1117 A mill fast without the town. 1667Milton P.L. ii. 725 The Snakie Sorceress that sat Fast by Hell Gate. 1679–1714Burnet Hist. Ref. I. ii. 48 Lautrech with the French army lay still fast about Bononia. 1704Pope Windsor For. 314 And, fast beside him, once-fear'd Edward sleeps. 1729Savage Wanderer v. 399 The Globe of Light Drops sudden; fast pursued by Shades of Night. 1790Beatson Nav. & Mil. Mem. 394 Which brought the vessels in our rear fast up. 1801Wordsw. Cuckoo & Nightingale xx, The next bush that was me fast beside. 1821Keats Lamia 17 Fast by the springs..Were strewn rich gifts. 1869Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) III. xi. 72 Fast on its appearance had followed the troubles of the reign of..Eadward.
b. fast upon or fast on: near upon (a specified quantity). Cf. Ger. fast almost. Obs. exc. dial.
1583Golding Calvin on Deut. xxx. 177 After he had gone about with them a fortie yeres or fast vpon it. 1600Holland Livy xxix. 735 So there were..killed in the place..fast upon a thousand. 1869Lonsdale Gloss., ‘I gev fast on ten pounds for her.’
†5. Closely, at once, immediately. as fast as: as soon as (cf. 6). Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 823 (Gött.) Als fast as þai had don þat sinne, Bigan all vr baret to biginne. c1386Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 552 Whan he cometh, as fast schul ye see A wonder thing, which ye saugh never er this. a1400–50Alexander 3944 Þan come a fliȝtir in of fowls, as fast as it dawid. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 322 It is necessarie as faste þat a mannes rigboon is out of þe joynct þat it be brouȝt yn aȝen anoon. 1428Surtees Misc. (1890) 9 Was done afterwarde als her fast folowys. c1440Lay Folks Mass Bk. (MS. C.) 56 Say a paternoster and an ave fast þereon. 1645Hammond Pract. Catechism i. iii. 50 He..gave evidence of his fidelity as fast as occasions were offered. 1724R. Falconer Voy. (1769) 231 My Opinion was to execute it as fast as ever we could. 1782Cowper Gilpin 117 And still as fast as he drew near, 'Twas wonderful to view, How [etc.].
6. a. Quickly, rapidly, swiftly.
For the development of this sense from the primary sense ‘firmly’, cf. 1 d, 4, 5, and expressions like ‘to run hard’. It does not appear that this sense is recorded in OE., but it belongs to MHG. vaste, ON. fast.
c1205Lay. 7986 He warnede alle his cnihtes..& fusden an veste. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 401 Þo þe Cristyne yt vnderȝete, aȝen hii wende vaste. a1300Cursor M. 3866 (Cott.) It was ferli..How fast þai multiplid þar. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 4003 Takens, war-thurgh he may understande, Þat þe day of dome es fast comande. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 7437, I prayde my felowes fast to ryde. 1548Hall Chron. 113 b, The Frenchemen..fled into the toune so faste, that one letted the other to entre. 1585J. B. tr. P. Viret's Sch. Beastes B viij b, Men doo not so fast breake them, as she repaireth and amendeth them. 1632Lithgow Trav. vi. 298 The Camell..hath a most slow and lazy pace..neither can he goe faster although he would. 1688J. Smith Baroscope 71 The Mercury then generally Rises very fast of a sudden. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. xv. 268, I found he..would make it go almost as swift and fast again as I could. 1776Adam Smith W.N. i. xi. (1869) I. 264 The rate of profit..is..highest in the countries which are going fastest to ruin. 1814Scott Ld. of Isles ii. xiii, Barendoun fled fast away. 1876Trevelyan Macaulay II. 2 His health was breaking fast. 1893Sir L. W. Cave in Law Times XCV. 26/1 The frequent applications to commit for contempt of court are fast bringing the law itself into contempt.
b. In quick succession; one close upon another.
1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, iii. i. 82 The Bishop and the Duke of Glosters men..Doe pelt so fast at one anothers Pate, That [etc.]. 1610― Temp. i. ii. 281 Where thou didst vent thy groanes As fast as Mill-wheeles strike. 1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. i. (1843) 22/2 His honours had grown faster upon him than his fortunes. 1771E. Griffith tr. Viaud's Shipwreck 169 My tears fell faster than his. a1822Shelley Song for Tasso 12 My thoughts come fast.
c. Readily, with alacrity. Obs. exc. in colloq. phrase fast enough.
c1420Anturs of Arth. xviii, Thou dele fast of the gode, To tho that fales the fode. c1477Caxton Jason 30 They..attended frely and fast a fote. 1553T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 2 The one affirmyng for his parte, and the other deniyng as faste againe for his parte. 1598Shakes. Merry W. iv. i. 69 Hee teaches him to hic and to hac; which they'll doe fast enough of themselues. 1642Milton Apol. Smect. (1851) 314, I cannot but admire as fast what they think is become of judgement, and tast in other men. Mod. He would do it fast enough, if you paid him for it.
7. to live fast:
a. to expend quickly one's vital energy;
b. to live a dissipated life. Cf. fast a. 10.
a.1700Dryden Char. Good Parson 9 Of sixty years he seemed; and well might last To sixty more, but that he lived too fast. 1711Shaftesbury Charac. (1737) I. 126 As if they liv'd the fastest who took the greatest pains to enjoy least of life. 1851Carpenter Man. Phys. (ed. 2) 78 Cold-blooded animals live much faster..at high temperatures, than at low; so that they die much sooner.
b.1699T. Brown Colloq. Erasm. iv. 26 Living very fast, as they say, [he] has brought his Noble to Nine⁓pence. 1754World 19 Sept. ⁋2 He has lived rather fast formerly. 1820W. Irving Sketch Bk., J. Bull (1865) 389 They fear he has lived too fast.
8. Comb. with ppl. adjs. and (rarely) vbl. ns.a. (sense 1) as fast-dyed, fast-grounded, fast-rooted (whence fast-rootedness), fast settled, ppl. adjs.
1541Coverdale Old Faith ix, The only true, old, undoubted, and fast-grounded faith. 1587Golding De Mornay Ep. Ded. 1 In the world we see a stedie and fast⁓setled order. 1832Tennyson Lotos-Eaters 83 The flower..Fast-rooted in the fruitful soil. 1853Lynch Self-Improv. ii. 31 The fast-rootedness of religious vitality. 1888Daily News 19 Nov. 2/7 The fast-dyed black goods retain their popularity.
b. (sense 2) as fast-anchored, fast-bound, fast-plighted ppl. adjs.; † fast-fancied, attached firmly by fancy.
1580Baret Alv. F 181 Fast bound or tied, religatus. c1590Greene Fr. Bacon v. 79 Thou com'st in post from merry Fressingfield Fast-fancied to the Keepers bonny lass. 1627Drayton Agincrt. ccxxviii. 2032 His fast plighted troth. 1633Ford 'Tis Pity v. v, Our fast-knit affections. 1784Cowper Task ii. 151 Were they the wicked above all, And we the righteous, whose fast-anchored isle Moved not? 1814Byron Hebrew Mel., Destr. Jerusalem ii, The fast-fettered hands. 1823Scott Peveril III. iii. 56 The darbies are the fetlocks—the fast-keepers my boy—the bail for good behaviour. 1842Manning Serm. xxv. (1848) 382 There still remains with us a fast-cleaving and mysterious evil. 1871B. Taylor Faust (1875) II. iii. 193 Bring I thee Fast bound in welded fetters the knave.
c. (sense 3) as fast-closed, fast-locked, fast-shut, ppl. adjs.
1595Shakes. John ii. i. 447 Our fast closed gates. a1649Drummond of Hawthornden Poems (1711) 18 A fast-shut prison. 1907Academy 27 July 717/1 Some fast-locked gate. 1931R. Campbell Georgiad ii. 46 Nor glide a ghost around each fast-shut door.
d. (sense 6) as fast-sailing, vbl. n.; fast-falling, fast-going, fast-sailing, etc., ppl. adjs.; (sense 10 of adj.) fast-going ppl. a.
1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, i. iv. 162 Euen my Foes will shed fast-falling Teares. 1593― Rich. II, iii. iv. 34 Goe thou, and like an Executioner Cut off the heads of too fast growing sprayes. 1622Drayton Poly-olb. xxiii. 187 A good fast feeding grass, most strongly that doth breed. 1757Dyer Fleece iv. 603 Fast-gath'ring tempests. 1800Nelson in Nicolas Disp. IV. 200 A fast-sailing Polacca of about 70 Tons. 1820Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. II. 338 That valuable property of a ship, called fast-sailing. 1820Keats Ode to Nightingale 49 Fast-fading violets cover'd up in leaves. a1822Shelley Bigotry i. 3 The fast-fleeting hind. 1822in Cobbett Rur. Rides (1885) I. 96 The fast-sinking Old Times newspaper. a1835Mrs. Hemans Penitent's Offering Poems (1875) 496 That fast-flowing rain of tears. 1866Trollope Belton Est. I. iii. 81 She was a fast-going girl. 1870Dickens E. Drood ii, The fast-darkening scene. 1892Pall Mall G. 12 Oct. 5/1 The fast-going autumn. 1901Daily News 23 Feb. 6/7 The awkwardness inseparable from fast-growing young creatures who have not yet attained perfect command of their limbs. 1910Westm. Gaz. 24 June 12/2 The river has been very thick and fast-running. 1935B. Russell Relig. & Sci. vi. 159 It might happen that..all the fast-moving particles got to one side. 1952C. Day Lewis tr. Virgil's Aeneid v. 115 The fast-swimming Tritons. 1957Times Lit. Suppl. 25 Oct. 646/2 De Luxe Tour careers along, where the other novels meander. It is fast-moving, slick and professional. 1960Farmer & Stockbreeder 16 Feb. Suppl. 23/1 A completely healthy fast-growing herd of pigs. 1964G. H. Haggis et al. Introd. Molecular Biol. vii. 203 Ultra-fine genetic analyses using fast-breeding micro⁓organisms. 1971Engineering Apr. 31/1 With such a fast-growing market there is always a danger of people with little knowledge of vending producing machines which, in the long term, could damage the image.
9. Special Comb. fast-forward a., designating accelerated forward motion of a tape, etc., esp. to reach a particular place in a recording; hence (unhyphened) as n., (the facility for) fast-forward motion; also as v. intr. and trans., to move rapidly forward through (the contents of a tape, etc.) by using the fast-forward facility.
1948Audio Engin. Oct. 15/3 Very high rewind and fast-forward modes of operation have been provided. 1955Wireless World July 335 (caption) Main control knob with seven positions:—(1) ‘off’, (2) amplifier only, (3) fast forward, (4) fast rewind. 1974Stereo Rev. Mar. 71/2 To return to a specific point on the tape you must fast-forward along through the entire loop. 1983Listener 13 Jan. 34/2 Some car tape-players offer rewind and fast forward, like a domestic tape-deck. 1985Marxism Today May 34/1 People with the technology use it to avoid commercial breaks..by fast-forwarding material recorded off-air.
▪ VII. † fast, v.1 Obs.
Forms: 1 fæstan, 3–5 fest(e(n, -yn, 3–4 fasten, 5–6 faste, 5– fast. pa. tense 3–5 fest, 4 fast-, fested, -id, -yd, 5–7 fasted. pa. pple. 3–5 fest(e, 4 fast(e.
[OE. fæstan (rare; also in compounds ᵹe-, oð-befæstan), corresp. to OFris. festia, OS. festian (Du. vesten), OHG. fasten, festan (MHG. festen), ON. festa (Da. fæste, Sw. fästa):—OTeut. *fastjan, f. *fast-u- fast a.
Before st, ft, the umlaut of a in OE. was æ (instead of ę), and in ME. dialects this is divergently represented by a and e. The wide prevalence of the form fest(en in ME., however, is prob. in part due to Scandinavian influence.]
1. To make fast to something; to attach with bonds or nails; to bind together. Const. on, till, to, unto.
a. with reference to material things. Also, to fast up (a wound): to bind up.
c1220Bestiary 462 Ðe spinnere..festeð atte hus rof hire fodredes. a1300Leg. Gregory (Schulz) 110 Þan sche hadde..in þe cradel fast him fest. a1300Cursor M. 1728 (Gött.) [Noe] himself festid [Fairfax feste] bath band and lace. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 272 Fire þei fest on it alle, & brent it [þe rede haule] þat et felle. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 5275 Þe neyles þat hym thurgh hand and fote Til þe hard rode tre fast fested. 1382Wyclif Ezek. xxx. 21 Boundyn in clothis and fastid..with smale lynnen clothis. c1440Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 2717 On his legges thou doo fest Strong fetures. 1523Fitzherb. Surv. xxv. (1539) 48 To faste the teme to the same. 1549Coverdale Erasm. Par. Gal. 14 Jesus Christ was for your sakes faste vpon the crosse. 1593Rites & Mon. Ch. Durh. (Surtees) 4 Which cord was all fest together..over the cover. 1615W. Lawson Orch. & Gard. iii. x. (1668) 29 Cover your wound, and fast it up. 1626Capt. Smith Accid. Yng. Seamen 27 Fast you[r] Anchor with your shanke painter. 1665G. Havers P. della Valle's Trav. E. India 348 At the foot of that Cross three Nails, to signifie those which fasted our Saviour unto it.
b. with reference to immaterial things.
c1220Bestiary 553 Wo so festeð hope on him, he sal him folgen to helle dim. a1340Hampole Psalter xii. 1 A perfit man..has..fested þaim [desires] in ihesu crist. 1568T. Howell Arb. Amitie (1879) 94 Firmely fast thy fayth on him, that's true continually.
c. refl. and intr. for refl. With on, to: To attach oneself to, take hold of, seize upon. Cf. to fasten on.
c1250Gen. & Ex. 3797 A fier maȝti ðat folc fest on. c1300Cursor M. 26782 (Cott.) Þai þaim to þair filthes fest. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 6772 Nedders þat on þam sal fest. c1420Avow. Arth. vii, Ther was non so hardy Durste on the fynde fast. 14..Kyng & Hermit 475 in Hazl. E.P.P. (1864) I. 32 Ther is no dere in this foreste And it [an arrow] wolde onne hym feste, Bot it schuld spyll his skale.
d. To make fast in wedlock; to betroth, wed. Const. to, with.
c1300Sat. Kildare in E.E.P. (1862) 155 He is sori of his lif Þat is fast to such a wif. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. ii. 123 Þow hast fest hire to fals. c1430Syr Tryam. 643 They schulde faste hur with no fere.
2. To fix in something else; to fix firmly; to establish, settle, in material or immaterial sense; and with sentence as obj.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Luke xxiii. 46 In hondum ðinum..ic fæsto [commendo] gast minne. c1250Gen. & Ex. 1524 Ðor wurð wið him trewðe fest Abimalech. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 150 Þat ich hym wolde myd trewþe siker faste on honde. a1300Cursor M. 21013 (Gött.) Iacob þe mare..þe land of spaigne in faith he fest. 1382Wyclif Ex. xv. 17 Lord, thi seyntuarye, that thin hondes fastiden. c1400Ywaine & Gaw. 1989 His shelde bifor his face he fest. c1440Secrees, Prose Version (E.E.T.S.) A kyng, þat yn vnite and obedience haþ confermed and fastyd þe louable poeple of Inde. c1460Towneley Myst. 91 Then wold I we fest This mete who shalle into panyere kest. 1664Floddan Field ix. 81 His folks could hardly fest their feet.
b. To plant, bring or drive home (a blow). Of the sun: To send forth (a ray).
a1300Cursor M. 23385 (Cott.) Als suith als sunn mai fest fra est his lem vnto þe west, als suith mai þou cum þider. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 190 A stroke on him he fest. c1330Arth. & Merl. 5986 So strong was Caulang verrament That King Arthour myht fest no dint.
c. refl. to fast oneself of: to confirm oneself in.
c1220Bestiary 182 Feste ðe of stedefastnesse and ful of ðewes.
3. To confirm (a covenant); to pledge (faith, etc.).
a1300Cursor M. 5725 (Cott.) For forward þat he wit þam fest His ei of reuth he on þam kest. 1306Sir Simon Fraser 41 in Pol. Songs (Camden) 214 To the kyng Edward hii fasten huere fay. c1340Cursor M. 2691 (Trin.) Þis couenaunt was faste wiþ þis. a1450Le Morte Arth. 3324 Yiff we may not oure forwardys faste. c1470Henry Wallace xi. 540 Passand thai war..Till Inglismen thair fewte for to fest.
Hence ˈfasted ppl. a.
c1440Promp. Parv. 151/1 Fast, or bowndyn, or festyd, vinctus. Ibid. 158/1 Festyd, or teyyd fast to a thynge, fixus.
▪ VIII. fast, v.2|fɑːst, -æ-|
Forms: 1–2 fæstan, 2 fæsten, 2–3 festen, 3–4 south. dial. vesten, 3–4 fasten. Orm. fasstenn, 4–5 fastyn, faste, south. dial, vaste, 4– fast. pa. tense 1 fæstte, 2–3 feste, 4 faste, 7 fast, 3 fastede, 4–5 fastid, Sc. fastit, 4– fasted. pa. pple. 3 ifaste, south. dial. i-, y-vast, 4 fast, fasten, 4–5 fastid, Sc. fastyt, 4– fasted.
[Com. Teut.: OE. fæstan = OFris. festia, MDu., mod.D. vasten, OHG. fastên (MHG. vasten, mod.G. fasten), ON. fasta (Da. faste, Sw. fasta), Goth. fastan:—OTeut. *fastêjan. The Goth. word has also the sense ‘to keep, to observe’, of which the sense ‘to fast’ was originally a specific application; cf. med.L. observare ‘to fast’. In accordance with this presumed derivation, the ecclesiastical use of the word is here placed first, though the wider sense 2 appears in OE. and in all the modern Teut. langs.]
1. a. intr. To abstain from food, or to restrict oneself to a meagre diet, either as a religious observance or as a ceremonial expression of grief.
971Blickl. Hom. 27 Þæt ure Drihten æfter þæm fulwihte fæstte. c1050Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia VIII. 311 Þon sceal man fæstan on þam ærran sæternes dæge. c1175Lamb. Hom. 29 Ic wulle gan to scrifte and forleten and festen þer fore. a1225Ancr. R. 20 Hwon ȝe vesteð ine winter. 1340Ayenb. 50 God him hat ueste. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) iii. 10 Þai fast noȝt þe Seterday na tyme of þe ȝere. 1483Caxton G. de la Tour A vj, Yf ye may not faste the thre dayes. 1542Becon Potation for Lent Early Wks. (1843) 107 He also teaches us the true..manner of fasting. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. v. 58 But Mistris..downe on your knees And thanke heauen, fasting, for a good mans loue. a1711Ken Serm. Wks. (1838) 163 When he fasted, his diet was afflicting, such as became a mourner. 1782Priestley Corrupt. Chr. II. viii. 129 Some persons fasted before Easter. 1842J. H. Newman Par. Serm. VI. i. 1 We fast by way of penitence.
fig.a1300Cursor M. 27916 (Cotton Galba) To fast fro all syn. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1638) 259 Prosper's saying, That to fast from sinne, is the best fast.
b. with mention of the kind of spare diet permitted. Const. on; † formerly also in, to, with, and quasi-trans. in phrase to fast bread and water.
c1305Edmund Conf. 24 in E.E.P. (1862) 71 Ofte heo ȝaf hem mede For to faste þane fridai to watere & to brede. 1375Barbour Bruce xi. 383 Thai fastit bred and vattir ilkone. a1450Knt. de la Tour 12 [She] fasted..two tymes in brede and water. 1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 100 Thou rather wouldest..fast bread and water. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. i. i. 303 You shall fast a Weeke with Branne and water. 1844Lingard Anglo-Sax. Ch. (1858) II. x. 120 He fasted on bread, herbs, salt, and water.
2. a. gen. To go without food. † Also (contextually) to go without drink. Const. from.
c1000Sax. Leechd. I. 200 Genim ðysse sylfan wyrte leaf, syle etan fæstendum. c1220Bestiary 126 [Ðe neddre] fasteð til his fel him slakeð. c1300Havelok 865 Two days þer fastinde he yede. c1340Cursor M. 17345 (Trin.) Fro mete & drinke for to fast. c1400Mandeville (1839) v. 58 He [a camel] may well faste fro drynk 2 dayes or three. 1606Shakes. Ant. & Cl. ii. vii. 108, I had rather fast from all, foure dayes then drinke so much in one. 1607Topsell Serpents (1608) 780 She must either quench her thirst with that, or fast. 1657W. Rand tr. Gassendi's Life of Peiresc ii. 220 If he should fast all day from eating and drinking. 1671Milton P.R. ii. 284 Fasting he went to sleep, and fasting wak'd. 1796H. Glasse Cookery xv. 265 Drink half a pint in the morning fasting. 1855Milman Lat. Chr. (1864) II. iii. vi. 90 The monk..was enjoined to fast rather than partake of food abroad.
transf.1525Ld. Berners Froiss. ii. cci. [cxcvii.] 615 The doughter of Fraunce..this fyue or syxe yere..shall nat be able to kepe hym company..he hath answered..that..thoughe he faste a season, he shall take it well a worth. 1611Shakes. Wint. T. iv. iv. 612 Not a counterfeit Stone, not a Ribbon..to keepe my Pack from fasting.
b. Irish Antiq. to fast against, upon (a person): said with reference to the custom of sitting without food or drink at the door of a debtor, or any person who refused to satisfy some lawful demand.
1865Hancock tr. Senchus Mor. I. 115, I deem it right that they be fasted upon before distress shall be taken from them. 1873W. K. Sullivan O'Curry's Anc. Irish I. Introd. 283 Where the defendant was a Rig, the plaintiff was obliged to ‘fast’ upon him..before he made his distress. 1887W. Stokes tr. Tripartite Life St. Patrick I. 219 Patrick..went to the king..And fasted against him.
c. quasi-trans. in various nonce-uses.
1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. i. i. 109 Their loue is not so great..but we may blow our nails together, And fast it fairely out. 1668G. Etherege She would if she could iv. ii, Thou shoud'st fast thyself up to a Stomach now and then.
d. trans. To cause to fast or be without food.
1854Poultry Chron. I. 15 Before they are killed, they should be fasted at least fourteen hours. 1970Nature 24 Oct 383/1 The animals were then fasted, one group for 4–6 days, another for 13 days. 1971Ibid. 5 Feb. 420/2 They [sc. rats]..were fasted about 48 h before use.
†3. trans. To pass (time) fasting; to keep or observe (a day, etc.) as a time of abstinence. Also, to fast out. Obs.
c1275Passion of our Lord 30 in O.E. Misc. 38 Þo he hedde heom [fourty dawes] yuast þo luste hym ete. a1300Cursor M. 6558 (Cott.) Haf yee þe dais al fasten vte þat i bad ar i me went? c1340Ibid. 12921 (Fairf.) Til he haue fasted his lentyn-tide. 1553Becon Reliques of Rome (1563) 168 Telesphorus..appoynted firste of all, Lente to be fasted. a1681Wharton, Fasts & Fest. Wks. (1683) 30 The Ember Weeks..are four..and anciently Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, in each Fasted. |