quicknessn.
/ˈkwɪknᵻs/, U.S. /ˈkwɪknəs/ 1.
a. The quality or fact of being alive or living; life, vitality, vital principle. Now literary.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > vital principle > [noun]
souleOE
lifeOE
spiritusOE
bloodOE
ghostOE
life and soulOE
quickship?c1225
quicknessc1230
breatha1300
spirita1325
spark1382
naturec1385
sparkle1388
livelinessa1398
rational soula1398
spiracle1398
animal spirit?a1425
vital spiritc1450
soul of the world1525
candle1535
fire1576
three souls1587
vitality?1592
candlelight1596
substance1605
vivacity1611
animality1615
vividity1616
animals1628
life spring1649
archeus1651
vital1670
spirituosity1677
springs of life1681
microcosmetor1684
vital force1702
vital spark (also flame)1704
stamen1718
vis vitae1752
prana1785
Purusha1785
jiva1807
vital force1822
heartbeat1828
world-soul1828
world-spirit1828
life energy1838
life force1848
ghost soul1869
will to live1871
biogen1882
ki1893
mauri1897
élan vital1907
orgone1942
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > vigour or force > [noun] > liveliness
quicknessc1230
livelihood1566
vivacity1762
undullness1793
sea-breeziness1837
lifesomeness1845
liveliness1855
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 78 Þe rinde..is þe treoes warde. & wit [= keeps] hit i strengðe. & i cwicnesse [?c1225 Cleo. quicschipe].
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 421 Quyknesse, of lyve, vita.
a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 59 In a goute the handys & fete..be as dede wythout lyfe & quyknes to procure thyngys necessary for the body.
1540 R. Jonas in tr. E. Roesslin Byrth of Mankynde iii. f. lxxxii The lyfe and quyckenesse of the grayne is vtterlye destroyed.
1613 M. Ridley Short Treat. Magneticall Bodies 63 As though they had a new life of quicknesse infused into them.
1655 H. Vaughan Silex Scintillans (ed. 2) ii. v Life is..A quickness, which my God hath kist.
1710 Suppl. Athenian Oracle 242/2 The Quickness or Deadness of the Springs [of a well].
1868 R. D. Blackmore in Harper's Mag. May 875/1 This is the time..when the spirit of youth must be free of the air, and the quickness of life is abounding.
1882 Pop. Sci. Monthly Dec. 168 All the energies seen in nature are..but manifestations of the essential life or quickness of matter.
1908 E. Pound Coll. Early Poems (1976) 44 For sign of quickness in that soul.
1925 D. H. Lawrence Sel. Crit. Writings (1998) 183 The quickness of the quick lies..in a certain weird relationship between that which is quick and..all the rest of things.
1987 A. R. Ammons Sumerian Vistas 59 A bit of the universe's business..gave rise here and there to a quickness like shade, protoplasm.
b. Animation; liveliness, briskness, vigour; freshness. Now rare except as merged with 2 and 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [noun] > vigour or liveliness
jollinessc1386
liveliheadc1425
quicknessc1425
vyfnes1475
ramagec1485
couragea1498
liveliness1534
spritec1540
livelihood1566
life1583
sprightliness1599
sprightfulness1602
ruach1606
sprightiness1607
sparkle1611
airiness1628
vivacy1637
spiritfulness1644
spirit1651
vivacity1652
spiritedness1654
brightness1660
sprightness1660
ramageness1686
race1690
friskiness1727
spirituousness1727
vivaciousness1727
brio1731
raciness1759
phlogiston1789
animation1791
lifefulness1829
pepper-and-salt1842
corkiness1845
aliveness1853
vitality1858
music1859
virtu1876
liveness1890
zippiness1907
bounce1909
zing1917
radioactivity1922
oomph1937
pizzazz1937
zinginess1938
hep1946
vavoom1962
welly1977
masala1986
the mind > emotion > excitement > excitability of temperament > spiritedness or liveliness > [noun]
jollinessc1386
liveliheadc1425
quicknessc1425
vyfnes1475
couragea1498
liveliness1534
livelihood1566
life1583
sprightliness1599
sprightfulness1602
sprightiness1607
airiness1628
vivacy1637
spirit1651
vivacity1651
spiritedness1654
brightness1660
friskiness1727
spirituousness1727
vivaciousness1727
animoseness1730
brio1731
animation1791
lifefulness1829
corkiness1845
the world > life > the body > skin > complexion > redness > [noun] > with health
rudOE
colourc1330
ruddinessa1398
rosec1425
livelihood1566
glowa1616
quickness1656
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. 3667 (MED) Þe goodlyhed of hir fresche face, So repleuished of bewte & of grace, Euene ennwed with quiknes of colour..nouþer was to wyte Þoruȝ noon excesse of moche nor to lite.
c1450 ( G. Chaucer Bk. Duchess 26 Defaute of slep and hevynesse Hath sleyn my spirit of quyknesse.
c1460 (a1449) J. Lydgate Minor Poems (1934) ii. 754 To graunt it [sc. a statue] lyff and quyknesse of language.
1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes ii, in Wks. (1557) 1183/1 Make hym do al hys good woorkes wearyly, and withoute consolacion or quyckenes.
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie i. xxvii. 44 That disticke of Virgil..I will recite for the breifnes and quicknes of it.
1656 Disc. Auxiliary Beauty 162 Adding a quicknesse of complexion to the face.
1706 N. Brady Fifteen Serms. II. 193 A Delightful Variety of all sorts of Musick, can give Life and Quickness, Majesty and Splendour, to any performance.
1794 T. Davis Gen. View Agric. 39 On account of the quickness of the grass, it is not usual to allow the ewes and lambs to go into them with empty bellies.
1826 Lancet 28 Jan. 601 Quickness of pulse, (a sharp pulse) is not to be confounded with frequency... Quickness alludes to the suddenness of the strokes.
1961 T. Gunn Coll. Poems (1994) 127 Now with the green quickness of grasses mingles the smell of the earth.
2. Liveliness, readiness, rapidity, or acuteness of feeling, perception, or apprehension.
a. Physical acuteness, esp. of the senses.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > acuteness of physical senses > [noun]
sharpnessc888
quicknessa1398
subtlenessa1398
acuteness1644
keenness1859
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > types of vision > [noun] > clear- or sharp-sightedness
quicknessa1398
clearness1535
eagle eye1567
perspicacity1606
quicksightedness1625
piercingnessa1628
sharpsightedness1647
edgea1682
clear-sightednessa1691
acuity1866
visual acuity1889
V.A.1932
stereo-acuity1942
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 51v Noþing in þe body..demeþ soþeliche by þinges þat ben I-touchid..as þe endes of þe fingres..þat is for quykenes [L. viuacitatem] and lyuelynes of þe synewes.
1565 N. Sanders Supper of Our Lord f. 98v The Egle hath many proprietes..the flying high..ye quicknesse of sight.
1695 Ld. Preston tr. Boethius Of Consol. Philos. i. 3 A Woman..with sparkling Eyes, which were of an extraordinary Force and Quickness.
1714 J. Browne Inst. Physick 245 Acuteness or quickness of Hearing, affecting the Brain strongly with the smallest Sound.
1782 T. Paine Let. to Abbe Raynal (1791) Introd. 6 Rapidness of thinking, and quickness of sensation.
1841 E. W. Lane tr. Thousand & One Nights I. 127 The astonishing quickness of sight of one of the hawks.
1897 Psychol. Rev. (Monogr. Suppl.) 2 i. 21 Eye-mindedness is of course quite different from quickness of visual perception.
1901 Amer. Naturalist 35 600 The occipital lobes of the goat are supposed to be associated with the well-known quickness of sight of this animal.
1966 M. Pei How to learn Langs. 7 Later ramifications of this intellective function are the processes of selection and discrimination, quickness of perception and response, [etc.].
1990 P. Jackson Britain's Deaf Heritage (BNC) 163 His [sc. Lord Lytton's] deafness was a severe handicap in an assembly where quickness of hearing and readiness of speech were essential.
b. Mental acuteness; liveliness of the mind, etc.; sharpness, perceptiveness.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > sharpness, shrewdness, insight > [noun] > vigour, quickness
vivacity?a1475
quicknessc1475
quickwittedness1616
eyetooth1706
pregnantness1727
ready-wittedness1815
c1475 (c1445) R. Pecock Donet (1921) 210 Þou schalt make manye..chaungis..for quykenes which þi resoun and þi wil schulen gete to hem.
a1530 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfeccyon (1531) iii. f. CCxviv He hath this viuacite or quycknes of wytte.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 118 Our elderis, throuch quiknes of thair ingine perceiued perfytlie..the dissolute maneris of thair people.
1625 K. Long tr. J. Barclay Argenis v. iii. 337 Vnlesse they haue quicknesse of wit..they will not..discouer the counsels of those Nations to whom they are sent Ambassadours.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) London 221 Whom he much resembled in quickness of parts.
1735 A. Pope Of Char. of Women 10 With too much Quickness ever to be taught.
1798 M. Edgeworth & R. L. Edgeworth Pract. Educ. I. iii. 91 Attentive patience can do as much as quickness of intellect.
1884 L. J. Jennings in Croker Papers I. viii. 233 A man of great quickness of spirit and acuteness.
1914 E. R. Burroughs Tarzan of Apes v. 61 His higher intelligence resulted in a quickness of mental action far beyond the powers of the apes.
1987 P. Whitmer & B. van Wyngarden Aquarius Revisited ii. 14 The brain operating underneath that shock of snow-white hair retains a quickness that can mortify the uninitiated.
2005 Independent on Sunday (Nexis) 1 May 26 He has charm, eloquence, quickness of wit and a Houdini-like ability to escape from blame.
3.
a. Speed of action, motion, etc.; rapidity.In quot. 1858: sharpness (of a curve).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > [noun]
swiftnessc888
speedOE
swiftship?c1225
swifthead1340
speedfulnessc1386
quickness?a1425
hastinessc1425
speediheadc1450
swiftinessa1464
radeur1477
celerity1483
speediness1530
swithnessc1540
velocity1555
raptness1582
pernicity1592
rapidity1601
fastness1604
fleetness1625
rida1642
rapidness1650
mercuriousnessa1661
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > swift movement of time > [noun]
flight1647
quickness1729
the world > space > shape > curvature > types of curvature > [noun] > sharpness of curve
quickness1858
?a1425 tr. Catherine of Siena Orcherd of Syon (Harl.) (1966) 411 (MED) Of þe redynes & qwiknes of hem þat ben verri obedienceris.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry V f. lx Their quicknes & swiftnes did more preiudice to their enemies.
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. xxxiii. 69 As if they were darts throwne out with a kinde of suddaine quicknes.
1605 T. Bodley Lett. (1926) 151 I doe not thinke that the speeche is any whitte too long being deliuered with conuenient quicknesse.
1698 G. Thomas Hist. Acct. Pensilvania 41 The Water-Mills far exceed those in England..for quickness.
1729 in Colonial Rec. Pennsylvania (1852) III. 366 His Horse was hurt through the quickness of the Journey.
1794 Sporting Mag. 3 121 The nyl-ghau, with the quickness of lightning, darted against the wood work.
1858 Skyring's Builder's Prices (ed. 48) 57 The quickness of the curve and depth of the quirks make them difficult of access to work.
1884 N.Y. Daily Tribune 25 May 9/6 The quickness with which milk sours in warm climates.
1903 H. James Ambassadors iii. vii. 105 Communicating with a quickness with which telegraphy alone would rhyme.
1969 M. Puzo Godfather (1972) i. ii. 79 He..darted toward the parked car with startling quickness for a man of his bulk.
2004 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Oct. 296/2 Undersize, scampery halfback valued for his quickness and ability to catch passes out of the backfield.
b. With a or in plural. A case or instance of this. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1656 tr. T. Hobbes Elements Philos. iii. xvi. 160 The sum of all the several Quicknesses or Impetus.
1883 W. Besant All in Garden Fair (1886) 78 Little quicknesses of gesture.
1927 V. Woolf To Lighthouse iii. xi. 296 She with her impulses and quicknesses; he with his shudders and glooms.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > side arms > sword > [noun] > strength or sharpness of sword
quickness1601
the world > physical sensation > taste and flavour > sourness or acidity > [noun] > pungency
peppera1425
tangc1440
mordacity1583
heat1586
saltness1612
piquantness1648
quickness1652
subtilty1661
penetratingness1662
pungency1663
piquancy1664
poignancy1677
mordicancy1693
pertness1756
causticity1772
poignance1782
pungence1810
warmth1816
piquance1867
zinginess1938
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 76 Bleets seeme to be dull, vnsauorie and foolish Woorts, hauing no tast nor quicknesse at all.
1619 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Maides Trag. i. sig. B1v To see my sword, and feele The quicknesse of the edge.
1652 P. Heylyn Cosmographie iii. sig. Ccc6v Limons, Pomegranats, Citrons..much praised for their quickness of tast.
1736 Compl. Family-piece i. i. 49 The Quickness of the Liquor, which may make him weep.
1788 J. Ash Exper. & Observ. Mineral Waters 230 All the waters of the Spa..suffer great changes in the quickness of their taste.
5. Sharpness of speech, etc.; hastiness of some passion or emotion, esp. temper; an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > manner of speaking > [noun] > loud or angry speech > fierceness or sharpness of speech
quickness1662
the mind > emotion > anger > irascibility > [noun]
hastinessc1325
melancholya1375
hastivenessa1393
hastivessa1393
rese?a1400
hastivitya1500
fumishness1519
choler1530
firishness1568
cholericness1571
waspishness1593
fieriness1625
irascibility1750
parlousness1755
temper1828
provocability1834
quickness1863
tempersomeness1909
1662 Life & Death Mrs. Mary Frith 142 I had cause to conceive of him by his discourse, durst use that boldnesse and quicknesse with me.
1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. i. 31 Her Majesty answering with some quickness.
1747 S. Richardson Clarissa I. xvii. 105 This quickness upon me..is not to be borne!
1769 D. Webb Observ. correspondence Poetry & Music 94 A people..distinguished..by the quickness of their feelings, and the vehemence of their passions.
1844 C. J. Lever Tom Burke II. lxvi. 123 ‘Are you wounded?’ said the Emperor, with a quickness in his manner.
1863 A. Blomfield Mem. Bp. Blomfield II. ix. 180 A quickness of temper which..marred the perfection of his character.
1893 B. Harte Sally Dows ii. 42 ‘I think I offered to help Miss Dows,’ said Courtland with a quickness that he at once regretted.
1930 Z. Fitzgerald Coll. Writings (1991) 82 He..pretended a vast impassivity to Alabama's presence, to hide the quickness of his interest.
2005 Independent (Nexis) 15 July 58 A quickness of temper that..has had a devastating effect on his career.
6. Fluidity or mobility (of clay, sand, etc.). Cf. quick adj. 18.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > soil qualities > [noun] > mobility
quickness1920
1920 Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc. 59 73 The scour operated so far up the valley of the Run that it gave quickness to the sands..causing them to run out.
1969 Engin. Geol. 3 135 A series of experiments..was carried out with the purpose to investigate if quickness could be produced by leaching of a clay deposited in salt water.
1972 Nature 28 Jan. 220/2 It may be the hitherto neglected non-clay mineral fraction which is responsible for quickness.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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