Skip to content

rapid

adjective

  1. very fast
L10655 on Wikidata ↗

noun

  1. fast-flowing river section
L41503 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈɹæpɪd/

adj

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁p- Proto-Indo-European *h₁rp-i-der. 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.

  1. Very swift or quick.

    a rapid stream

    rapid growth

  2. Steep, changing altitude quickly. (of a slope)
  3. Needing only a brief exposure time. (of a lens, plate, film, etc.)
  4. Violent, severe.
  5. Happy.

adv

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁p- Proto-Indo-European *h₁rp-i-der. 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.

  1. Rapidly.

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁p- Proto-Indo-European *h₁rp-i-der. 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.

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

    In these rapid games we had just twenty-five minutes each to make all our moves, a far cry from traditional chess, where games can last up to seven hours.

    In order to avoid misunderstanding, I must note that I object to the attempts to displace normal chess with fast play, not rapid or blitz in general. I love them both, and, if I were to choose which to play, classic or rapid, I would choose rapid.