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quick (kwĭk)
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adj. quick·er, quick·est
1. Moving or functioning rapidly and energetically; speedy: an animal that is quick enough to escape most predators.
2. Learning, thinking, or understanding with speed and dexterity; bright: a quick mind.
3.
a. Perceiving or responding with speed and sensitivity; keen: quick reflexes.
b. Reacting immediately and sharply: a quick temper.
4.
a. Occurring, achieved, or acquired in a relatively brief period of time: a quick rise through the ranks; a quick profit.
b. Done or occurring immediately: a quick inspection. See Synonyms at fast1.
5. Tending to react hastily: quick to find fault.
6. Archaic
a. Alive.
b. Pregnant.
n.
1. Sensitive or raw exposed flesh, as under the fingernails.
2. The most personal and sensitive aspect of the emotions: The remark cut her to the quick.
3. The living: the quick and the dead.
4. The vital core; the essence: got to the quick of the matter.
adv. quicker, quickest
Quickly; promptly.
[Middle English, alive, lively, quick, from Old English cwicu, alive; see gwei- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
quickly adv.
quickness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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