speed

/sˈpid/SPEED
/sˈpid/SPEED

Meaningsuccess, good luck

Common meaning: rapid movement

Journey through time

  1. Aryan root · reconstructed√SPA or SPAN‘draw out, extend, increase’No written record; from Skeat’s list of Aryan roots, no. 436, p. 746 · scan
  2. Old Englishsped‘haste, suc- cess’source
  3. Middle Englishspedsource
  4. Englishmeaning shiftshaste, suc- cess → rapid movementspeed‘rapid movement’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Old English sped ‘success, good luck’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry SPEED, p. 579 · dictionary scan

Roots

  • sped Old English “success, good luck”

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