quicken
Meanings
- Senses relating to life or states of activity.
- To put (someone or something) in a state of activity or vigour comparable to life; to excite, to rouse.
- To inspire or stimulate (an action, a feeling, etc.).
- To stimulate or assist the fermentation of (an alcoholic beverage, dough, etc.).
- To give life to (someone or something never alive or once dead); to animate, to resurrect, to revive.
- To make or help (something) to burn.
- To make (a drug, liquor, etc.) more effective or stimulating.
- Of a pregnant woman: to be in the state of reaching the stage of pregnancy at which the movements of the foetus are first felt.
- To take on a state of activity or vigour comparable to life; to be excited or roused.
- To grow bright; to brighten.
- Of an alcoholic beverage, dough, etc.: to ferment.
- Of a pregnant woman: to first feel the movements of the foetus, or reach the stage of pregnancy at which this takes place; of a foetus: to begin to move.
- To apply quicksilver (mercury) to (something); to combine (something) with quicksilver; to quicksilver.
- In full quicken tree: the European rowan, rowan, or mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia).
- Synonym of couch grass (“a species of grass, Elymus repens”); also (chiefly in the plural), the underground rhizomes of this, and sometimes other grasses.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
From Middle English quikenen (“to become alive again after dying; to raise (someone) from the dead; to regain consciousness or strength; to give vitality, revive; to regain validity; to nourish; to spare (the life of someone or something); to ignite; to illuminate; of events: to happen more quickly; of clouds: to form”) [and other forms], from quiken (“to come to life; to become alive again after dying; to give or regain vitality, revive; of a seed: to germinate, grow; to arouse (anger); to inspire; to reinforce, strengthen; to make (a substance) alchemically active; to nourish, sustain; to sharpen; to ignite; to illuminate; of news: to spread”) + -en (suffix forming the infinitive forms of verbs). Quiken is derived from Old English cwician (“to bring to life, vivify; to come to life, become living; to quicken”), from cwic (“alive, live, living; mentally agile; intelligent, keen”) (ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kwikwaz (“alive; lively; quick”) and Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- (“to live”)) + -ian (suffix forming verbs from adjectives and nouns). The English word may be analysed as quick (“moving with swiftness; occurring in a short time; (archaic) alive, living; (archaic) pregnant”) + -en (suffix attached to some adjectives forming transitive verbs meaning ‘to make [adjective]’). Cognates * Danish kvikne (“to quicken, revive”) * Icelandic kvikna (“to ignite; to turn on”) * Swedish kvickna (“to revive”)