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fleetness

 [fleet]   Origin

fleet

2   [fleet] adjective, -er, -est, verb
adjective
1.
swift; rapid: to be fleet of foot; a fleet horse.
verb (used without object)
2.
to move swiftly; fly.
3.
Nautical. to change position; shift.
4.
Archaic.
a.
to glide along like a stream.
b.
to fade; vanish.
5.
Obsolete. to float; drift; swim.

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Fleetness is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
verb (used with object)
6.
to cause (time) to pass lightly or swiftly.
7.
Nautical.
a.
to move or change the position of.
b.
to separate the blocks of (a tackle).
c.
to lay (a rope) along a deck.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English fleten to be fleet, Old English flēotan to float; see float

Related forms
fleet·ly, adverb
fleet·ness, noun

Synonyms
6. speed, hasten; beguile.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
fleet2 (fliːt)
 
—adj
1.  rapid in movement; swift
2.  poetic fleeting; transient
 
—vb
3.  (intr) to move rapidly
4.  archaic (intr) to fade away smoothly; glide
5.  (tr) nautical
 a.  to change the position of (a hawser)
 b.  to pass (a messenger or lead) to a hawser from a winch for hauling in
 c.  to spread apart (the blocks of a tackle)
6.  obsolete (intr) to float or swim
7.  obsolete (tr) to cause (time) to pass rapidly
 
[probably Old English flēotan to float, glide rapidly; related to Old High German fliozzan to flow, Latin pluere to rain]
 
'fleetly2
 
—adv
 
'fleetness2
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

fleet
O.E. fleot "ship, floating vessel," from fleotan "to float," from P.Gmc. *fleut-, from PIE base *pleu- "to flow, run, swim." Sense of "naval force" is pre-1200. The O.E. word also meant "creek, inlet, flow of water," especially one into the Thames near Ludgate Hill, which lent its name to Fleet Street
EXPAND
(home of newspaper and magazine houses, standing for "the English press" since 1882), Fleet prison, etc.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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