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haste

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haste

[heyst] noun, verb, hast⋅ed, hast⋅ing.
–noun
1. swiftness of motion; speed; celerity: He performed his task with great haste. They felt the need for haste.
2. urgent need of quick action; a hurry or rush: to be in haste to get ahead in the world.
3. unnecessarily quick action; thoughtless, rash, or undue speed: Haste makes waste.
–verb (used without object), verb (used with object)
4. Archaic. to hasten.
5. make haste, to act or go with speed; hurry: She made haste to tell the president the good news.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME < OF < Gmc; akin to OFris hāste, OE hæst violence, ON heifst hatred, Goth haifsts quarrel


hasteful, adjective
haste⋅ful⋅ly, adverb
hasteless, adjective
haste⋅less⋅ness, noun


1. See speed. 2. flurry, bustle, ado, urgency. 3. precipitancy, precipitation.


1. sloth.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To haste
haste   (hāst)   
n.  
  1. Rapidity of action or motion.

  2. Overeagerness to act.

  3. Rash or headlong action; precipitateness.

intr. & tr.v.   hast·ed, hast·ing, hastes
To hasten or cause to hasten.

[Middle English, from Old French, of Germanic origin.]
Synonyms: These nouns denote rapidity or promptness of movement or activity: left the room in haste; a legal system not known for celerity; advanced with all possible dispatch; cleaned up with remarkable expedition; worked without hurry; driving with excessive speed.
Antonym: deliberation
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

haste  (n.)
c.1300, from O.Fr. haste (12c.), from Frank. *haifst "violence," from W.Gmc. *khaistiz (cf. Goth. haifsts "strife," O.E. hæste "violent, vehement, impetuous"). The verb is in M.E.; the extended form hasten is from 1565. Hasty pudding first attested 1599, so called because it is made quickly.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

haste

In addition to the idiom beginning with haste, also see make haste.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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