haste
/heɪst/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.37 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Urgency; sudden excitement of feeling or passion; precipitance; vehemence.
Obsolete; Uncountable
name
A surname from Old French.
Example Sentences
- "We were running late so we finished our meal in haste."
- "The king's business required haste."
- "There was a stampede as the congressmen jumped the banister in their hastes to be the first to sign away their souls."
- "I said in my haste, All men are liars."
- "Baſſ. You may doe ſo, but let it be ſo haſted that ſupper be readie at the fartheſt by fiue of the clocke."
- "The city is amaz'd, for Sylla hastes / To enter Rome with fury, sword and fire."
Etymology
Blend of Middle English hasten (verb), (compare Dutch haasten, German hasten, Danish haste, Swedish hasta (“to hasten, rush”)) and Middle English hast (“haste”, noun), from Old French haste (whence French hâte), from Old Frankish *hai(f)st (“violence”), from Proto-Germanic *haifstiz (“struggle, conflict”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱeyp- (“to ridicule, mock, anger”). Akin to Old Frisian hāst, hāste (“haste”), Old English hǣst (“violence”), Old English hǣste (“violent, impetuous, vehement”, adjective), Old Norse heift /heipt (“feud”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐍆𐍃𐍄𐍃 (haifsts, “rivalry”). Cognate with German heftig (“vehement”) and Danish heftig (“vehement”).