quicken
/ˈkwɪk(ə)n/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.86 in modern English
22
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "[…] Italy had quickened Cecil, not to tolerance, but to irritation. He saw that the local society was narrow, but, instead of saying, "Does this very much matter?" he rebelled, and tried to substitute for it the society he called broad."
- "For ſurely, a rich Land, guardleſs and undefended, muſt needs have been a double Incitement, and ſuch an one, as might not only admit, but even invite the Enemy. It was like a fruitful Garden, or a fair Vineyard without an Hedge, that quickens the Appetite to enjoy ſo tempting, and withal ſo eaſy a Prize."
- "This quicken'd my Reſolution to reſtore her Money, and not only ſo, but I reſolv'd I would give her ſomething over and above her Loſs; […]"
- "Strange! how the frequent interjected daſh, Quickens a market and helps off the traſh, Th' important letters that include the reſt, Serve as a key to thoſe that are ſuppreſs'd, Conjecture gripes the victims in his paw, The world is charm'd, and Scrib. eſcapes the law."
- "Whoſoever will goo about to ſave his lyfe⸝ shall looſe it: And whoſoever ſhall looſe his life⸝ ſhall quycken it."
- "I haue ſeen a medicine That's able to breath life into a ſtone, Quicken a rocke, […]"
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”)
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *gʷeyh₃-, quikenen, cwician, *kwikwaz, quiken, cwiċe
- Suffix: quick, quicksilver
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkwɪk(ə)n/
- British English: /ˈkwɪk(ə)n/