Where does “fast” come from?

fast (Danish) comes from German fast, from Old High German fasto, from Proto-West Germanic fast, from Proto-Germanic fastuz — fixed, firm, secure.

fast (Danish): firm; solid; tight

Definitions

  1. firm; solid; tight

Ancestry of “fast”, step by step

fast traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German fast

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanfastalmost; nearly; hardly; inflection of fasen: ##...
2Old High Germanfastofirmly
3Proto-West Germanicfastfixed, fast
4Proto-Germanicfastuzfixed, firm, secure

via Old Norse fastr

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Norsefastrfast, firm, sticking fast to the spot; close,...

Words derived from “fast

Every word from Proto-Germanic fastuz