Where does “faster” come from?
Faster derives from English fast with the comparative suffix -er, ultimately from Latin -arius via Old French -er and Latin -are.
faster (English): comparative form of fast: more fast; One who...
Definitions
- comparative form of fast: more fast; One who...
Ancestry of “faster”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | fast | Firmly or securely fixed in place; stable; Firm... |
| 2 | Middle English | fast | fast quickly |
| 3 | Old English | fæste | firmly, fastly, tightly |
| 4 | Old English | -e | forming adverbs from adjectives; -ly |
| 5 | Old English | -en | mæġþ + API → mæġden; cocc + API → cycen, cicen;... |
| 6 | Old Norse | -inn | Used to create adjectives from nouns, meaning... |
| 7 | Proto-Norse | -īna- | — |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | -īnaz | -en |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -iHnos | Creates adjectives of materials |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -no- | adjectival suffix |