Etymology Explorer › English

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

  1. comparative form of fast: more fast; One who...

Ancestry of “faster”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishfastFirmly or securely fixed in place; stable; Firm...
2Middle Englishfastfast
3Old Englishfæste—
4Old English-eforming adverbs from adjectives; -ly
5Old English-enmæġþ + API → mæġden; cocc + API → cycen, cicen;...
6Old Norse-innUsed to create adjectives from nouns, meaning...
7Proto-Norse-īna-—
8Proto-Germanic-īnaz-en
9Proto-Indo-European-iHnosCreates adjectives of materials
10Proto-Indo-European-no-adjectival suffix
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -no- →