Where does “rapid” come from?
Rapid comes from French rapide, from Latin rapidus meaning "swift," derived from Latin rapio meaning "to seize," traced through Proto-Italic rapiō and Proto-Indo-European h₁rep-.
rapid (English): Very swift or quick; Steep, changing altitude...
Definitions
- Very swift or quick; Steep, changing altitude...
Ancestry of “rapid”, step by step
rapid traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French rapide
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | rapide | fast, rapid; fast; rapidly; quickly; rapid |
| 2 | Italian | rapido | quick, fast, rapid |
| 3 | Spanish | rápido | rapid, quick, fast; rapidly, quickly, fast; rapid |
| 4 | Latin | rapidus | rapid, quick, swift; fierce, seizing; hasty,... |
| 5 | Latin | rapiō | to snatch, grab, carry off, abduct, rape, steal |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁rp-i- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁rep- | to rip, snatch, tear, pinch; to seize, pluck; to... |
via French rapidité
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | rapidité | swiftness, fastness, quickness |
| 2 | Latin | rapiditas | swiftness, velocity, rapidity |
| 3 | Latin | -tās | ty, -dom, -hood, -ness, -ship |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | -teh₂ts | Used to form nouns representing state of being |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -teh₂ | Used to form nouns representing state of being |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -tós | Creates verbal adjectives from verb stems |