What does "quicken" mean?
In full quicken tree: the European rowan, rowan, or mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia).
Quicken
/ˈkwɪk(ə)n/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: In full quicken tree: the European rowan, rowan, or mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia).
- Grammar: quicken is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: accelerate, animate, revive, accelerate.
- Useful contrasts: slower pace, dampen, deaden.
- Usage evidence: Forasmuch as you have desired so simple a woman to write in so worthy a book, good Master Lieutenant, therefore I shall, as a friend, desire you, and as a Christian, require you, to call upon God to incline your heart to his laws, to quicken you in his way, and not to take the word of truth utterly out of your mouth.
How to use "quicken"
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Meaning check
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Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "quicken" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
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Definition decision workflow
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 In full quicken tree: the European rowan, rowan, or mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia). Ireland, Northern-England
"[…] Miss Wannop moved off down the path: it was only suited for Indian file, and had on the left hand a ten-foot, untrimmed quicken hedge, the hawthorn blossoms just beginning to blacken at the edges and small green haws to show."
- 2 Synonym of couch grass (“a species of grass, Elymus repens”); also (chiefly in the plural), the underground rhizomes of this, and sometimes other grasses. Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland, countable, uncountable
"Quickens-bog may at first seem to derive its name from the plant Quicken, by which, Scotticé, we understand couch-grass, dog-grass, or the Triticum repens of [Carl] Linnæus, and the common English monosyllable Bog, by which we mean, in popular language, a marsh or morass; in Latin, Palus."
Verb
- 1 Senses relating to life or states of activity.; To put (someone or something) in a state of activity or vigour comparable to life; to excite, to rouse. transitive
"[…] 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."
- 2 To apply quicksilver (mercury) to (something); to combine (something) with quicksilver; to quicksilver. rare, transitive
- 3 give new life or energy to wordnet
- 4 Senses relating to life or states of activity.; To inspire or stimulate (an action, a feeling, etc.). transitive
"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."
- 5 show signs of life wordnet
Show 18 more definitions
- 6 Senses relating to life or states of activity.; To stimulate or assist the fermentation of (an alcoholic beverage, dough, etc.). transitive
- 7 move faster wordnet
- 8 Senses relating to life or states of activity.; To give life to (someone or something never alive or once dead); to animate, to resurrect, to revive. also, figuratively, literary, transitive
"Whoſoever will goo about to ſave his lyfe⸝ shall looſe it: And whoſoever ſhall looſe his life⸝ ſhall quycken it."
- 9 give life or energy to wordnet
- 10 Senses relating to life or states of activity.; To make or help (something) to burn. archaic, transitive
"[…] she Quickened the fire and laid the board, […]"
- 11 make keen or more acute wordnet
- 12 Senses relating to life or states of activity.; To make (a drug, liquor, etc.) more effective or stimulating. obsolete, transitive
"Coole Violets, and Orpine growing ſtill, Embathed Balme, and chearfull Galingale, Freſh Coſtmarie, and breathfull Camomill, Poppie, and drink-quickning Setuale, […]"
- 13 Senses relating to life or states of activity.; Of a pregnant woman: to be in the state of reaching the stage of pregnancy at which the movements of the foetus are first felt. obsolete, transitive
"Venus, for Hero was her prieſt, and Iuno Lucina the midwifes goddeſſe, for ſhe was now quickned, and caſt away by the cruelty of Æolus, tooke bread and ſalt and eate it, that they would bee ſmartlie reuenged on that truculent windy iailour, and they forgot it not, for Venus made his ſonne and his daughter to committe inceſt together."
- 14 Senses relating to life or states of activity.; To take on a state of activity or vigour comparable to life; to be excited or roused. intransitive
"Born with her life, creature of poignant thirst And exquisite hunger, at her heart Love lay Quickening in darkness, till a voice that day Cried on him, and the bonds of birth were burst."
- 15 Senses relating to life or states of activity.; To grow bright; to brighten. intransitive
"The fair each moment riſes in her charms, Repairs her ſmiles, awakens ev'ry grace, And calls forth all the wonders of her face; Sees by degrees a purer bluſh ariſe, And keener lightnings quicken in her eyes."
- 16 Senses relating to life or states of activity.; Of an alcoholic beverage, dough, etc.: to ferment. intransitive
- 17 Senses relating to life or states of activity.; Of a pregnant woman: to first feel the movements of the foetus, or reach the stage of pregnancy at which this takes place; of a foetus: to begin to move. also, figuratively, intransitive
"[…] about a month ago she [Lady Castlemaine] quickened at my Lord Gerard's at dinner, and cried out that she was undone; and all the lords and men were fain to quit the room, and women called to help her."
- 18 Senses relating to life or states of activity.; To give life; to make alive. also, figuratively, intransitive, literary
- 19 Senses relating to life or states of activity.; To come back to life, to receive life. also, figuratively, intransitive, literary
"O I, as ſummers flies, are in the ſhambles, That quicken euen with blovving: […]"
- 20 Senses relating to life or states of activity.; To inspire or stimulate. intransitive, rare
- 21 Senses relating to speed.; To make (something) quicker or faster; to hasten, speed up. transitive
"For you may ſooner by Imagination, quicken or ſlacke a Motion, than raiſe or ceaſe it; As it is eaſier to make a Dog goe ſlower, than to make him ſtand ſtill that he may not runne."
- 22 Senses relating to speed.; To shorten the radius of (a curve); to make (a curve) sharper, or (an incline) steeper. archaic, transitive
"to quicken the sheer, that is, to make its curve more pronounced"
- 23 Senses relating to speed.; To become quicker or faster. intransitive
"My heartbeat quickened when I heard him approach."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Forasmuch as you have desired so simple a woman to write in so worthy a book, good Master Lieutenant, therefore I shall, as a friend, desire you, and as a Christian, require you, to call upon God to incline your heart to his laws, to quicken you in his way, and not to take the word of truth utterly out of your mouth."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "quicken"?
Common synonyms include: accelerate, animate, revive, accelerate, accelerate growth, accelerate progresses.
How do you use "quicken" in a sentence?
Forasmuch as you have desired so simple a woman to write in so worthy a book, good Master Lieutenant, therefore I shall, as a friend, desire you, and as a Christian, require you, to call upon God to incline your heart to his laws, to quicken you in his way, and not to take the word of truth utterly out of your mouth.
How do you pronounce "quicken"?
Pronounced /ˈkwɪk(ə)n/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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”)
Etymology 2
From quick(silver) (“mercury”) + -en (suffix forming verbs from adjectives and nouns).
Etymology 3
From Middle English quiken (“(chiefly in place names) probably the European rowan or mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia), and possibly also the aspen (Populus tremula), juniper (genus Juniperus, specifically the common juniper (Juniperus communis)), or service tree (Sorbus domestica)”), possibly from Old English cwician (“to bring to life, vivify; to come to life, become living; to quicken”) (see etymology 1).
Etymology 4
From Middle English quiken (“couch grass (Elymus repens); a leguminous plant, vetch”) [and other forms], a variant of quich, quik (“couch grass (Elymus repens); a leguminous plant, vetch”) [and other forms] (whence modern English quick, quitch (“couch grass, quitchgrass”); the -en element remains unexplained), from Old English cwiċe (“couch grass”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kwikwaz (“alive; lively; quick”); see further at etymology 1.