quicken

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”)

verb

1. Senses relating to life or states of activity.
   1. (transitive)
      1. To put (someone or something) in a state of activity or vigour comparable to life; to excite, to rouse.
      2. To inspire or stimulate (an action, a feeling, etc.).
      3. To stimulate or assist the fermentation of (an alcoholic beverage, dough, etc.).
      4. (literary, also figurative) To give life to (someone or something never alive or once dead); to animate, to resurrect, to revive.
      5. (archaic) To make or help (something) to burn.
      6. (obsolete)
         1. To make (a drug, liquor, etc.) more effective or stimulating.
         2. (passive) 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.
   2. (intransitive)
      1. To take on a state of activity or vigour comparable to life; to be excited or roused.
      2. To grow bright; to brighten.
      3. Of an alcoholic beverage, dough, etc.: to ferment.
      4. (also figurative) 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.
         Royal pregnancies were not announced in those days; the news generally crept out, and public anticipation was aroused only when the child quickened. 21 February 2013, Hilary Mantel, “Royal Bodies”, in Mary-Kay Wilmers, editor, London Review of Books, volume 35, number 4, London: LRB Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2021-12-27
      5. (literary, also figurative)
         1. To give life; to make alive.
         2. To come back to life, to receive life.
      6. (rare) To inspire or stimulate.
2. Senses relating to speed.
   1. (transitive)
      1. To make (something) quicker or faster; to hasten, speed up.
         That day Arya [Stark] quickened their pace, keeping the horses to a trot as long as she dared, and sometimes spurring to a gallop when she spied a flat stretch of field before them. 8 August 2000, George R[aymond] R[ichard] Martin, “Arya”, in A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire; 3), 1st US edition, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Spectra, published November 2000, page 38
      2. (construction, nautical (shipbuilding), archaic) To shorten the radius of (a curve); to make (a curve) sharper, or (an incline) steeper.
         to quicken the sheer, that is, to make its curve more pronounced
   2. (intransitive) To become quicker or faster.
      My heartbeat quickened when I heard him approach.
      On straights speed would quicken to what was apparently the maximum allowed on this stretch, 140 k.p.h., or 87.5 m.p.h., and then one would see the track disappearing ahead round a sharpish curve, for there are some of 35 and 40 chains' radius on this side of the summit as well. 1960 March, G. Freeman Allen, “Europe’s Most Luxurious Express – the ‘Settebello’”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 144

Etymology 2

From quick(silver) (“mercury”) + -en ((obsolete) suffix forming the infinitive forms of verbs).

verb

1. (transitive, rare) To apply quicksilver">quicksilver (mercury) to (something); to combine (something) with quicksilver">quicksilver; to quicksilver">quicksilver.

Etymology 3

(Sorbus aucuparia) in Scotland, United Kingdom.]] 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).

noun

1. (chiefly Ireland, Northern England) In full quicken tree: the European rowan, rowan, or mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia).

Etymology 4

(Elymus repens) is known as quicken in certain parts of the United Kingdom.]] 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.

noun

1. (chiefly Midlands (northern), Northern England, Northern Ireland, Scotland) Synonym of couch grass (“a species of grass, Elymus repens”); also (chiefly in the plural), the underground rhizomes of this, and sometimes other grasses.