rapid

Etymology

Borrowed from French rapide, from Latin rapidus.

adj

1. Very swift or quick.
   a rapid stream
   rapid growth
   rapid improvement
   The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite. There is something humiliating about it.[…]Can those harmless but refined fellow-diners be the selfish cads whose gluttony and personal appearance so raised your contemptuous wrath on your arrival? 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest
   Across Japan, technology companies and private investors are racing to install devices that until recently they had little interest in: solar panels. Massive solar parks are popping up as part of a rapid build-up that one developer likened to an "explosion." 2013-06-21, Chico Harlan, “Japan pockets the subsidy …”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 30
2. Steep, changing altitude quickly. (of a slope)
3. Needing only a brief exposure time. (of a lens, plate, film, etc.)
4. (England, dialectal) Violent, severe.
5. (obsolete, dialectal) Happy.

adv

1. (archaic, colloquial) Rapidly.

noun

1. (often in the plural) A rough section of a river or stream which is difficult to navigate due to the swift and turbulent motion of the water.
2. (dated) A burst of rapid fire.
3. (chess) Short for rapid chess.
   In these rapid games we had just twenty-five minutes each to make all our moves, a far cry from traditional chess, where games can last up to seven hours. 2010, Garry Kasparov, How Life Imitates Chess, page 41
   In order to avoid misunderstanding, I must note that I object to the attempts to displace normal chess with fast play, not rapid or blitz in general. I love them both, and, if I were to choose which to play, classic or rapid, I would choose rapid. 2015, Mark Dvoretsky, For Friends and Colleagues, volume 2 (Reflections on My Profession)
   I haven’t played against Wesley So—I’ve played him a bunch online in rapid games, but not in classical rounds. 2022-09-02, Nitish Pahwa, Magnus Carlsen (quoted), “The World’s Greatest Chess Player Cannot Wait to Battle His Young, Rising Rivals”, in Slate