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Thread ID: 109104	2010-04-24 06:07:00	What's the difference between "fast" and "quick"?	Renmoo (66)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
879627	2010-04-24 06:07:00	Dear all I have been searching for an answer to the above query, but Google does not seem to be able to tell me the difference. So, what's the difference? :crying Thanks!	Renmoo (66)
879628	2010-04-24 06:18:00	Depends how you use them in a sentence (community.livejournal.com).	Speedy Gonzales (78)
879629	2010-04-24 06:21:00	Quick is a synonym of fast and fast is a synonym of quick if that helps. I guess it really depends on what part of speech and the context in which either is used.	Sweep (90)
879630	2010-04-24 06:56:00	Depends how you use them in a sentence (community.livejournal.com). Yeah, I saw that link before, but I didn't get it. If they are synonymous, then why do you say "don't drive too fast" rather than "don't drive too quick"?	Renmoo (66)
879631	2010-04-24 07:16:00	As it says on that site, it sounds more right than quick	Speedy Gonzales (78)
879632	2010-04-24 07:17:00	Dunno but I'd prefer a quickie to a fastie	Morgenmuffel (187)
879633	2010-04-24 07:26:00	Not to mention that something can be 'stuck fast' i.e. immovable, but cannot be 'stuck quick'. It just doesn't work.	Catweazle (2535)
879634	2010-04-24 08:07:00	Not to mention that something can be 'stuck fast' i.e. immovable, but cannot be 'stuck quick'. It just doesn't work. Oh the joys of the English language....	somebody (208)
879635	2010-04-24 08:45:00	Not to mention that something can be 'stuck fast' i.e. immovable, but cannot be 'stuck quick'. It just doesn't work. No, it doesn't because originally in ye Olde English the meanings of the two words were quite different, and those meanings have persisted through until today, alongside the alternative meanings developed over the years. fast O.E. fæst "firmly fixed, steadfast," probably from P.Gmc. *fastuz (cf. O.N. fastr , Du. vast , Ger. fest ), from PIE base *past- "firm" (cf. Skt. pastyam "dwelling place"). The adv. meaning "quickly, swiftly" was perhaps in O.E., or from O.N. fast , either way developing from the sense of "firmly, strongly, vigorously" (cf. to run hard means to run fast ; also compare fast asleep ), or perhaps from the notion of a runner who "sticks" close to whatever he is chasing. The sense of "living an unrestrained life" (usually of women) is from 1746 ( fast living is from 1745); fast food is first attested 1951. Fast-forward first recorded 1948. Fast lane is by 1966; the fast track originally was in horse-racing (1934); figurative sense by 1960s. To fast talk someone (v.) is recorded by 1946. dictionary.reference.com quick O.E. cwic "living, alive," from P.Gmc. *kwikwaz (cf. O.Fris. quik, O.N. kvikr "living, alive," O.H.G. quec "lively," Ger. keck "bold"), from PIE base *gwiwo- "to live" (see bio-). Sense of "lively, swift" developed by c.1300, on notion of "full of life." "NE swift or the now more common fast may apply to rapid motion of any duration, while in quick (in accordance with its original sense of 'live, lively') there is a notion of 'sudden' or 'soon over.' We speak of a fast horse or runner in a race, a quick starter but not a quick horse. A somewhat similar feeling may distinguish NHG schnell and rasch or it may be more a matter of local preference." [Buck] Quickie "sex act done hastily" is from 1940. Quicklime (c.1400) is loan-translation of L. calx viva. dictionary.reference.com Often two or more words that now mean more or less the same had their origins in Germanic and French words, or from Latin or Greek.	Terry Porritt (14)
879636	2010-04-24 08:49:00	I dated a girl once who was a little of both - but I digress . Actually if you want to use the word 'quick', and make it a descriptive of HOW one drives, it needs to have 'ly' added to the end . As in: "Do not drive too quickly" . Or: "Do not drive quickly" . One cannot drive 'quick' . That's bad Englifh . It is to be converted to an adjective* there, if indeed you sought to attribute some extra power or presence to the verb 'drive' . One may drive fast in a car or fly fast in an airplane, but not as a descriptive like you asked . 'Fast' in that case, describes how the act of flying or driving was done, and is not the action word in the sentence, but an attributed value to the verb but not a modifier, which is another part of a different rule in the language concerning adverbs . Typically however, in the US, 'quick' is something that can go around corners or accelerate very rapidly, and 'fast' is more aptly applied to the top speed or terminal velocity of a vehicle or whatever means of travel you choose . * Adjective: a word that expresses an attribute of something NEXT WEEK: Gerunds - Friend Or Foe?	SurferJoe46 (51)
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