▪ I. quick, a., n.1, and adv.
(kwɪk)
Forms: α. 1 cwic(u), c(w)ucu, cuc-, cwyc, 1–2 cwuc, (2 cwuce), 1–3 cwic, 3 cwicc, cwi(c)k-, 4 kuic, kuik; 3–4 quic, 3–5 quick-, 4 quyc, 5 quyck, 5–6 quycke, (5 qw-), 5–7 quicke, (5 qw-), 5– quick; 3–6 quik, quyk, (5–6 qw-), 4 quiyk-, 4–5 quikke, quyk(k)e, (5 qw-), 5 quike, quikk, (qw-); 4–5 quek, 5 qu-, qweke. β. Sc. and north. 5 quhyk, qwhick, -ikke, -yke, 5 whik, whicke, whyk, 6–9 whick, 9 wick. γ. 5 whyt, 7 whitt.
[Comm. Teut.: OE. cwicu, c(w)ucu and cwic, c(w)uc-, = OFris. quik, quek (mod.Fris. quick, queck), OS. quik (MDu. quic, Du. kwik), OHG. quec, quecch- and chec, checch- (MHG. quec, queck- and kec, keck-, G. keck lively, pert, bold; also dial. queck, quick), ON. kvik-r, kvikv- and kyk-r, kykv- (MSw. qvik, qvek, Sw. qvick; Da. kvik, also kvæg n., ‘cattle’, and kvæg-, kvik- in combs. as kvæg- or kviksand):—OTeut. *kwikwo-z. The origin of the second k is obscure; it is absent in the Gothic *qius (in pl. qiwai):—*kwiwo-z, from the common Aryan *g{supw}ī̆wo- which appears in Skr. jīvá, L. vīvus (for *gvīvus), Lith. g{yacu}vas, OSlav. {zbreve}ivŭ, OIr. biu, beo alive, living, Gr. βίος life. An ablaut-variant of the Teut. stem is found in ON. kveikja to kindle.]
A. adj. I. Characterized by the presence of life.
1. a. Living, endowed with life, in contrast to what is naturally inanimate. Now dial. or arch.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxxix. §3 Þætte men & ealle cwuca wuhta habbað..andan betwuh him. c 1200 Ormin 3691 He þatt fedeþþ enngleþeod & alle cwike shaffte. c 1300 St. Brandan 163 As a quic thing hupte up and down. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 383 Goddes heste, þat heet þe erþe brynge forþ gras and quyk bestes. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret. 208 Sowne of thynges that bene not quycke as the Sowne of watyr, & brekynge of trees, thundyr [etc.]. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §102 The bottes..be quycke, and stycke faste in the mawe-syde. 1611 Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. ix. xiii. (1623) 741 They could see no quicke things left but onely Owles. 1820 Shelley Witch Atl. ix, Where the quick heart of the great world doth pant. 1857 E. Waugh Lanc. Life 29 There isn't a wick thing i' this world can wortch as it should do, if it doesn't heyt [= eat] as it should do. |
† b. Of possessions or property: Consisting of animals; live (stock). Freq. in phrases
quick cattle,
quick good(s,
quick stock, etc., and hence, by analogy,
quick beast.
Obs. Cf. also
OE. cwicæht,
-feoh.
| 871–89 Charter 45 in Sweet O.E. Texts 451 Ic..sello werburᵹe..þas lond mid cwice erfe & mid earðe. 971 Blickl. Hom. 39 Þone teoþan dæl on urum wæstmum & on cwicum ceape. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 11108 Sir Ion giffard nom to him is quic eiȝte echon. 1433 E.E. Wills 95 Alle my goodes & catelles, bothe quike & dede. 1523 Fitzherb. Surv. xii. (1539) 29 He that hath no quycke good, shall giue his beste deed good. 1526 Lanc. Wills I. 15, I bequeth ffor my mortuarye my best qwyk beast. 1592 West 1st Pt. Symbol. §25 Houses and landes and quicke beastes, as sheepe and oxen. 1649 Bp. Hall Cases Consc. ix. (1654) 62 If they be quick commodities, as horses, sheep, kine and the like. 1686 R. P. in Phil. Trans. XX. 383 Houshold-goods.. lost; besides many quick Goods. 1745 W. Stout Autobiog. (1851) ad fin., A public sale of all his quick goods and cattle. |
c. Applied to things properly inanimate in various
transf. or
fig. uses (
cf. II).
| c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iv. xx. [xviii.] (1890) 314 He..þeaw þæs songes cwicre stæfne..sangeras lærde. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. John iv. 11 [He] ualde ᵹesealla ðe uæter cuic. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 241 Ic am cwuce bread. 1382 Wyclif Heb. iv. 12 Forsoth the word of God is quyk. [Also in later versions.] ― 1 Pet. ii. 5 Ȝoure silf as quike stoones be aboue bildid spiritual housis. 1502 Atkinson tr. De Imitatione iii. x. 205 Of me..pore & ryche, drawe quycke water as of the well of lyfe. 1586 J. Hooker Hist. Irel. in Holinshed II. 101/2 To rush through such quicke iron walles [armed Galloglasses]. 1732 Pope Ess. Man. i. 234 See thro'..this earth All matter quick, and bursting into birth. 1894 Crockett Raiders 13 Young green leaves breaking from the quick and breathing earth. |
2. a. Of persons and animals: In a live state, living, alive. Now
dial. or
arch.| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxxvi. §7 [Ne] ma ðe we maᵹon..habban deadne mon for cwucone. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 362 Wið miltwræce, cwices hundes milte abred of. a 1225 Leg. St. Kath. 63 Þe riche reoðeren & schep..brohten to lake, þe poure cwike briddes. a 1300 Cursor M. 8645 Mi quik child has þou stoln..And has þi ded barn laid bi me. 1326 Langl. P. Pl. A. ii. 14 Ther nis no qweene qweyntore that quik is alyue. c 1450 Two Cookery-bks. ii. 99 Take a quyk lamprey, And lete him blode at þe nauell. a 1529 Skelton Elynour Rummyng 431 A cantell of Essex chese..well a fote thycke, Full of maggottes quycke. 1584 R. Scot Discov. Witchcr. v. vi. (1886) 81 marg., To hold a quick eele by the taile. a 1661 Fuller Worthies (1840) I. v. 212 Not the quick but dead worthies properly pertain to my pen. 1790 Mrs. Wheeler Westmld. Dial. (1821) 98 Wor thor giants alive? Mary. Nay, nay,..they er net whick I racken. 1873 Spectator 23 Aug. 1069/1 ‘Quick’ animals, to use a Yorkshire phrase, are sold here. 1875 Sussex Gloss., s.v., I thought at first that sheep was dead, but I found it was quick still. |
b. Freq. as complement to the subject of
intr. and
pass. verbs, or to the object (rarely
subj.) of
trans. verbs; sometimes with intensive
all prefixed.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter cxxiii. 3 Cwice forswelᵹað usic. 971 Blickl. Hom. 191 He woldan..þone casere cwicenne forbærnan. c 1122 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1009 Þæt he Wulfnoð cuconne oððe deadne beᵹytan sceolde. c 1200 Ormin 1364 An bucc rann þær aweȝȝ all cwicc. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 4166 Some he mid strencþe nom & al quic hom vret. 13.. Evang. Nicod. 1082 in Herrig Archiv LIII. 411 Ely þe prophete..whik to heuen yhede. c 1400 Rom. Rose 4070 Al quik I wolde de dolven depe. c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun 737 But offred hire vnto godde to serue hym qwhikke swetlye. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon xlvii. 159 Y⊇ lechour..shalbe flayne all quycke. 1632 Lithgow Trav. i. 37 There was a gray Frier burning quicke at S. Markes pillar. 1678 R. L'Estrange Seneca's Mor. (1702) 246 Privacy, without Letters, is but the Burying of a Man Quick. 1708 J. Philips Cyder i. 12 Ingulft By the wide yawning Earth, to Stygian Shades Went quick. |
c. Of the flesh or parts of the body;
spec. quick flesh; now also
quickflesh.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 112 So þet flesch is cwickure, so þe pine þerof & þet hurt is more & sarre. Ibid., His fleschs were tendrust & cwickest of alle vlesches. 1382 Wyclif Lev. xiii. 15 If the quyk flesh is spreynt with lepre, it is vnclene. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 2624 A lyuyng mone, Þ{supt} hadde be lette blode in a quyke veyne. 1513 Douglas æneis viii. viii. 69 Quhill quyk mouthis dyd deyd mouthis kys. 1527 L. Andrew tr. J. Brunswyke's Distyl. Waters C ii, The lame lymmes and membres..become quycke agayne. 1603 Florio tr. Montaigne ii. iii. (1897) III. 51 To cut and slice great mammocks of their quicke flesh. 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Poems Wks. (1711) 1/2 My wasted heart, Made quick by death, more lively still remains. 1926 T. E. Lawrence Seven Pillars (1935) xliii. 251 If such animals [sc. camels] were taken suddenly inland for long marches over flints or other heat-retaining ground, their soles would burn, and at last crack in a blister; leaving quick flesh..in the centre of the pad. 1928 H. A. Manhood Nightseed 56 Men worn away to quickflesh, their eyes staring, reddened at the rims, men who coughed and coughed with a dry, torn-paper sound, mud to the waist. 1956 D. Lessing in New Statesman 30 June 768/3 With quickflesh contest if you need: There is no argument with bone. |
d. transf. and
fig., chiefly of qualities, feelings, etc. (
cf. II).
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 171 Þo unbileffule men þe bi here quica liue here sunnes ne forleten. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 369 Þai suffre not criste to be alyue in þe sowlis of his peple bi qwike faythe. 1547 Homilies i. Faith i. (1640) 22 As the other vaine faith is called a dead faith, so may this be called a quicke or lively fayth. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, ii. ii. 79 The mercy that was quicke in vs..is supprest and kill'd. 1631 Chapman Cæsar & Pompey Plays 1873 III. 132 Strike dead our feare..Rather then keepe it quick. 1728 Pope Dunc. i. 59 Hints, like spawn, scarce quick in embryo lie. 1895 I. Zangwill The Master ii. vii. 213 Not only..the glamour of the dead past, but the poetry of the quick. |
3. a. Of plants or their parts: Alive, growing. See also
quickwood.
| c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.) ciii. 16 Cwice cederbeamas. c 1200 Ormin 10002 Þeȝȝ wærenn o þe treo All cwike & grene boȝhess. 1552 Huloet, Arboure or place made with quicke springes. 1577 Nottingham Rec. IV. 168 Dressyng of the hedge of quycke grose. 1626 Bacon Sylva §514 Dividing a Quick-Tree downe to the Ground. 1647–8 Sir C. Cotterell Davila's Hist. Fr. (1678) 27 If there be any quick roots left, which may send forth new sprouts. 1802 W. Forsyth Fruit Trees (1824) 214 If any of the old dead snags remain they should be cut off close to the quick wood. |
b. Composed of living plants,
esp. hawthorn, as
quick fence,
† quick frith,
quick hedge (
cf. Du. kwikhaag),
quick mound.
Cf. quickset.
| 1467 Bury Wills (Camden) 45 The qwyk heige set frome the gate on to the hall doore. 1563 T. Hill Art Garden. (1593) 7 A quick hedge, which we cal a quickset hedge. 1564 MS. Acc. St. John's Hosp., Canterb., To enclose the vij acres of land..wyth a quyk fryth. 1627 F. Little Mon. Chr. Munif. (1871) 93 They fenced it with a quick mound. 1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. (1681) 15 A thousand Acres of Land divided with good Quick-fences. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. viii, A quick or living hedge. 1894 J. T. Fowler Adamnan Introd. 38 On top a palisade and quick hedge. |
4. Constr. with.
a. quick with child, said of a female in the stage of pregnancy at which the motion of the fœtus is felt. Now
rare or
Obs. (This use has
app. arisen by the inversion of the
phr. with quick child exemplified in the following
quots. c 1450 Merlin 12
She was grete with quyk childe. 1752 J. Louthian
Form of Process (
ed. 2) 217
You of the Jury of Matrons..say, that E. L. is not pregnant with quick Child.)
| c 1450 Lonelich Merlin 826 (Kölbing) This good man sawh, that sche Qwyk with childe was. 1493 Festivall (W. de W. 1515) 106 Thenne conceyued Elyzabeth and whan she was quycke w{supt} chylde [etc.]. 1616 R. C. Times' Whistle iii. 1163 His vnckles wife surviues, purchance Left quick with childe. 1678 Lady Chaworth in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. V. 51 Sister Salisbery and sister Ansley [are] both quicke with child. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) II. 43 Women..quick with child, as their expression is, at the end of two months. |
| fig. 1870 Lowell Among my Bks. Ser. i. 238 Puritanism, believing itself quick with the seed of religious liberty, laid, without knowing it, the egg of democracy. |
† b. absol. in same sense.
Obs.| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 687 Then shall Hector be whipt for Iaquenetta that is quicke by him. 1647 Trapp Comm. Rom. ix. 11 Acknowledging..her issue for their Prince, before she as yet had felt her self quick. |
c. Alive, instinct
with (life, soul, feeling, etc.).
In some cases
prob. associated with sense 19.
| 1837 Disraeli Venetia iv. iv, That languid form quick with excitement. 1839 Bailey Festus xxiii. (1852) 416 Thy palpitating piles of ruin..quick With soul immortal. 1873 Dixon Two Queens I. i. ix. 63 In Barcelona everyone was quick with rage. 1883 A. E. Hake Story Chinese Gordon xii. (1884) 294 To give peace to a country quick with war. |
II. Of things: Having some specific quality characteristic or suggestive of a living thing.
*
In a sound or natural condition;
fresh;
productive.
† 5. Of the complexion: Having the freshness of life.
Obs. rare.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 332 Þe cwike rude of þe nebbe makeð to understonden þet te soule þet..nefde bute dead heou, haueð ikeiht cwic heou. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret. 223 The [fifth token] Is that a man haue quyke coloure. 1656 [see quickness 2]. a 1693 Aubrey Lives (1898) I. 60 (W. Aubrey) He had a delicate, quick, lively..complexion. |
† 6. Of things seen: Lifelike, vivid.
Obs. rare.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 1179 Fro alle þo syȝtez so quykez [? read quyke] & queme. c 1450 tr. De Imitatione i. xviii. 19 Beholde þe quicke ensamples of olde fadres. 1533 Bellenden Livy Prol. (1901) 4 Of awfull batallis,..Ȝe may fynd here,..Als quyk as þai war led afore ȝour Ee. |
† 7. a. Of rock: Natural, ‘living’.
b. Of earth: (see
quot. 1620).
Obs.| a 1475 Partenay 1125 Vppon the quicke Roche thay it sett tho. Ibid. 4352 A caue..Within the quike roche. 1620 Markham Farew. Husb. ii. ii. (1668) 7 You shall be sure to raise up the quick earth which had not been stirred up with the Plough before. |
8. a. Mining. Of veins, etc.: Containing ore, productive. (
Cf. dead a. 10.)
| 1676 J. Beaumont in Phil. Trans. XI. 735 Subterraneous Vaults or Grotto's, whereof some..are said by our Miners to be quick, having often oar in them. 1747 Hooson Miner's Dict. Q ij b, Veins, Scrins, Pipes, &c. if they bear any Ore, are called Quick; and such as have no Ore, go by the Names of Dead Veins. 1881 in Raymond Mining Gloss. |
b. Of stock, capital, etc.: Productive of interest or profit.
| 1701 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) V. 1 The quick stock of both companies shal be paid for discharge of their debts. a 1711 Ken Christophil Poet. Wks. 1721 I. 423, I..spent on the Quick-stock which I could never drain. 1818 Jas. Mill Brit. India I. i. v. 81 The estimate which was formed of their quick and dead stock. 1891 Pall Mall G. 19 Nov. 7/1 The quick assets [of the American Cotton Oil Trust]..amounted on August 31 last to 5,928,338 dols. |
**
Possessed of motion.
9. Of wells, springs, streams, or water: Running, flowing. (
Cf. OE. cwicwelle adj.) Now
rare. Also
transf.| c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.) cxiii. 8 He..clifu cyrreð on cwicu..wæteres wellan. c 1220 Bestiary 341 Bihoueð us to rennen to cristes quike welle. 1340 Ayenb. 98 To lhade of þe zeue streames þe quikke weteres. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxxiii. (George) 319 In þe mydis þe altere a quyk wel sprang. c 1430 Lydg. Compl. Bl. Knt. xi, A litel welle, That had his cours..with quikke stremes colde. 1600 Holland Livy xlii. liv. 1147 The place is..watered also with many quicke and running springs. 1677 Evelyn Diary (1827) II. 425 Whose house stands inviron'd with very sweete and quick streams. c 1710 C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 289 Its not a quick spring and very often is dranke drye. 1816 Byron Parisina xx, The living stream lies quick below, And flows, and cannot cease to flow. 1857 Thoreau Jrnl. 30 July in Maine Woods (1864) 276 The Indian navigator naturally distinguishes by a name those parts of a stream where he has encountered quick water and forks. 1889 Pater G. de Latour 75 Gently winding valleys, with clear, quick water. 1894 Harper's Mag. Apr. 782/1 That quick water's the Mahkin Rapids. 1905 L. Mott Jules of Great Heart xxi. 260 Nearer and nearer sounded the quick water of the thoroughfare between Lac des Rochers and the dead-water of Rivière du Renard. 1951 H. E. Giles Harbin's Ridge xxiii. 201, I couldn't say a word for the knot in my throat, and my eyes stung with quick water. 1958 Montreal Star 22 Oct. 14/3 On the subject of water also there is the definition of quickwater... It used to be used in the Maritimes, a term designating water running rapidly but not broken by rapids. |
10. Of soil, etc.: Mobile, shifting, readily yielding to pressure.
Cf. quick-clay in sense D,
quicksand.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter i. 1 As he þ{supt} gas on qwik grauel, þat gers him synk þ{supt} standis þar on. 1552 Huloet, Quycke sandes or shelues, syrtes. 1602 Carew Cornwall 8 b, The quicke ground (as they call it) that mooued with the floud. 1696 Phil. Trans. XIX. 352 Great Freshes..make the Sands Shift, and consequently Quick. 1771 Smollett Humph. Cl. 12 Sept., The Solway sands,..as the tide makes,..become quick in different places. 1890 Emerson Wild Life 58, I pulled my legs out of the soft ooze, and was soon across the patch of quick ground. 1895 Trans. Australasian Inst. Mining Engin. III. 141 Quick. Veins are said to be quick when productive, and dead when non-productive. Quick-ground, ground in a loose incoherent state; soft watery strata, e.g., running sand. 1901 Norges Geol. Unders{obar}gelse No. 32. 221 All kinds of soft clay are often called ‘quick’ clay; in a more restricted sense it means clay which has the property of being comparatively stiff when it lies in its original bed, but becomes fluid when it is set in motion. 1963 Means & Parcher Physical Prop. Soils xi. 333 The velocity of the upward flowing water required to cause the soil to become quick. 1967 A. R. Jumikis Introd. Soil. Mech. iv. 32 Quicksand is not a special type of soil, but a condition. Any granular material through which an upward flow of water takes place may become ‘quick’ under proper hydraulic conditions. 1978 Sci. Amer. Nov. 143/2 Sand does not become quick without an influx of water, because any extra water separates out on top of a bed of closely packed sand, creating a situation similar to the ones encountered on the beach and in the demonstration with a bottle. |
***
Having some form of activity or energy.
11. † a. Of coals: Live, burning.
Obs.| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 224 Do to fyre on croccan, ofer wylle on godum gledum clænum & cwicum. 1340 Ayenb. 205 A quic col berninde ope an hyeape of dyade coles. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxxi. 142 If a man..couer þe coles þeroff with aschez, þai will hald in quikk a twelfmonth. 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iii. ix. 55 Quyck coles whiche brente them full bytterly. 1581 T. Howell Deuises (1879) 200 Kindled coales close kept, continue longest quick. 1657 Trapp Comm. Ps. cxx. 4 Juniper..maketh a very scorching fire, and quick coals, such as last long. 1764 Harmer Observ. iii. 118 They..put it into an oven upon the quick coals. |
b. Of fires or flames: Burning strongly or briskly. Also of an oven: Exposed to a brisk fire.
| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. iv. pr. vi. 104 (Camb. MS.) A ryht lyfly and quyk fyre of thowht. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies ii. vii. 96 If it [the fire] bee quicke and violent, it doth greatly evaporate the quick-silver. 1624 Quarles Sion's Sonn. xx. 19 Thy breath..incends quicke flames, where Ember'd sparkes but shine. 1708 J. C. Compl. Collier (1845) 16 It makes a hot quick Fire. 1769 Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1778) 4 Bake it in a quick oven three hours. 1821 Shelley Prometh. Unb. iii. i. 38 God! Spare me! I sustain not the quick flames. 1863 Reade Hard Cash xiv, You will cook your own goose—by a quick fire. |
† 12. Of speech, writings, etc.: Lively, full of vigour or acute reasoning; smart, sprightly.
Obs.| a 1225 Ancr. R. 170 Ye eihtuðe reisun is uorte habben cwike bone. 1340 Ayenb. 134 Þet is to zigge: oþer þane quicke scele oþer aperte miracle. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 306 That [speech] was..short and quyk, and ful of hy sentence. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 8 Aȝen swilk feynid..indulgens, howiþ a feiþful prest to multiply quek resouns. 1531 Elyot Gov. i. x, Some quicke and mery dialoges elect out of Luciane. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie i. xxviii. (Arb.) 70 An inscription..in few verses, pithie, quicke and sententious. 1625 Gill Sacr. Philos. Pref., Though his writings be easie and quicke, yet his matiers are scattered. |
† 13. Of places or times: Full of activity or business; busy. Of trade: Brisk.
Obs.| c 1386 Chaucer Frankl. T. 774 Amyd the toun, right in the quyke strete. 1538 Leland Itin. I. 8 A good quik Market Toune. 1641 Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 102 The kinge beinge there, the markets were very quicke. a 1661 Fuller Worthies (1840) II. 190 He called Manchester the fairest and quickest town in this county. a 1687 Petty Pol. Arith. (1690) 18 Some where or other in the World, Trade is always quick enough. 1726–46 Thomson Winter 779 Pure, quick, and sportful is the wholesome day. |
† 14. Of sulphur: Readily inflammable, fiery.
Obs.| c 1530 Hickscorner in Hazl. Dodsley I. 179 He asked for a mouthful of quick brimstone. 1559 Morwyng Evonym. 323, ij unces of bothe kindes of Sulphur or brimstone, that is of the quik and dead. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. vii. 13 That divelish yron Engin,..With windy Nitre and quick Sulphur fraught. 1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 107 Honey, nitre,..and quick brimstone, reduced unto the consistence of honey. |
† 15. Of wine and other liquors: Brisk, effervescent.
Obs.| 1620 Venner Via Recta ii. 25 A pure and quicke wine. 1677 A. Yarranton Eng. Improv. 122 As the different heat of the Climate is, so the Liquor shall ripen and grow quick and fit to drink. 1730–46 Thomson Autumn 706 The mellow-tasted burgundy; and, quick As is the wit it gives, the gay champagne. |
****
Producing a strong effect on the senses or mind.
16. † a. Of the voice: Loud, clear.
Obs. rare—1.
| c 1205 Lay. 12306 Heo..him to cleopeden quickere stæuene [c 1275 mid swiþe loude stemne]. |
b. Of colour: Vivid, bright, dazzling.
rare.
| 1664 Power Exp. Philos. i. 13 Eyes..of a very quick and lively transparency or fulgour. 1851 G. Meredith Love in the Valley xx, Slain are the poppies that shot their random scarlet Quick amid the wheatears. |
17. Of feelings: Lively, vivid, keen, strongly felt.
| c 1449 Pecock Repr. ii. viii. 183 Quyk and feruent and..deuout remembraunce. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utop. ii. ix. (1895) 284 Onles they, by quycke repentaunce approue the amendement of their lyffes. 1665 Glanvill Def. Vain Dogm. 75, I have still a quick resentment of the Vanity of Confiding in Opinions. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 196 ¶5 These have in their several Stations a quick Relish of the exquisite Pleasure of doing Good. 1752 Chesterfield Lett. (1702) III. 254 The scene of quick and lively pleasures. 1839 Bailey Festus viii. (1848) 87 Firestranded, rolling in quick agony. |
18. † a. Of a taste or smell: Sharp, pungent; brisk. Also of things in respect of taste or smell (
cf. 15).
Obs.| 1573 Treas. Hid. Secrets xliii, If white Saunders..be old, and have no pleasant and quicke odour, they are nothing worth. 1578 Lyte Dodoens v. xx. 574 These two Purcelaynes are..of a sharpe or quicke taste. 1641 French Distill. v. (1651) 126 It will tast as quick as bottle beer that is a fortnight old. 1670 Narborough Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. (1694) i. 68 This Rind..is hotter than Pepper and more quicker. 1758 Reid tr. Macquer's Chym. I. 33 Its smell is..extremely quick and suffocating when it smokes. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) I. 625/2 Their smell is quick and penetrating, their taste pungent. |
† b. Of speech or writing: Sharp, caustic.
Obs.| 1580 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 280 A quicke aunswere that might cut him. 1589 Nashe Pref. Greene's Menaphon (Arb.) 9 In Scholler-like matters of controuersie, a quicker stile may pass as commendable. 1616 Bullokar Eng. Expos., Quippe, a quicke checke, a pretty taunt. 1685 Roxb. Ball. IV. 284 These quirks are too quick, you do put on me. 1748 Johnson Van. Hum. Wishes 62 How wouldst thou..Dart the quick taunt, and edge the piercing gibe? |
c. Of air or light: Sharp, piercing.
rare.
| 1608 Shakes. Per. iv. i. 28 The air is quick there, And it pierces and sharpens the stomach. 1818 Keats Endym. ii. 918 Other light, Though it be quick and sharp enough to blight The Olympian eagle's vision, is dark. |
† d. Of what causes pain.
Obs. rare—1.
| a 1716 South Serm. (1744) II. 27 The punishment of the Cross is..the quickest and the most acute. |
III. Having in a high degree the vigour or energy characteristic of life, and hence distinguished by, or capable of, prompt or rapid action or movement.
19. a. Of persons (or animals): Full of vigour, energy, or activity (now
rare); prompt or ready to act; acting, or able to act, with speed or rapidity (
freq. with suggestion or implication of sense 23).
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 624 He..Comaunded hir to be cof and quyk at þis oneȝ. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 16372 Þey smette to-gedere so bitterlyke, Þat eyþer side fond oþer quyke. 1434 Misyn Mending Life 118 So þat qwen þa rise to pray, þa be qwhickar þen þai before were. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 421/1 Quyk, or lyvely, or delyvyr, vivax. 1535 Coverdale Ezra vii. 6 Ezdras..was a quycke scrybe in the lawe of Moses. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. IV 32 b, This king was..formally compact, quicke and deliver and of a stout courage. 1611 Bible Ecclus. xxxi. 22 In all thy workes bee quicke. a 1715 Burnet Own Time iii. (1724) I. 382 Seimour..was a graceful man, bold and quick. 1816 Byron Ch. Har. iii. xlii, Quiet to quick bosoms is a hell. 1833 Tennyson Rosalind ii, The quick lark's closest-caroll'd strains. |
b. Of qualities in a person (or animal).
| c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 109 Crist fastide fourty daies.. he was in quyke age, and listide wel to ete. 1535 Stewart Chron. Scot. I. 12 Thair curage..that tyme wes so quik. c 1580 Sidney Ps. xxxiii. xi, Of quick strength is an horse. a 1661 Fuller Worthies (1840) II. 536 He was a good patriot, of a quick and clear spirit. 1732 Neal Hist. Purit. I. 342 He was a little man, of a quick spirit. 1819 Shelley Cenci i. iii. 173 The resolution of quick youth Within my veins. |
c. Of things (material and immaterial).
| 1545 R. Ascham Toxoph. ii. (Arb.) 117 So that he [a bow] be..quycke and spedye ynoughe for farre castynge. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utop. ii. iv. (1895) 149 They..finde spedy and quicke remedies for present fautes. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. v. iii. 120 O true Appothecary: Thy drugs are quicke. 1699 Pennsylvania Arch. I. 127, I am obliged for thy quick Care about ye Wine. 1820 Shelley Vision of Sea 50 A lead-coloured fog..Whose breath was quick pestilence. 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-mining s.v., Blasting powder is said to be quick when it burns or goes off very rapidly. |
d. Cricket. Of a bowler.
| 1967 [private letter from Mr. R. Bowen]. 1976 J. Snow Cricket Rebel 36, I was not fast enough to be classed as a genuine quick bowler. |
20. a. Of the eye, ear, etc.: Keen or rapid in its function; capable of ready or swift perception.
| c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. viii. 126 Digestioun hit macth and eyon quyk. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 18 She..hadd a quicke yee, and a light. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. ii. 26 Busying his quicke eies her face to view. a 1661 Fuller Worthies (1840) III. 104 They have a quicker palate than I, who can make any such discovery. 1778 Johnson L.P., Milton Wks. I. 140 His eyes..must have been once quick. 1818 Shelley Rosal. & Helen 1212 The same lady..With silver locks and quick brown eyes. 1864 Cornh. Mag. Dec. 655 The quick ear of Midwinter detected something wrong in the tone of Mr. Brock's voice. |
b. So of the senses, perception, feeling, etc.
| a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI 130 The kynges counsaill, whiche did not with quicke sight, forese..thynges for to come. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iv. xxxvii. 309 Those [birds]..have a very quicke sight. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 618 Several dogs of quick scent were turned out. 1870 Rock Text. Fabr. Introd. 87 Women being gifted with such quick feeling of finger. |
21. a. Mentally active or vigorous; of ready apprehension or wit; prompt to learn, think, invent, etc.
| 1484 Caxton Fables of Poge xii, Two prestes..of whome that one was quyck and coude putte hym self forth. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utop. ii. vi. (1895) 212 The people be gentle, merye, quycke, and fyne wytted. 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. v. ii. 216 The quicke Comedians Extemporally will stage vs. 1640 Bp. Reynolds Passions xiii. 121 Another by nature quicke and of noble intellectuals wholly applyeth himselfe unto it [learning]. 1792 Ld. Auckland's Corr. (1861) II. 410 He is a quick, sensible man. 1847 Tennyson Princ. Prol. 137, I would teach them all that men are taught; We are twice as quick. |
b. So of mind, wit, etc., and of qualities or operations (
cf. 25) of the mind.
| c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. v. xvii. [xix.] (1890) 452 He þa cwices modes ᵹeornlice leornade þa þing. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 8 In theyr owne pregnaunt and quycke wytte and reason. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xvii. (Arb.) 196 Synecdoche,..because it seemeth to aske a good, quick, and pregnant capacitie,..I chose to call him the figure..of quick conceite. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. i. xiii. 60 One man..of quicker mind then another. a 1715 Burnet Own Time iii. (1724) I. 354 Lord Sunderland was a man of..a quick decision in business. 1785 Paley Mor. Philos. (1818) I. 361 At our public schools..quick parts are cultivated, slow ones are neglected. 1804 Ann. Rev. II. 79/1 The author is evidently a man of quick observation and lively fancy. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xix. IV. 310 Queen Mary..had naturally a quick perception of what was excellent in art. |
22. a. Hasty, impatient, hot-tempered. ?
Obs.| 1549 Latimer 6th Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 172 The Byshop was some what quicke wyth theym, and signified that he was muche offended. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. ii. i. 118 You must not be so quicke. 1628 Ford Lover's Mel. ii. i, Are you so quick? Well, I may chance to cross Your peevishness. |
b. So of temper, disposition, etc.
| 1837 Disraeli Venetia i. viii, The expressions of a quick and offended temper. c 1850 Arab. Nts. (Rtldg.) 89 The quick and violent disposition of his master. |
23. Moving, or able to move, with speed.
| c 1450 Cov. Myst. xxx. (Shaks. Soc.) 298, I am as whyt [= whyk] as thought. a 1529 Skelton Elynour Rummyng 337 Her tonge was verye quycke, But she spake somwhat thycke. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, v. i. 91 Ile..something leane to Cut-purse of quicke hand. 1605 ― Law iv. vii. 35 The most terrible and nimble stroke Of quick, cross lightning. 1730–46 Thomson Autumn 526 The quick dice..leaping from the box. 1821 Shelley Epipsych. 532 The young stars glance Between the quick bats in their twilight dance. 1861 Thornbury Brit. Artists I. 247 The quick lizard is already out. |
24. Of movement or succession: Rapid, swift.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 4544 He sywede after þe traytour mid wel quic pas. 1602 T. Middleton in Shaks. Cent. of Praise (1879) 51 To keep quick time unto the owl. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iv. i. 39 Incite them to quicke motion. 1632 Lithgow Trav. vi. 298 The Dromidory hath a quicke and hard-reaching trot. 1655 Stanley Hist. Philos. i. (1701) 63/2 The Body, which is continually in quick motion, is..called æther. 1759 Johnson Rasselas vi, There may be danger of too quick descent. 1771 Junius Lett. lix. 310 There is a quick succession of subjects. 1860 Tyndall Glac. ii. xxvii. 384 The quicker flow of the centre causes this structure to bend. |
25. a. Of an action, occurrence, process, etc.: That is done, happens, or takes place, rapidly or with speed;
esp. that is over within a short space of time; that is soon finished or completed.
| a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI 169 And therfore willed her in so quicke a mischief, to provide a hasty remedy. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, v. iii. 8 This speedy and quicke appearance argues proofe Of your accustom'd diligence. 1607 ― Timon i. i. 91 Morall Paintings..That shall demonstrate these quicke blows of Fortune. 1634 Milton Comus 284 They..purpos'd quick return. Ibid. 841 She..underwent a quick immortal change. 1664 Marvell Corr. Wks. 1872–5 II. 151 Give me a quick dispatch one way or other. a 1756 Mrs. Heywood New Present (1771) 263 A quick Way to take Grease out of Woollen Cloth. 1819 Shelley Mask of Anarchy lxxv, With a quick and startling sound. 1820 ― Prometh. Unb. iii. iii. 135 It feeds the quick growth of the serpent vine. 1821 ― Epipsych. 547 The pebble-paven shore, Under the quick, faint kisses of the sea Trembles. 1854 Ronalds & Richardson Chem. Technol. (ed. 2) I. 343 A quick process of distillation. |
b. quick one: an alcoholic drink intended to be taken rapidly.
colloq.| 1928 D. L. Sayers Unpleasantness at Bellona Club ix. 105 They had a quick one together. 1936 A. Huxley Eyeless in Gaza xlii. 503 After the second ‘quick one’ in the bar of the theatre. 1948 R. A. Knox Mass in Slow Motion viii. 80 The conductor slipping in to the Corner house to have a quick one. 1959 B. Cobb Don't lie to Police (1960) xii. 194 We go in a bunch at half-past eleven and have a quick one, or rather one or two quick ones. 1968 Listener 19 Dec. 811/3 We've time for a quick one and then we'll go and do our bit of business. 1976 G. Moffat Over Sea to Death vii. 79 Ken Maynard came into the cocktail lounge... ‘Just in time for a quick one... Two lagers, please.’ |
† 26. Of steel: Breaking readily; brittle.
Obs.| 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 55 The Spanish Steel..is too quick (as Workmen call it) that is, too brittle for Springs or Punches. |
27. Of a curve, turn, etc.: Sharp.
| 1725 W. Halfpenny Sound Building 9 If the Arch is required to be quicker or flatter on the Hanse. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §81 A much quicker curve, or sweep of a less Radius. 1858 Skyring's Builders' Prices (ed. 48) 57 Mouldings..circular on plan..quick sweep. |
| fig. 1732 Pope Ep. Cobham 64 Tho' strong the bent, yet quick the turns of mind. 1781 Cowper Charity 544 The turns are quick, the polished points surprise. |
28. With constructions:
a. with
to and
infin.| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 9327 Slou to fiȝte & quic to fle & þat nis no manhede. 1584 Lyly Campaspe ii. ii, A wit apt to conceive, and quick to answer. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, ii. i. 234 Quicke is mine eare to heare of good towards him. 1808 Scott Marm. ii. Introd. 95 The widow's deafen'd ear Grows quick that lady's step to hear. 1879 Church Spenser 139 Those who..are quick to respond to English manliness and tenderness. |
b. with
in.
| c 1449 Pecock Repr. ii. xvi. 243 Summe othere..weren quycker in natural witt and waxiden better philsophiris. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utop. ii. vi. (1895) 218 The wyttes therefore of the Vtopians..be maruelous quycke in the inuentyon of feates. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. i. ii. 31, I do say thou art quick in answers. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. ii. i. 51 Others that are so quick in searching, seldome search to the quick. 1837 Marryat Percival Keene xii, He's not very quick in temper. 1882 J. H. Blunt Ref. Ch. Eng. II. 190 So quick was justice in overtaking the rebels. |
c. with
of,
about.
| 1560 Rolland Crt. Venus Prol. 27 Quik of Ingyne, of Lordschip couetous. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 173 Launders and millers be quick of their toll. 1607–12 Bacon Ess., Death (Arb.) 384 The most vitall partes are not the quickest of sence. a 1626 Bp. Andrewes Serm. (1841) IV. 43 More quick of touch than the rest. 1840 Dickens Barn. Rudge x, He is quick of foot. 1859 Tennyson Elaine 1198 It may be, I am quicker of belief. 1937 W. H. Saumarez Smith Let. 29 July in Young Man's Country (1977) ii. 85, I shall have to be very quick about writing this letter as the Air Mail goes from the Club in half an hour. |
d. with
at,
for,
unto.
| 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. iii. ii. 342 Your hands then mine, are quicker for a fray. 1640 A. Melville Commonpl. Bk. (1899) 18 Quhick at meitt, quhick at work. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. xxxiii, Her hands are quicker unto good. |
IV. 29. Combs., chiefly parasynthetic
adjs., as
quick-answered,
quick-born,
quick-chapt,
quick-eared,
quick-footed,
quick-handed,
quick-hearted,
quick-nosed,
quick-paced,
quick-scented, (
quick-sensedness),
quick-shod,
quick-spirited, (
† quick-sprighted),
quick-tempered,
quick-thoughted,
quick-voiced,
quick-winged,
quick-worded. Also
quick-eyed, -sighted,
witted.
| 1611 Shakes. Cymb. iii. iv. 161 Ready in gybes, *quicke-answer'd, sawcie. |
| a 1300 Cursor M. 28547 Þat *quikborne child i haue fordon. 1824 Byron Def. Transf. i. ii. 81 His own twin, quickborn of the same womb. |
| 1598 E. Guilpin Skial. (1878) 59 Here his wife's bated by some *quick-chapt youth. |
| 1771 E. Griffith Hist. Lady Barton I. 118 They are..*quick-eared as the mole. 1920 D. H. Lawrence Lost Girl viii. 182 He turned like a quick-eared animal. |
| 1839 W. C. Bryant in U.S. Democratic Rev. Apr. 406 Here the *quick-footed wolf..crushed the flower Of Sanguinaria. 1938 Times Lit. Suppl. 5 Mar. 158/1 A very quick-footed batsman. |
| 1847 James J. Marston Hall vii, You are a good, *quick-handed boy. |
| 1820 L. Hunt Indicator No. 29 (1822) I. 231 Ending with that simple, *quick-hearted line. |
| 1561 T. Norton Calvin's Inst. i. 40 Many *quicknosed men do laugh at this. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 111 Dogs..are called sharp..and quick-nosed. |
| 1590 R. Harvey Pl. Perc. A ij b, Being *quicksented [I] thrust forward on the trale. 1647 Sanderson Serm. II. 216 So quick-scented where there is a likelihood of gain. |
| 1656 W. D. tr. Comenius' Gate Lat. Unl. 149 The sagacitie or *quick-sensedness of reason. |
| 1645 City Alarum 23 If the Souldier be *quickshod with this mettall [etc.]. |
| 1552 Huloet, *Quycke spirited, and quycke of spirite. a 1653 Gouge Comm. Heb. iv. 12 That is said to be ‘quick’..which is active..as..quick-spirited. 1598 E. Guilpin Skial. (1878) 27 My quick-sprighted lasse can speake. |
| 1830 Miss Mitford Village Ser. iv. (1863) 149 She used to be a little *quick-tempered! |
| 1782 Cowper Expostulation 316 Laborious and *quick-thoughted man. |
| 1820 Keats Hyperion i. 149 Thus she *quick-voiced spake. |
| 1833 Mrs. Browning Prometh. Bound Wks. 1850 I. 152 On the back of the *quick-winged bird I glode. |
| 1954 J. R. R. Tolkien Two Towers iii. iv. 81 It [sc. a song] is..*quick-worded, and soon over. |
B. Elliptical or absolute uses passing into
n. 1. a. pl. (Without article or
-s.) Living persons. (Chiefly in echoes of Acts x. 42 or the Apostles' Creed, in
phr. quick and dead.)
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. xv. 96 Se þe demende is cwicum & deadum. a 900 Cynewulf Christ 997 Ðær bið cirm ond cearu ond cwicra ᵹewin. 1067 Charter of Eadweard in Kemble Cod. Dipl. IV. 220 For alle quiken and for alle dede to helpe. c 1200 Ormin 10557 To demenn cwike & dæde. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. II. 213 His preier..doiþ more harm to quike and dede. c 1440 Jacob's Well 65 Paye..to qwyke & to dede, þat þou owyst. 1562 Cooper Answ. Priv. Masse (1850) 56 For then ye applied it to high, to low,..to quick, to dead. 1667 Milton P.L. xii. 460 To judge both quick & dead. 1732 Law Serious C. ii. (ed. 2) 22 The Judge of quick and dead. |
b. the quick, the living. Usu.
pl., and in conjunction with
the dead (
cf. 1 a).
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxxvi §7 Ne bið se cwuca ðonne nyttra ðe se deada. c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. i. xi. [xiv.] (1890) 50 Ða cwican no ᵹenihtsumedon þæt hi ða deadan bebyriᵹdan. a 1200 Moral Ode 190 Þet he scal deme þa quike and þa dede. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 5877 Me halt euere mid þe quike; þe dede was sone stille. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 4388 Þe quiyke vpon þe dede ȝede. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 49 What riȝtfulnes is þis to ȝef ȝeftis to þe dead, & spoyle þe quek? 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 41 Gif ony to the quick ȝeid from the deide, Trewlie they suld repent. 1654 Fuller Two Serm. 55 Such Volumes as concern the Quick at that Day. 1727 De Foe Hist. Appar. vii. 99 The dead could never come to the quick. 1800–24 Campbell Death-Boat of Heligoland 2 The quick have their sleep-walkers, so have the dead. 1850 Blackie æschylus I. 156 He, who was dead, has slain the quick. |
† c. That which is alive. (
OE. and early
ME. in
gen. sing.)
Obs.| Beowulf (Z.) 2314 No ðær aht cwices lað lyft floᵹa læfan wolde. c 1000 ælfric Gen. viii. 21 Ne ofslea ic..mid wætere ælc þing cuces. c 1205 Lay. 25758 Na whit heo ne funden quikes uppen wolden. a 1225 Ancr. R. 334 Þe reade [deade C.] see, þet nowiht cwices [nis] inne. |
† d. Live stock, cattle. (So
OFris. quek,
quik,
LG. queck,
quick,
Da. kvæg.)
Obs. rare—1.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 4469 Of any gud at ȝe geet a gift ye þam offirre, A quantite of all-quat, of quike & of ellis. |
2. With
a and
pl. A living thing.
rare (now only
dial.).
| c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.) ciii. 24 His is mycel sæ..þær is unrim on ealra cwicra. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 567 As to quelle alle quykez for qued þat myȝt falle. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. Mar. 74, [I] Might see the moving of some quicke Whose shape appeared not. 1664 Power Exp. Philos. i. 34 You shall see these little Quicks..grow feebler in their motion. 1899 Cumbld. Gloss., Whicks,..maggots. |
3. a. collect. Living plants,
spec. of white hawthorn, set to form a hedge.
= quickset 1 a.
| 1456–7 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 241 Pro factura unius fosse et insercione de lez Whyke. 1484–5 Ibid. 98 Pro CCma qweke et plantacione ejusdem. 1641 Evelyn Diary (1871) 33 The workes..are curiously hedg'd with quick. 1725 Bradley Fam. Dict. s.v. Quickset, The same Method is used in planting all Sorts of Quick..except the Alder, Elder, Furz, and Holly. 1764 Museum Rusticum III. lxiii. 285, I keep the quick regularly clipped, which, in a few years, renders the fence impenetrable. 1818 Relig. Clerici 405 Hedges of living quick, a yew alcove. 1881 Gard. Chron. 26 Mar. 409 Planting two hollies and six quick in every yard. |
b. With
a and
pl. A single plant of this description.
= quickset 1 b.
| 1507–8 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 660 Et sol{ddd}sepientibus cum lez Wykkes..querend. le Whikkes. 1671 Vestry Bks. (Surtees) 202 For quickes, 5s. 8d. 1765 Earl of Haddington Forest trees 40 Upon this I laid another turf..and a row of thorns, or quicks. 1792 Trans. Soc. Arts (ed. 2) III. 173 Quicks thus planted will at an early age, form a fence. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. lxxxviii, Wild bird, whose warble,..Rings Eden thro' the budded quicks. |
† c. (See
quot.)
Obs. rare—0.
| 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. App., Quick, the name by which some call a species of Mespilus, or medlar. |
4. a. the quick: The tender or sensitive flesh in any part of the body, as that under the nails or beneath callous parts; the sensitive part of a horse's foot, above the hoof; also, the tender part of a sore or wound. Usu. in
phr. to the quick.
† Also without article (
quot. 1562). Also
attrib.| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §115 An hurte, that commeth of yll shoynge, whan a smyth dryueth a nayle in to the quycke. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 178 Itching and smartyng, both touch vs at quicke. 1571 Satir. Poems Reform. xxvi. 168 Fra tyme ye spur and hit him on the quik. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iv. vii. 124 But, to the quick o' the ulcer:—Hamlet comes back. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 673 The raw Rain has pierc'd them to the quick. 1726 Swift Gulliver ii. iii, They would fix upon my nose or forehead, where they stung me to the quick. 1767 Wesley Jrnl. 1 Nov. (1827) III. 293 Five nails were driven into the quick. 1825 Knapp & Baldw. Newgate Cal. IV. 350/2 Picking his fingers until he brought blood thro' the quick. 1862 Sala Seven Sons I. x. 243 He was in the habit of biting his nails to the quick. 1925 W. G. L. Taylor Saddle Horse i. 81 The hoof is pared down to the quick in streaks, leaving only enough for the animal to stand on. 1940 W. Faulkner Hamlet iii. 60 The newcomer darting between Houston and the raised hoof and clapping the shoe onto it and touching the animal's quick with the second blow of the hammer. 1949 D. F. Montgomery Essentials of Horsemanship iv. 37 The sensitive sole or ‘quick’ inside the foot follows the shape of the hoof. 1954 W. Faulkner Fable 196 They was trying..to pull the quick shoe. 1963 M. C. Self Compl. Bk. Horses & Ponies iii. 56 As with your finger nail, we must be careful not to trim too close to the ‘quick’, or sensitive part of the horse's foot. |
b. fig. with ref. to persons, chiefly in phrases denoting acute mental pain or irritation, as
touched,
galled,
stung, etc. to the quick.
| 1526 Skelton Magnyf. 1630 Yf a man fortune to touche you on the quyke, Then feyne yourselfe dyseased. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utop. i. (1895) 46 Their tenauntes,..whom they polle and shaue to the quycke, by reysing their rentes. 1579–80 North Plutarch (1676) 433 Tigranes..was galled to the quick, and hit at the heart. 1628 Wither Brit. Rememb. ii. 933, I confesse that on the quick they grated, Who in this manner have expostulated. 1647 Trapp Comm. Rom. ii. 3 This is preaching to the conscience, to the quick. 1722 De Foe Moll Flanders (1840) 44 This stung the elder brother to the quick. 1793 F. Burney Lett. 21 Oct., I could not deeply consider the situation of these venerable men, without feeling for them to the quick. 1842 Tennyson Walking to Mail 73 A Tory to the quick. 1883 Froude Short Stud. IV. i. iv. 45 His proud temper was chafed to the quick, and he turned sick with anger. |
c. transf. of things (
esp. immaterial things): The central, vital, or most important part.
| 1567 R. Edwards Damon & Pithias in Hazl. Dodsley IV. 12 In comedies the greatest skill is this, rightly to touch All things to the quick. 1600 Surflet Countrie Farme iii. xlvi. 516 There is neede to digge trees at the foote in winter vnto the very quick of the earth. 1643 J. Burroughes Exp. Hosea ix. (1652) 314 If things were examined to the quick in our receiving the Sacrament. 1693 Evelyn tr. De la Quint. Compl. Gard. II. 19 The Tree..must be refresh'd as far as the quick. 1837 Howitt Rur. Life vi. i. (1862) 404 It is existence shorn of all its spreading and flowering branches, but not pared to the quick. 1876 Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. vii. li, The point touched the quick of his experience. |
d. With
a and
pl.: A tender, sensitive, or vital part.
rare.
| c 1550 Bale K. Johan (Camden) 77 To drive hym to holde and searche hym in the quyckes. 1705 Wroe in Phil. Trans. XXV. 1900 There appearing great quicks (as they call them) or Roots under the Nails. 1892 J. Lucas tr. Kalm's England 69 They have ready to hand a multitude of the quicks [Sw. qwickan] or inner parts of Ox-horns. |
5. the quick: The life (see
life n. 7). Chiefly in
phr. to the quick.
| 1563 J. Man tr. Musculus' Commonpl. 43 Images..with maruelouse deuice set forth to the quicke. 1727 Boyer Dict. Royal II, To draw to the quick (or to the life). 1858 J. Brown Horæ Subs. (1863) 3, I think I have only to sit down and write it [my father's life] off, and do it to the quick. 1880 G. Meredith Trag. Com. (1881) 96 Our blood runs through it, our history in the quick. |
† 6. = quick-mire (See D.).
Obs. rare—1.
| 1648 Sancroft in H. Cary Mem. Gt. Civ. War (1842) II. 40, I am here in Sloughland, in the midst of quicks and quagmires. |
7. U.S. Mining.
Abbrev. of
quicksilver. (So G.
quick.)
| 1882 Rep. to Ho. Repr., Prec. Met. U.S. 651 From this groove the amalgam and quicksilver run in gas-pipes to the securely-locked ‘amalgam safes’, in which the surplus ‘quick’ is strained off. |
8. Cricket. A fast bowler.
| 1960 I. Peebles Bowler's Turn 63 He was a fine player of every type of bowling, fast of foot against spin, and strong and resolute against the quicks. 1977 World of Cricket Monthly June 66/3 He..still considers Lindwall the greatest of quicks he faced. |
C. adv. 1. a. = quickly.
This use is now usually avoided in educated speech and writing, though found in some standard
colloq. constructions.
| c 1290 Michael 502 in S. Eng. Leg. 314 Heo..mai beo nouþe here and þer ase quik ase mannes muynde. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 79 Bot comen is William quik, and sekes þam fulle streit. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xiv. 189 He shulde take the acquitance as quik. a 1529 Skelton Elynour Rummyng 206 This ale shal be thycker, And flowre the more quicker. 1610 Shakes. Temp. v. i. 304 Such discourse, as..shall make it [the night] Goe quicke away. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 1004 The latter quick up flew, and kickt the beam. 1692 Locke Educ. §160 Any..Person who writes well, and quick. 1748 Chesterfield Lett. (1792) II. 25, I am told that you speak very quick. 1788 C. Smith Emmeline (1816) IV. 55, I am going..to Havre, whence I shall get the quickest to Southampton. 1840 Dickens Barn. Rudge x, The person who'd go quickest, is a sort of natural. 1865 Tennyson On a Mourner iii, Nature..on thy heart a finger lays, Saying ‘Beat quicker’. 1874 Green Short Hist. ii. 88 A peaceful invasion..followed quick on the conquest of the Norman soldiery. 1901 M. Franklin My Brilliant Career xxxii. 272 Lizer, shut the winder quick. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 47 He [sc. a dog]..pissed quick short at an unsmelt rock. 1936 C. Sandburg People, Yes 83 Some men dress quick, others take as much time as a woman. 1968 Listener 11 July 38/3 I've never known a journey go so quick. 1979 Times 23 Nov. 5/4 The brash and selfish values of a ‘get rich quick’ society. |
b. Phr.,
(as) quick as lightning,
thought,
wink, etc. (
cf. A. 23,
quot. c 1450).
| 1813 Scott Rokeby i. xix, Thoughts..Glance quick as lightning through the heart. 1825 Brother Jonathan I. 111 Fire away as quick as wink. 1871 B. Taylor Faust (1875) II. i. ii. 8 As quick as thought..Him to replace there came another. 1881 Scribner's Mag. XXII. 108/2 Quick as thought, Roger slipped his hands from their..noose. 1893 W. Forbes-Mitchell Remin. Gt. Mutiny 88 Quick as thought I..clasped it. |
2. Used imperatively. (In some cases
perh. representing the
adj. in the
phr. be quick!) See also
quick march 2.
| 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. ii. ix. 1 Quick, quick I pray thee, draw the curtain strait. 1604 ― Oth. v. i. 3 Quicke, quicke, feare nothing; Ile be at thy Elbow. 1822 Shelley tr. Calderon iii. 176 Livia, quick, bring my cloak. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. v. 31 Get on your clothes, old man, quick! 1872 Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 147 Nay—quick! the proof to prove me. |
3. Combs. a. With present participles, as
quick-acting,
quick-burning,
quick-coming,
quick-conceiving,
quick-decaying,
quick-designing,
quick-devouring,
quick-drying,
quick-fading (see
quot.),
quick-falling,
quick-firing,
quick-flowing,
quick-glancing,
quick-growing,
quick-guiding,
quick-gushing,
quick-labouring,
quick-loading,
quick-moving,
quick-piercing,
quick-relishing,
quick-returning,
quick-rolling,
quick-running,
quick-scenting,
quick-seeing,
quick-self-lessening,
quick-setting,
quick-shifting,
quick-shutting,
quick-speeding,
quick-spouting,
quick-springing,
quick-stepping,
quick-surprising,
quick-talking,
quick-thriving, (chiefly
adjs.).
| 1878 Abney Photogr. (1881) 222 Those *quick-acting lenses..for taking instantaneous pictures. 1931 A. Huxley Music at Night i. 12 Chemically pure pornography..is a quick-acting emotional drug. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 8 Mar. 88 ‘Nitro-Chalk’ 21, a granular fertilizer containing 21%N, is free-flowing, quick-acting. |
| 1799 G. Smith Laboratory I. 43 Prime it with a *quick-burning charge. |
| 1870 Morris Earthly Par. Apol. 3, I cannot..make *quick-coming death a little thing. |
| 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, i. iii. 189 To your *quicke conceyuing Discontents, Ile reade you Matter, deepe and dangerous. |
| 1708 J. Philips Cyder ii. 64 Freezing Nose, and *quick-decaying feet. |
| 1676 D'Urfey Mad. Fickle iv. ii, I'll..bring it off with *quick designing Wit. |
| 1621 Quarles Div. Poems, Hadassa (1638) 91 The *quick-devouring fire of heaven. |
| 1869 Bradshaw's Railway Man. XXI. 460/3 (Advt.), Varnishes..*Qck. Dryg. Copal..Qck. Drying Oak. 1913 V. B. Lewes Oil Fuel 91 Explosions..from leakages of volatile spirit used in making up anti-fouling and quick-drying paint..led to extended investigations being made. 1969 R. & E. Coordinator Apr. 8/1 A meter and a modified IGT Printability Tester are used to measure the drying time and penetration of quick drying inks into paper. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. cxxvii. §2. 395 Ephemerum Mathioli, *Quicke fading flower. 1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 57 The quick fading flower, drunk with the grapes of wild vine. |
| 1832 Tennyson Œnone 200 *Quick-falling dew Of fruitful kisses. |
| 1887 Pall Mall G. 17 Dec. 6/2 *Quick-firing gun ammunition. 1890 G. S. Clarke Fortification xiv. 207 Quick-firing guns require only two or three men..to work them. 1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 691/1 Q.F. guns, quick-firing guns. These may be guns, or howitzers, that are loaded with ammunition having brass cartridge cases, either attached to the shell or separate. 1979 A. Fox Threat Warning Red i. 3 That twin 4.5{pp} turret-radar-controlled, quick-firing automatic. |
| 1632 W. Lynnesay in Lithgow's Trav. B iij, Thou hast sweetly sung..in our *quick-flowing tongue. |
| 1751 Gray Spring 30 The insect youth..show their gayly-gilded trim *Quick-glancing to the sun. |
| 1879 Mrs. A. G. F. E. James Ind. Househ. Managem. 62 Planting a *quick-growing shrub to form a hedge. 1941 J. S. Huxley Uniqueness of Man iii. vi. 100 The quick-growing beast..suffers. 1968 Trees Spring 15 The algaroba..is a quick-growing tree. |
| 1793 Holcroft tr. Lavater's Physiog. xxvii. 129 The work of the *quick-guiding Providence. |
| 1845 Mrs. Norton Child of the Islands (1846) 135 The shy, *quick-gushing blood. |
| 1535 Coverdale Prov. x. 4 A *quycke laboringe hande maketh riche. |
| 1874 J. W. Long Wild-Fowl Shooting 37 A *quick-loading [powder] flask, i.e., one having a large feed-hole to the charger, should also be used. |
| 1793 Holcroft tr. Lavater's Physiog. xxxv. 180 The cheerful, open, free, *quick-moving mouth. |
| 1633 Ford Broken Heart i. iii, Their *quick-piercing eyes, which dive..Down to thy thoughts. |
| 1708 J. Philips Cyder i. 29 That from Harvey nam'd, *Quick-relishing. |
| 1728–46 Thomson Spring 999 A *quick-returning pang Shoots thro' the conscious heart. |
| 1584 Three Ladies Lond. i. in Hazl. Dodsley VI. 338 *Quick-rolling eyes, her temples high. |
| 1742 Fielding J. Andrews iii. vi, The *quick-scenting dogs attacked him. |
| 1925 J. Gregory Maid of Mountain xxxvi. 327 Very keen, *quick-seeing eyes withal. 1962 H. C. Weston Sight, Light & Work (ed. 2) viii. 229 It is desirable to select workers who are quick-seeing for objects of the apparent size with which they will have to deal. |
| 1613–6 W. Browne Brit. Past. ii. i, Braue birds they were, whose *quick-selfe-less'ning kin Still wonne the girlonds from the Peregrin. |
| 1837 Smith tr. Vicat's Mortars 22 The Harwich..is a *quicker-setting cement. 1887 J. Newman Notes on Concrete iv. 25 The hardening of slow-setting cements is generally considered more trustworthy than that of quick setting cements. 1963 C. R. Cowell et al. Inlays, Crowns, & Bridges ii. 7 Very deep parts of a cavity..should have a sedative sub-lining of quick-setting zinc oxide and eugenol. 1973 J. Wainwright Touch of Malice 188 She stiffened—as if quick-setting concrete was suddenly working in her veins. |
| 1593 Shakes. Lucr. 459 There appears *Quick-shifting antics, ugly in her eyes. |
| 1876 T. Hardy Ethelberta (1890) 142 Faith's soft, *quick-shutting eyes looked unutterable things. |
| 1919 V. Woolf Night & Day xxviii. 416 The *quick-speeding silver moon. |
| 1663 R. Head Hic et Ubique sig. A2v, Your sublime dignity, *quick-springing wit. 1911 E. M. Clowes On Wallaby xi. 308 To grapple with all the quick-springing mass of undergrowth which leaps to life, almost in a night. |
| 1813 T. Busby Lucretius I. iii. 731 *Quick-spouting blood..And fierce convulsions. |
| 1884 Times 27 Feb. 7/6 The high-standing, *quick-stepping Clydesdales. |
| 1937 Blunden Elegy 42 And though you marked my last arising, My next shall be as *quick-surprising. |
| 1963 Punch 4 Sept. 358/2 Gerry is a show-off, a *quick-talking egotist. 1980 P. Lively Judgement Day v. 51 Those long-haired quick-talking women. |
| 1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. (1681) 93 The Ash is a gallant *quick-thriving wood. |
b. With
pa. pples., as
quick-compounded,
quick-drawn,
quick-gone,
quick-raised,
quick-spread,
quick-wrought adjs.| 1730–46 Thomson Autumn 1363 The mind, The varied scene of *quick-compounded thought. |
| 1882 J. Hawthorne Fort. Fool i. xii, A *quick-drawn, panting sigh. 1887 Bowen Virg. æneid v. 202 The limb and the feverish lip Quiver with quick-drawn breath. |
| 1818 Keats Endym. i. 375 He could not miss His *quick gone love. |
| 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iv. iv. 12 The King, with mightie and *quick-raysed Power. |
| 1895 Kipling 2nd Jungle Bk. 8 The *quick-spread ears of the deer caught the last sentence. |
| 1898 Q. Rev. Apr. 435 He wove for Theseus a snare *quick-wrought. |
D. Special combs. or phrases (chiefly the
adj. in close connexion with a
n., sometimes written as a single word, or hyphened):
quick-action,
attrib. of apparatus having a quick action;
† quick anatomy (see
anatomy 1 b);
quick-and-dirty orig. U.S., (
a)
n. (
slang), a cheap café;
= greasy spoon s.v. greasy a. 9 (
rare); (
b)
adj. phr. (
colloq.), that will produce the desired effect rapidly but by irregular methods; of a solution, etc.: makeshift, instant; hastily-compiled, produced, or erected;
quick bread, a bread or cake that can be prepared quickly,
usu. one made with a leavening agent that permits immediate baking;
quick-break a. Electr. Engin., applied to (the action of) a switch designed to break a circuit and stop a current quickly regardless of the speed with which it is operated;
quick buck chiefly
U.S. [
buck n.8]
= fast buck s.v. fast a. 11;
quick-cake, a cake that can be prepared and baked in a short time;
quick-change,
attrib. as epithet of an actor or other performer who quickly changes costume or appearance in order to play a different part;
v. intr., to perform a ‘quick change’;
trans., to change (clothes) quickly; also
transf. and
ellipt.;
quick-clay [
tr. Norw. kvikkleire, formerly
kvikler], clay that is quick (sense 10);
quick death U.S. = sudden death s.v. sudden a. 3 b;
Quick Dick Mil. slang, a quick-firing gun;
quick-disconnect,
attrib. of couplings and the like that can be quickly disconnected;
† quick dissection, vivisection;
quick-fire,
attrib. of a type of gun which can fire shots in rapid succession; also
fig.;
quick-firer, a quick-firing gun; also
fig.;
quick-fix a., that can be quickly fixed into place; also
fig.;
quick-foot adv., in haste, swiftly;
† quickfrith, plants to form a quick hedge;
quickgold fig. [
prob. modelled on
quicksilver n.], living or liquid gold;
quick-heel v. intr., in Rugby Football, to heel rapidly from a scrum;
quick-in-the-hand, a popular name of the yellow balsam;
† quick-iron, the load-stone, magnet;
quick kill, a sudden or rapid victory (
cf. kill n.1 2); also
attrib.;
quick-knit a., used (
a) of very thick wool with which a garment can be knitted in a short time; (
b) of a garment made with such wool; also
ellipt.;
† quick-line, asbestos;
quick-loader, a device to enable a gun to be loaded quickly;
quick-look Astronautics, used
attrib. with reference to the rapid provision of information;
quick-lunch(eon,
attrib. of a person or establishment selling lunches that can be served and eaten quickly; also
fig.;
quick-minded a., having a quick or ready mind; quick-witted;
† quick-mire, a quagmire;
quick reference attrib., giving quick and easy access to information;
quick-release,
attrib. of any device designed for rapid release; also
ellipt.;
quick relief,
Naut., ‘one who turns out speedily to relieve the watch’ (Smyth
Sailor's Word-bk. 1867);
quick-return,
attrib. of gearing in a cutting machine which brings the bed quickly back after each cut of the tool (Knight
Dict. Mech. 1875); more widely, applied to any reciprocating motion or mechanism in which the speed in one direction is greater than the speed in the other; also
ellipt.;
quick saver,
Naut., ‘a span formerly used to prevent the courses from bellying too much when off the wind’ (Smyth);
† quick-scab, a form of scab in horses;
quick-seller, an article,
esp. a book, that sells quickly;
quick-service attrib., that is characterized by quick service;
† quick shot,
fig., small drinking-vessels that are quickly emptied;
quick-side,
Naut.,
= free-board;
quick-spot (see
quot.);
† quick-spring, a running spring;
† quick-spur, one who rides quickly (in
quot. fig.);
quick-start a., pertaining to or characterized by rapid starting;
quick-stick(s), quickly, without delay (also
in quick sticks); also as
v. intr. (see
quot. 1935);
quick succession, a change in ownership of property twice within a limited period; used
attrib. of remission of part of capital transfer tax (formerly estate duty) in such an eventuality;
quickthorn, thorn used for hedging,
esp. a hawthorn;
† quickthorned a., resembling hedge-thorn;
quick trick, in Bridge, a card or combination of cards which should furnish a trick in the first or second round of the suit; a trick won ‘on top’;
attrib., of a system valuing the hand according to the holding of such cards;
quick turnover,
attrib. of a person concerned with selling goods as rapidly as possible after they have been bought or produced;
quick-water [
= G.
quick-wasser], a solution of nitrate of mercury and gold used in water-gilding (Knight);
quick worker colloq., one who rapidly achieves intimacy with persons of the opposite sex. See also
quickbeam, -lime,
march, -match, -sand, -set, -silver,
step,
time, -wood, -work.
| 1909 Cent. Dict. Suppl. *Quick-action a. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 1 Mar. 72/1 Four quick-action jacks adjust the tilt to vary the throughput. |
| 1968 Harper's Mag. Jan. 14/2 The office of the Massachusetts Electric Company was temporarily converted into a mock-up of a *quick-and-dirty and its sign replaced with one that read Al's bean pot. 1977 Sci. News 24 Dec. 438/3 A study by Oak Ridge National Laboratory concluded that any country with access to spent fuel could build a ‘quick and dirty’ reprocessing plant to produce bomb-grade plutonium. 1978 Washington Post Mag. 26 Feb. 4/2 It became clear that Jerry would be able to finesse the whole thing with very little substantive input—what he and his adviser Tom Quinn call the quick and dirty approach. 1981 T. Kidder Soul of New Machine (1982) vi. 110 If you can do a quick-and-dirty job and it works, do it. 1986 Amer. Banker 5 May 10 The market could be plundered and go as low as 92. Ms. Mullins says the move down could be as ‘quick and dirty’ as the move up. |
| 1920 M. Wilson Cook Book 36 *Quick breads include griddle cakes, waffles, muffins, Sally Lunn's, shortcakes and biscuits. 1940 Quantity Food Service Recipes 20 (heading) Quick breads. Baking powder biscuits{ddd} muffins{ddd} griddle cakes. 1960 A. E. Bender Dict. Nutrition 106/1 Quick breads include biscuits, muffins, popovers, waffles and griddle cakes. 1970 Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 29 Nov. 8/2 Use it [sc. cranberry sauce] as an ingredient in pies, quick bread and basting sauce. |
| 1891 J. B. Verity Electr. up to Date v. 62 (caption) ‘Quick-make and *quick-break’ switch. 1900 Electrician 21 Dec. 325/2 Mr. Duddell..pointed out a danger with concentric cables and metal break, quick-break switches. 1930 Moyer & Wostrel Industr. Electr. & Wiring xvii. 382 Circuits carrying large currents..should be provided with either a quick-break switch or a circuit breaker. 1962 Newnes Conc. Encycl. Electr. Engin. 728/1 Shunt limit switches range from the very simple, in which speed of break is entirely dependent on the speed of operation, to considerably more elaborate designs in which some form of quick-break action is incorporated. |
| 1960 Christian Herald July 12/2 This is most discouraging to those who stoop to make a ‘*quick buck’ through propagating immorality. 1972 National Observer (U.S.) 27 May 20/2 Richard Chamberlain is no dripping-behind-the-ears graduate of the school of ‘charm acting’ (his phrase) out for a quick buck at the expense of the classics. 1980 R. Barnard Death in Cold Climate xvii. 193 Dreaming of luxury, of the quick buck dubiously acquired. |
| 1925 J. Gregory Maid of Mountain ii. 15 I'll stir up a *quick-cake for him. |
| 1889 Pall Mall G. 3 Apr. 6/1 The celebrated *quick-change artist. 1896 Quick change [see trick-change s.v. trick n. 14]. 1905 Daily Chron. 13 Mar. 5/7 Mr. Balfour's first..Ministry may reasonably be dubbed the ‘Quick-change Ministry’. 1906 Ibid. 12 Nov. 6/4 He quick-changed with the deftness and speed of a Fregoli. 1928 Collier's 18 Aug. 18/3 We had to quick-change our hats, put on badges [etc.]. 1939 T. S. Eliot Old Possum's Bk. Pract. Cats 22 As knockabout clowns, quick-change Comedians..They had an extensive reputation. 1973 C. Egleton Seven Days to Killing i. 14 They stripped off their uniforms and changed into civilian clothes..in a time which would have been a credit to a troupe of quick-change artists. |
| 1901 *Quick clay [see sense A. 10 above]. 1950 Géotechnique II. 58 A very soft and extremely sensitive clay, known in Norway as kvikkleire (quick-clay). 1968 R. W. Fairbridge Encycl. Geomorphol. 640/2 A special class of mudflows are those developing in quick clays which spontaneously liquefy and may flow readily on very gentle slopes, rafting houses, roads and trees appreciable distances. 1972 Quickclay [see illite]. |
| 1942 Z. N. Hurston in A. Dundes Mother Wit (1973) 225/1 I'm *quick death and easy judgment. 1958 Washington Post 20 June a 16/4 Miss McKeever advanced to the final..by beating medalist Mrs. Thomas Konopa..on the 19th green with a birdie in a quick death playoff. |
| 1918 Sat. Even. Post 31 Aug. 34 A fifty-millimeter gun which they dubbed *Quick Dick played on them with direct fire. 1936 J. G. Harbord Amer. Army in France 1917–1919 xvii. 283 The time of warning usually varied from practically nothing with the ‘Quick Dicks’ as the boys called the Austrian 88's..to as many as five seconds with the heavier calibers. |
| 1962 F. I. Ordway et al. Basic Astronautics xii. 468 *Quick-disconnect pins allow the astronaut to detach himself from a conventional aircraft type seat..once the period of acceleration is over. 1969 Jane's Freight Containers 1968–69 577/3 Two hydraulic pressure lines to trailer, with quick-disconnect couplings. |
| 1578 Banister Hist. Man iv. 54 This is the notable vtilitie of Diaphragma, as the same Author reporteth to haue beholden in *quicke dissections. |
| 1891 Times 7 Oct. 4/6 A Gruson *quick-fire howitzer, which is intended to discharge shells in rapid succession. 1954 Encounter Mar. 70/2 Such chiefly subjective variables are difficult to elicit in fairly short, single, quick-fire interviews. 1960 I. Peebles Bowler's Turn 44 He was an even timer with a beautiful economical action, and a sure quick-fire return. 1977 Cleethorpes News 27 May 5/5 They have a polished act which includes skilful harmony, impressions and quickfire jokes. |
| 1891 Marquis of Salisbury Let. 20 Sept. in G. Cecil Life Salisbury (1932) IV. 314 They must carry Maxims and *quickfirers. 1894 Pall Mall G. 23 Oct. 2/1 They..carry in their huge fighting masts an arsenal of quick-firers. 1901 Spectator 12 Oct. 524/1 The newest 6 in. quick-firers are not officially known as quick-firers, because they have not a metal cartridge-case. 1933 F. Richards Old Soldiers never Die xii. 162 When we had no time to write letters we sent field-service post cards which we called ‘quick-firers’. We simply wrote the address on them and signed our names and dates of sending on the backs. 1956 Quick-firer [see morale 3]. |
| 1959 Archit. Rev. CXXV. p. xcv (Advt.), *Quick-fix reflectors and diffusers, heavy duty bi-pin lampholders. 1972 Times 30 Nov. 18/5 Quick-fix, switch-operated adaptor fittings. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 25 Dec. 5/4 On the one hand, he is urged to make quick-fix tax cuts and get the economy moving. |
| 1891 Atkinson Last of Giant-killers 52 Willy..was sent off *quick-foot. |
| 1536 MS. Acc. St. John's Hosp., Canterb., Payd for gatheryng *quykfryth..iiijd. |
| 1877 G. M. Hopkins Poems (1967) 66 The grey lawns cold where gold, where *quickgold lies! 1954 I. Murdoch Under Net xx. 276, I took two gulps of the whiskey; it ran through me like quickgold. |
| 1936 Times 30 Nov. 5/4 A pack who shoved to the last man and *quick-heeled from the tight and loose. |
| 1785 Martyn Rousseau's Bot. xxvi. (1794) 407 We have also a wild species called Yellow Balsam, and also by the familiar names of *Quick-in-hand and Touch-me-not. 1864 Prior Plant-n., Quick-in-the-hand, that is ‘alive in the hand’, the Touch-me-not, from the sudden bursting and contortion of its seed pods upon being pressed. |
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvi. lxii. (1495) 573 The stone magnes drawyth to itself yron, therfore in the comyn speche this yren is callyd *quycke yren. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 515 The ignorant people seeing these rings thus rubbed with the load-stone,..call it quick-yron. |
| 1969 Listener 14 Aug. 221/3 Wilson..lost interest in the ‘*quick kill’ approach and tried to make a deal with Smith. a 1974 R. Crossman Diaries (1975) I. 382 James Callaghan, for example, said he thought that..we should try to get a quick kill... In that case the preparations for the quick kill should have taken place before U.D.I. |
| 1935 Home Notes 2nd Knitting Bk. p. iii (Advt.), W. B. *Kwiknit The original quick-to-knit wool. Ibid., W. B. Kwiknit is a thick 2 ply, ideal for outdoor sportswear. 1957 Vogue Knitting Bk. 16 (Advt.), Two such outstanding wools as Patons Quickerknit Botany and Quickerknit Baby Wool. 1960 Ibid. 9 Lister Lavenda *quick-knits are the..chunkiest, quickest-to-knit-with wools in knitting today! 1962 J. Wade Running Sand vi. 64 Some Tyrolean quick-knit jumper. 1966 G. N. Leech Eng. in Advertising xv. 141 More or less common types of compound structure: ‘quick-knits’; ‘speedy-knit’; ‘flip-tops’. 1972 C. Fremlin Appointment with Yesterday xi. 84 Milly turned down the third remnant of tattered quick-knit cardigan. |
| 1601 Holland Pliny II. 4 There is a kind of Line found out which will not consume in the fire: this in Italy they call *Quick-line. |
| 1884 Sat. Rev. 16 Feb. 209/2 A contrivance called a ‘*quick⁓loader’ has been issued for simultaneous trial with the Martini-Enfield. |
| 1964 Proc. Joint Computer Conf. (Spring) 125/1 The requirement of the programming system for OGO was to provide *quick-look analysis and control of the status of the spacecraft and selective experiments on board the satellite. 1966 Electronics 3 Oct. 134 Displaying quick-look performance data for evaluation by the astronaut. 1975 Geos (Dept. Energy, Mines, & Resources, Canada) Spring 8/1 A ‘Quick Look’ facility attached to the satellite station at Prince Albert, Sask., provides black and white photography of Arctic sea-ice within 20 minutes of the satellites pass over Canada. 1979 Nature 3 May 47/1 We concluded that to within the accuracy of the SAS 3 quick-look data timing ({pm} 1 s), the onset of the optical burst was coincident with that in X rays. |
| 1903 Everybody's Mag. Aug. 191/1 He figured them out with the stub of a blue pencil..sometimes on the slippery edge of reeking *quick-lunch counters. 1903 N.Y. Even. Post 24 Sept. 8 The quick lunch man a few blocks away from the grocery store. 1909 Chesterton Tremendous Trifles 242 One of those quick-lunch restaurants in the City. 1911 E. M. Clowes On Wallaby iii. 51 The haste of the Fisher Government to do things lately moved Alfred Deakin to describe its proceedings as ‘quick-lunch legislation’. 1930 [see drive-in]. 1975 New Yorker 22 Sept. 96/3 Men whose money derives from, and whose deepest loyalties adhere to, insurance companies,..quick-lunch chains, and the like. |
| 1928 J. Buchan Runagates Club viii. 220 At a *quick-luncheon counter he got into talk with a man. |
| 1852 W. Bagehot Coll. Works (1965) I. 346 But he was a *quick-minded..man of the world. 1908 Daily Chron. 24 Aug. 1/3 They say they never met such a quick-minded man. |
| c 1394 P. Pl. Crede 226 Wiþ a face as fat as a full bledder..Þat all wagged his fleche as a *quyk myre. 1577 Dee Relat. Spir. i. (1659) 12 A place, where Springs, Quick-mires, and Bogs are. |
| 1938 L. M. Harrod Librarian's Gloss. 124 *Quick-reference books, Books which are essentially of a reference character, such as directories, dictionaries, and gazetteers. 1978 Early Music Oct. 599/2 Part II is a quick-reference chart summarizing the advice given on French in Part I. |
| 1905 Internat. Libr. Technol. LXII. xli. 48 Instead of moving the valve handle to this [slow-release] position..it is moved to the extreme left to *quick-release position... The brake-cylinder air rushes out, allowing the release springs to release the brakes suddenly. 1916 G. Frankau Guns 11 Now the foul clay cakes on britching strap and clogs the quick-release. 1933 Gloss. Aeronaut. Terms (B.S.I.) 73 Quick release, a device enabling the user to clear himself from the parachute and/or the harness. 1942 Tee Emm (Air Ministry) Sept. 135/2 Immediately you are grounded, turn on your back and unlock the quick release mechanism. 1961 AWA Techn. Rev. XI. Fig. 8 (caption) The sub-chassis can be removed by means of quick-release fasteners. 1972 [see harness n. 4 c]. 1976 J. Wainwright Walther P.38 58, I saw him bend to work the quick-release mechanism. The car gave a gentle heave as the weight of the caravan left its rear bumper. |
| 1864 *Quick return [see ram n.1 5 e]. 1894 W. J. Lineham Text-Bk. Mech. Engin. v. 169 The tool cuts in one direction only, and the back stroke is wasted. To minimise this loss, and at the same time reverse the stroke without changing the continuous rotation of main shaft, ingenious motions called quick returns have been devised. 1915 [see kinematically adv.]. 1930 Engineering 14 Mar. 341/3 Starting, stopping and the quick-return motion are all effected through a plate clutch. 1964 S. Crawford Basic Engin. Processes viii. 218 Shaping machines are fitted with a quick-return mechanism. |
| 1639 De Gray Expert Ferrier ii. xvii. 297 This malady, which we call the *Quick-scab,..runneth from one member of the horse to the other. |
| 1926 Ironmonger Suppl. 16 Jan. 50 (Advt.), Dealers who stocked early are now enjoying the profits from this *quick-seller. |
| 1934 Archit. Rev. LXXV. 11 True, academicians like Herkomer..deigned to use photographic labour-saving devices for *quick-service portraiture. 1976 H. MacInnes Agent in Place vii. 63 A hamburger at a Madison Avenue quick-service counter. |
| 1624 Skelton's Ghost 20 in S.'s Wks. (1843) II. 155 With froth-canne and nickpot, and such nimble *quick shot. |
| 1627 Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. ix. 39 Lest they..if her *quicke side lie in the water, ouerset the ship. 1694 Motteux Rabelais v. xvii. (1737) 76 Lest the Ship's Quick-Side should lye in the Water. |
| 1873–4 G. M. Hopkins Note-Books & Papers (1937) 223 Every visible palpable body has..a centre of illumination or highspot or *quickspot. |
| 1622 A. Court Constancie i. 33 Hence as from a *quick-spring did flow that Constancie. 1660 Sharrock Vegetables 89 You need but open that very place to your quick-spring, and give it a clear vent, and certainly your bog would decay. |
| 1600 Surflet Countrie Farme iii. xxi. 473 As concerning the grafting of it, you must take the time of autumne, for..this tree is a *quickespur and forerider. |
| 1950 Archit. Rev. CVIII. 424 *Quickstart or starter switch control gear can be supplied and the four-lamp fittings can be arranged for two-circuit control. 1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio viii. 147 Quick-start techniques fall into two categories, depending on the type of drive employed by the turntable. 1977 Gramophone Oct. 716/2 Technics have applied the quartz control direct-drive principle of their high-torque (quick-start) SP10 Mk. 2 turntable..to a lower priced deck. |
| 1835 Dublin Univ. Mag. Apr. 391/2 ‘All's right,’ said Denis, putting the musket to his shoulder; ‘I see them. Now stand clear, boy, and hand along fresh cartridges cleverly. I'll give them a blaze in *quick sticks—nothing like a long range; stand clear!’ 1860 Hotten Dict. Slang (ed. 2) 196 Quick sticks, in a hurry, rapidly; ‘to cut quick sticks’, to be in a great hurry. 1877 Blackmore Erema lvi. (1880) 424 Die he must, and quick stick. 1890 R. Boldrewood Squatter's Dream xvi. 204 We should have a note to settle our little account in quick sticks. 1935 A. J. Pollock Underworld Speaks 94/1 Quicksticks, to escape from the law. 1936 J. B. Priestley They walk in City xvi. 483 She can pop into that kitchen an' dish yer up something nice in quicksticks. 1966 Listener 29 Sept. 461/1 Then, with Mr Buchanan safely making up, it was quick-sticks for the Hippodrome and a performance of Mercenary Mary. |
| 1914 Act 4 & 5 Geo. V c. 10 §15 Relief in respect of *quick succession where property consists of land or a business. 1936 G. M. Green Death Duties v. 123 If any such other allowance is available on the second death, the ‘quick succession’ allowance is computed first and the other allowance is made against the reduced duty. 1967 E. Rudinger Wills & Probate 14 Estate duty might have to be paid twice on the same property... There is a reduction in duty, known as quick succession relief, which helps a bit in this situation. 1973 Times 6 Oct. 19/2 Quick succession relief will reduce the double burden to some extent. |
| 1611 A. Standish Commons Complaint 44 Have a good ditch double or treble set with *quicke Thornes,..which hedge will last well three yeares. 1785 Cowper in Life (1836) V. 166 The people of Turvey have burnt him..in effigy, with a bundle of quickthorn under his arm. 1838 J. C. Loudon Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum II. 836 Three rows of quick-thorns shall be set in each ridge. 1971 Country Life 21 Oct. 1066/1 A variety of hedge plants—elm, ash, quick-thorn, dogwood—..show the boundary hedge line is of great age. |
| 1567 J. Maplet Gr. Forest 89 The Hedgehog hath a sharp and *quickthorned garment. |
| 1927 M. C. Work Contract Bridge iii. 58 Two *quick tricks..is the minimum strength with which a Contract denial should be made. 1955 I. Fleming Moonraker viii. 81 Its a famous Culbertson hand... He used it to spoof his own quick-trick conventions. 1958 Listener 23 Oct. 669/2 East's King might fill West's club suit to produce nine quick tricks at No Trumps. 1977 Homes & Gardens Feb. 17 Your five quick tricks ought to be enough to see him [sc. your partner] home in Five Diamonds. |
| 1951 M. McLuhan Mech. Bride (1967) 129/2 If there's anything this type of *quick-turnover gent can't see..its cold facts. 1956 Quick-turnover [see easy a. 13]. |
| 1938 E. Waugh Scoop ii. ii. 157, I will say you're a *quick worker. Sorry to barge in on the tender scene. 1969 O. Hesky Sequin Syndicate v. 48 ‘But there's something going on.’ ‘Well,’ the old man said cheerfully, ‘that's all right, isn't it? I didn't think Tarni was such a quick worker, though.’ |
[D.] quick-fix a. Add: also as
n., a hasty remedial measure which does not take account of the long-term consequences; an expedient but temporary solution.
| 1966 New Scientist 11 Aug. 310/2 The most recent ‘quick-fix’, suggests the committee, is desalting, about which it expresses concern ‘lest too heavy a commitment to a single engineering solution may tend to exclude other alternatives. 1978 Time 16 Oct. 43 At first, Schreiber called Dreyfus' proposal a gimmicky, vote-getting ‘*quick-fix’. 1993 U.S. News & World Rep. 11 Jan. 27/2 Rather than cheering, environmental hard-liners label these advances ‘technological quick fixes’, because they undermine efforts to get farmers to fight pests with crop rotation and other ‘sustainable agriculture’. |
▪ II. quick, n.2 Also 4
quike, 5
quyke,
quikk, 9
north. w(h)ick.
[Northern form of quitch n.1] collect. or
pl. Couch-grass, and other field-grasses and weeds, or their underground stems.
= quicken n.2 Cf. quick-grass.
| a 1387 Sinon. Barthol. (Anecd. Oxon.) 23 Gramen,..specialiter accipitur in medicina pro quadam herba..an{supc}⊇ quikes. 1483 Cath. Angl. 297/1 Quikk (A. Quyke), eruus. 1764 Museum Rusticum III. 296 A machine, that would clear..land from quicks, or other weeds. 1800 Tuke Agric. 85 Heavier harrows..are used to clean the land from quicks. 1876– In northern dial. glossaries, in form whick or wick. |
▪ III. quick, v.1 arch. (
kwɪk)
Forms: 1
cwic-,
cwyc-,
cucian, 3
quikie, 5
quykee (?); 2
quiken, 4
quik(e,
quyk(ke, 4–5
quyke, 5
qwyk,
queke,
quek-,
qvyk-,
whykyn, 5–6
quycke, 6
quicke, 4, 7–
quick.
[OE. cwician:—*cwicôjan, f. cwic quick a., = OS. quikôn; properly intransitive, but even in OE. also used transitively, there being no causative form corresponding to OHG. quichan, quicken. In common use from c 1300–1450, after which examples are very rare.] † 1. intr. Of persons, animals, and plants, or their parts: To come to life; to revive.
Obs. = quicken v. 6.
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 338 Smire mid þa saran limu; hie cwiciaþ sona. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 177 To-ȝenes sumere alle moren quiken, and eorðe and trewes growen. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 476/485 Miȝhte þis wumman quikie a-ȝein; and liuen and hire sturie? c 1425 Cursor M. 20883 (Trin.) A ded mon quyked bi his shade. c 1520 L. Andrewe Noble Lyfe in Babees Bk. (1868) 234 Whan she feleth her yonges quycke, or stere in her body. |
| fig. c 1000 ælfric Hom. I. 494 Se synfulla mid godcundre onbryrdnysse cucaþ. |
† b. Of a firebrand or fire: To kindle, begin to burn.
Obs. rare.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 81 Þe brond þe is al aquenched..ne quikeð he neure. c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame iii. 988 As fire ys wont to quyk and goo. c 1386 ― Knt.'s T. 1477 Oon of the fyres queynte And quyked agayn. |
† c. Of a rumour: To arise, spread.
Obs. rare—1.
| c 1425 Cursor M. 17476 (Trin.) Wo was hem..whenne þis tiþing bigon to quyk. |
2. † a. trans. To give or restore life to.
Obs. = quicken v. 1.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. John v. 21 Suæ se fæder a-uæcceð ða deado & cuicað, suæ æc ðe sunu ðaðe [he] wil cwicað. c 1300 Cursor M. 8622 Þe barn to fir in barm sco bar, And wel sco wend to quik it þar. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 23 ‘The whiles I quykke the corps’, quod he, ‘called am I Anima’. c 1440 J. Capgrave Life St. Kath. iv. 1801 Whan to the body he cam it for to queke. 1447 O. Bokenham Seyntys (Roxb.) 85, I..beseeche for thi dede man Qwyk hym ageyne lord. |
| fig. c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.) cxviii. 50 Me þin spræc spedum cwycade. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 177 Pray we to Crist..To quyke a figure in oure conscience. |
b. To give or restore vigour to; to stir up, inspire, etc. Now
rare.
= quicken v. 2.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 25581 Þou..quicked vr hertes, suete iesu. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 13247 Þe ton quiked þe toþer to lyue, þe Romayns to greue, fast gon þey stryue. c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶462 Ire..is the feruent blood of man yquyked in his herte. c 1449 Pecock Repr. ii. xv. 237 Forto quykee [sic] in hem the mynde..of the bifore seid thingis. 1567 Drant Horace, Ep. ii. i. G vij, That poet..That can stere vp my passions, or quicke my sprytes at all. 1615 Albumazar i. ii. in Hazl. Dodsley XI. 308 Your love sir, like strong water..quicks your feeble limbs. 1898 T. Hardy Wessex Poems 188 That swift sympathy With living love Which quicks the world. |
† c. To kindle (a fire).
Obs. rare.
= quicken 3.
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iii. 484 (435) Pandarus to quyke alwey þe fyr Was euere y-lyk prest and dyligent. c 1386 ― Frankl. T. 322 Hire [the moon's] desire Is to be quiked and lighted of your [the sun's] fire. |
▪ IV. quick, v.2 (
kwɪk)
[f. quick a. B. 3.] 1. trans. To furnish with a quickset hedge.
rare.
| 1801 Trans. Soc. Enc. Arts XIX. 73 A ditch..quicked with a double row of fine plants. 1819 T. Thomas Acc. Fencing. For quicking and ditching Leasehold. |
2. trans. To coat with mercury by immersion.
Cf. quicken v. 4 b,
quicking vbl. n.2 2.
| 1873 E. Spon Workshop Receipts i. 308/1 A little of this solution is poured into a basin, and with a brush dipped therein they stroke over the surface of the metal to be gilt, which immediately becomes quicked. 1891 G. E. Bonney Electro-Platers' Handbk. v. 112 Brass and silver are best quicked in a solution of the double cyanide of mercury and potassium. 1923 W. R. Cooper W. G. McMillan's Treat. Electro-Metallurgy (ed. 4) vi. 116 Many articles are ‘quicked’ before being subjected to the operation of depositing other metals, especially silver and gold, upon their surfaces. |
▪ V. quick, v.3 (
kwɪk)
Also
dial. w(h)ick.
[f. quick n.2] To pull up ‘quicks’ or couch-grass. Hence
quicking-drag (see
quot. 1800),
quick-rake.
| 1800 Tuke Agric. 85 Quicking-drag. In the northern part of the vale of York, a drag on an excellent construction is used, for cleaning the land from quicks. 1874 E. Peacock J. Markenfield III. 113 Their boys and girls released..from ‘wicking’ and ‘singling’ turnips. |