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Added 8 October 2026

haste

/heɪst/ noun

In Latin: celeritas, festinatio, properantia Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about haste at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Overly eager speed (and possible carelessness).
he soon regretted his haste
The act of moving hurriedly and in a careless manner.
in his haste to leave he forgot his book
A condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry.
in a hurry to lock the door

Origin

Blend of Middle English hasten (verb), (compare Dutch haasten, German hasten, Danish haste, Swedish hasta (“to hasten, rush”)) and Middle English hast (“haste”, noun), from Old French haste (whence French hâte), from Old Frankish *hai(f)st (“violence”), from Proto-Germanic *haifstiz (“struggle, conflict”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱeyp- (“to ridicule, mock, anger”). Akin to Old Frisian hāst, hāste (“haste”), Old English hǣst (“violence”), Old English hǣste (“violent, impetuous, vehement”, adjective), Old Norse heift /heipt (“feud”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐍆𐍃𐍄𐍃 (haifsts, “rivalry”). Cognate with German heftig (“vehement”) and Danish heftig (“vehement”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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