- Speed
- Speed Speed, n. [AS. sp?d success, swiftness, from sp?wan to
succeed; akin to D. spoedd, OHG. spuot success, spuot to
succees, Skr. sph[=a] to increase, grow fat. [root]170b.]
1. Prosperity in an undertaking; favorable issue; success.
``For common speed.'' --Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day. --Gen. xxiv. 12. [1913 Webster]
2. The act or state of moving swiftly; swiftness; velocity; rapidly; rate of motion; dispatch; as, the speed a horse or a vessel. [1913 Webster]
Speed, to describe whose swiftness number fails. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
Note: In kinematics, speedis sometimes used to denote the amount of velocity without regard to direction of motion, while velocity is not regarded as known unless both the direction and the amount are known. [1913 Webster]
3. One who, or that which, causes or promotes speed or success. [Obs.] ``Hercules be thy speed!'' --Shak. [1913 Webster]
{God speed}, Good speed; prosperity. See {Godspeed}.
{Speed gauge}, {Speed indicator}, & {Speed recorder} (Mach.), devices for indicating or recording the rate of a body's motion, as the number of revolutions of a shaft in a given time.
{Speed lathe} (Mach.), a power lathe with a rapidly revolving spindle, for turning small objects, for polishing, etc.; a hand lathe.
{Speed pulley}, a cone pulley with steps. [1913 Webster]
Syn: Haste; swiftness; celerity; quickness; dispatch; expedition; hurry; acceleration. See {Haste}. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
