Faster

How to spell faster

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce faster

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does faster mean?

1. adjectiveMore rapid, or at a greater speed, than something else.

Faster in a sentence

• The new train is faster than the old one on the same route.

• He typed much faster once he learned to touch type.

Where does faster come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is the comparative form of 'fast', which descends from the Old English fæst, meaning 'firmly fixed' or 'secure'. The earliest sense had nothing to do with speed: to hold 'fast' was to hold tightly, and that survives today in expressions such as 'stuck fast' and the verb 'fasten'. The same Germanic root gave the related words in Dutch (vast) and German (fest), all carrying the idea of firmness. The sense of rapid motion grew from the adverb 'fast' used of running hard or vigorously, where running firmly came to mean running quickly. The comparative simply adds the regular '-er' ending, giving 'faster', the form used to compare one speed or firmness with another.

How the word is built

• fast (from Old English fæst: firm, quick)
• -er (comparative suffix)