Rapid

How to spell rapid

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce rapid

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does rapid mean?

1. adjectiveHappening or moving with great speed.

Rapid in a sentence

• The company saw rapid growth in its first two years.

• A rapid rise in prices worried many households.

Where does rapid come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin rapidus, meaning 'swift' or 'hurried', which was built on the verb rapere, 'to seize, snatch, or carry off by force'. The underlying image is of something so fast that it sweeps things away, which is exactly why the same rapere root also gives English 'rapture', 'rapacious', and even 'ravish'. English adopted rapid in the seventeenth century, first describing things that moved with great speed, especially fast-flowing water. From that watery sense came the plural noun 'the rapids', the turbulent stretches of a river where the current accelerates over rocks. The spelling stays close to its Latin source and holds no major trap, the only uncertainty being whether the unstressed final syllable is '-id' or '-ed'.

How the word is built

• rapid- (from Latin rapidus: snatching, swift)
• -id (adjective suffix denoting a quality)