*fast*

n. [ Break + fast. ] 1. The first meal in the day, or that which is eaten at the first meal. [ 1913 Webster ]

A sorry breakfast for my lord protector. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A meal after fasting, or food in general. [ 1913 Webster ]

The wolves will get a breakfast by my death. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. breakfasted; p. pr. & vb. n. Breakfasting. ] To break one's fast in the morning; too eat the first meal in the day. [ 1913 Webster ]

First, sir, I read, and then I breakfast. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To furnish with breakfast. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Naut.) A large rope to fasten the midship part of a ship to a wharf, or to another vessel. [ 1913 Webster ]

a.Fastened with copper bolts, as the planks of ships, etc.; as, a copper-fastened ship. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Fasted; p. pr. & vb. n. Fasting. ] [ AS. fæstan; akin to D. vasten, OHG. fastēn, G. fasten, Icel. & Sw. fasta, Dan. faste, Goth. fastan to keep, observe, fast, and prob. to E. fast firm. ] 1. To abstain from food; to omit to take nourishment in whole or in part; to go hungry. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fasting he went to sleep, and fasting waked. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To practice abstinence as a religious exercise or duty; to abstain from food voluntarily for a time, for the mortification of the body or appetites, or as a token of grief, or humiliation and penitence. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thou didst fast and weep for the child. 2 Sam. xii. 21. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fasting day, a fast day; a day of fasting. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. faste, fast; cf. AS. fæsten, OHG. fasta, G. faste. See Fast, v. i. ] 1. Abstinence from food; omission to take nourishment. [ 1913 Webster ]

Surfeit is the father of much fast. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Voluntary abstinence from food, for a space of time, as a spiritual discipline, or as a token of religious humiliation. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A time of fasting, whether a day, week, or longer time; a period of abstinence from food or certain kinds of food; as, an annual fast. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fast day, a day appointed for fasting, humiliation, and religious offices as a means of invoking the favor of God. --
To break one's fast, to put an end to a period of abstinence by taking food; especially, to take one's morning meal; to breakfast. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Compar. Faster superl. Fastest ] [ OE., firm, strong, not loose, AS. fæst; akin to OS. fast, D. vast, OHG. fasti, festi, G. fest, Icel. fastr, Sw. & Dan. fast, and perh. to E. fetter. The sense swift comes from the idea of keeping close to what is pursued; a Scandinavian use. Cf. Fast, adv., Fast, v., Avast. ] 1. Firmly fixed; closely adhering; made firm; not loose, unstable, or easily moved; immovable; as, to make fast the door. [ 1913 Webster ]

There is an order that keeps things fast. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Firm against attack; fortified by nature or art; impregnable; strong. [ 1913 Webster ]

Outlaws . . . lurking in woods and fast places. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Firm in adherence; steadfast; not easily separated or alienated; faithful; as, a fast friend. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Permanent; not liable to fade by exposure to air or by washing; durable; lasting; as, fast colors. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Tenacious; retentive. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Roses, damask and red, are fast flowers of their smells. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Not easily disturbed or broken; deep; sound. [ 1913 Webster ]

All this while in a most fast sleep. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. Moving rapidly; quick in mition; rapid; swift; as, a fast horse. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. Given to pleasure seeking; disregardful of restraint; reckless; wild; dissipated; dissolute; as, a fast man; a fast liver. Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. In such a condition, as to resilience, etc., as to make possible unusual rapidity of play or action; as, a fast racket, or tennis court; a fast track; a fast billiard table, etc. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

Fast and loose, now cohering, now disjoined; inconstant, esp. in the phrases to play at fast and loose, to play fast and loose, to act with giddy or reckless inconstancy or in a tricky manner; to say one thing and do another. “Play fast and loose with faith.” Shak. --
Fast and loose pulleys (Mach.), two pulleys placed side by side on a revolving shaft, which is driven from another shaft by a band, and arranged to disengage and reëngage the machinery driven thereby. When the machinery is to be stopped, the band is transferred from the pulley fixed to the shaft to the pulley which revolves freely upon it, and vice versa. --
Hard and fast (Naut.), so completely aground as to be immovable. --
To make fast (Naut.), to make secure; to fasten firmly, as a vessel, a rope, or a door. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ OE. faste firmly, strongly, quickly, AS. fæste. See Fast, a. ] 1. In a fast, fixed, or firmly established manner; fixedly; firmly; immovably. [ 1913 Webster ]

We will bind thee fast. Judg. xv. 13. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. In a fast or rapid manner; quickly; swiftly; extravagantly; wildly; as, to run fast; to live fast. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fast by, or
Fast beside, close or near to; near at hand. [ 1913 Webster ]

He, after Eve seduced, unminded slunk
Into the wood fast by. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fast by the throne obsequious Fame resides. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. That which fastens or holds; especially, (Naut.) a mooring rope, hawser, or chain; -- called, according to its position, a bow, head, quarter, breast, or stern fast; also, a post on a pier around which hawsers are passed in mooring. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Baseball) a baseball thrown with maximum velocity.
Syn. -- heater, smoke, hummer, bullet. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (basketball) a rapid dash to get a shot at one's own basket as soon as possible after taking possession of the ball; -- often occurring after the opposing team has shot at their basket. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Fastened p. pr. & vb. n. Fastening ] [ AS. fæstnian; akin to OHG. festinōn. See Fast, a. ] 1. To fix firmly; to make fast; to secure, as by a knot, lock, bolt, etc.; as, to fasten a chain to the feet; to fasten a door or window. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cause to hold together or to something else; to attach or unite firmly; to cause to cleave to something , or to cleave together, by any means; as, to fasten boards together with nails or cords; to fasten anything in our thoughts. [ 1913 Webster ]

The words Whig and Tory have been pressed to the service of many successions of parties, with very different ideas fastened to them. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To cause to take close effect; to make to tell; to lay on; as, to fasten a blow. [ Obs. ] Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

If I can fasten but one cup upon him. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

To fasten a charge upon or
To fasten a crime upon, to make his guilt certain, or so probable as to be generally believed. --
To fasten one's eyes upon, to look upon steadily without cessation. Acts iii. 4.

Syn. -- To fix; cement; stick; link; affix; annex. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To fix one's self; to take firm hold; to clinch; to cling. [ 1913 Webster ]

A horse leech will hardly fasten on a fish. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. affixed. Opposite of unaffixed.
Syn. -- secured. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. secured against opening; -- of doors, hatches, etc.
Syn. -- latched. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. One who, or that which, makes fast or firm. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Anything that binds and makes fast, as a lock, catch, bolt, bar, buckle, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who abstains from food. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. moving or functioning quickly and energetically; as, a fast-flying messenger.
Syn. -- fast flying, hurrying, speedy. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. tending to spread quickly; -- used mostly of plants. [ prenominal ] [ Narrower terms: invasive (vs. noninvasive) ]
Syn. -- aggressive. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Close-handed; close-fisted; covetous; avaricious. [ Obs. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ L. ] 1. The Roman calendar, which gave the days for festivals, courts, etc., corresponding to a modern almanac. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Records or registers of important events. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Fastidiousness; squeamishness. [ Obs. ] Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. fastidiosus disdainful, fr. fastidium loathing, aversion, perh. fr. fastus arrogance (of uncertain origin) + taedium loathing. Cf. Tedious, Fash. ] Difficult to please; delicate to a fault; suited with difficulty; squeamish; as, a fastidious mind or ear; a fastidious appetite. [ 1913 Webster ]

Proud youth ! fastidious of the lower world. Young.

Syn. -- Squeamish; critical; overnice; difficult; punctilious. -- Fastidious, Squeamish. We call a person fastidious when his taste or feelings are offended by trifling defects or errors; we call him squeamish when he is excessively nice or critical on minor points, and also when he is overscrupulous as to questions of duty. “Whoever examines his own imperfections will cease to be fastidious; whoever restrains his caprice and scrupulosity will cease to be squeamish.” Crabb.

-- Fas*tid"i*ous*ly, adv. -- Fas*tid"i*ous*ness, n.

{ } a. [ L. fastigium gable end, top, height, summit. ] 1. Narrowing towards the top. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) Clustered, parallel, and upright, as the branches of the Lombardy poplar; pointed. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Zool.) United into a conical bundle, or into a bundle with an enlarged head, like a sheaf of wheat. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Rather fast; also, somewhat dissipated. [ Colloq. ] Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Firmly; surely. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. fæstnes, fr. fæst fast. See Fast, a. ] 1. The state of being fast and firm; firmness; fixedness; security; faithfulness. [ 1913 Webster ]

All . . . places of fastness [ are ] laid open. Sir J. Davies. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A fast place; a stronghold; a fortress or fort; a secure retreat; a castle; as, the enemy retired to their fastnesses in the mountains. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Conciseness of style. [ Obs. ] Ascham. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The state of being fast or swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. fastuosus, from fastus haughtiness, pride: cf. F. fastueux. ] Proud; haughty; disdainful. [ Obs. ] Barrow. -- Fas"tu*ous*ness, n. [Obs.] Jer. Taylor. [1913 Webster]

n. 1. Hold; grasp [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Custody; power of confining or keeping. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A contract; specifically, an espousal. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Fast by contract; betrothed by joining hands. [ Obs. ] Bale. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. handfasted; p. pr. & vb. n. handfasting. ] 1. To pledge; to bind. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To betroth by joining hands, in order to permit cohabitation, before the formal celebration of marriage; in some parts of Scotland it was in effect to marry provisionally, permitting cohabitation for a year, after which the marriage could be formalized or dissolved. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

☞ Handfasting was a simple contract of agreement under which cohabitation was permitted for a year, at the end of which time the contract could be either dissolved or made permanent by a formal marriage. Such marriages, at first probably not intended to be temporary, are supposed to have originated in Scotland from a scarcity of clergy, and to have existed at times in other countries. [ Century Dict. 1906. ]

a. [ G. handfest; hand hand + fest strong. See Fast. ] Strong; steadfast.[ R. ] Carlyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a handfast or publicly pledged manner. [ Obs. ] Holinshed. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. invariable; firmly established; as, hard-and-fast regulations.
Syn. -- strict. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. Something used to secure and hold in place something else, as a long flat-headed nail, a catch a hook, a clinch, a clamp, etc.; hence, a support. “His holdfast was gone.” Bp. Montagu. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) A conical or branching body, by which a seaweed is attached to its support, and differing from a root in that it is not specially absorbent of moisture. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. nefastus. ] Wicked. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To fasten again. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ AS. scamfæst. ] Modest; shamefaced. -- Shame"fast*ly, adv. -- Shame"fast*ness, n. [ Archaic ] See Shamefaced. [ 1913 Webster ]

Shamefast she was in maiden shamefastness. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ Conscience ] is a blushing shamefast spirit. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Modest apparel with shamefastness. 1 Tim. ii. 9 (Rev. Ver.). [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Sit + fast. ] Fixed; stationary; immovable. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

'T is good, when you have crossed the sea and back,
To find the sitfast acres where you left them. Emerson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Far.) A callosity with inflamed edges, on the back of a horse, under the saddle. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Sooth + fast, that is, fast or firm with respect to truth. ] Firmly fixed in, or founded upon, the thruth; true; genuine; real; also, truthful; faithful. [ Archaic ] -- Sooth"fast`ness, n. [Archaic] “In very soothfastness.” Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

Why do not you . . . bear leal and soothfast evidence in her behalf, as ye may with a clear conscience! Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]

adv. Soothly; really; in fact. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

I care not if the pomps you show
Be what they soothfast appear. Emerson. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Stead + fast, that is, fast in place. ] [ Written also stedfast. ] 1. Firmly fixed or established; fast fixed; firm. “This steadfast globe of earth.” Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Not fickle or wavering; constant; firm; resolute; unswerving; steady. “Steadfast eye.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Abide steadfast unto him [ thy neighbor ] in the time of his trouble. Ecclus. xxii. 23. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whom resist steadfast in the faith. 1 Pet. v. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a steadfast manner; firmly. [ 1913 Webster ]

Steadfastly believe that whatever God has revealed is infallibly true. Wake. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality or state of being steadfast; firmness; fixedness; constancy. “The steadfastness of your faith.” Col. ii. 5. [ 1913 Webster ]

To prove her wifehood and her steadfastness. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n., a., adv., etc. See Stead, Steadfast, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ 1st pref. un- + fasten. ] To loose; to unfix; to unbind; to untie. [ 1913 Webster ]