quicken

quicken · verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*gʷeyh₃-“to live”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*kwikwaz“alive; lively; quick”
3. Old English · inherited fromcwician“to bring to life, vivify; to come to life, become living; to quicken”
4. Middle English · inherited fromquikenen“to become alive again after dying; to raise (someone) from the dead; to regain consciousness or strength; to give vitality, revive; to regain validity; to nourish; to spare (the life of someone or something); to ignite; to illuminate; of events: to happen more quickly; of clouds: to form”
5. English todayquicken

From Middle English quikenen (“to become alive again after dying; to raise (someone) from the dead; to regain consciousness or strength; to give vitality, revive; to regain validity; to nourish; to spare (the life of someone or something); to ignite; to illuminate; of events: to happen more quickly; of clouds: to form”) [and other forms], from quiken (“to come to life; to become alive again after dying; to give or regain vitality, revive; of a seed: to germinate, grow; to arouse (anger); to inspire; to reinforce, strengthen; to make (a substance) alchemically active; to nourish, sustain; to sharpen; to ignite; to illuminate; of news: to spread”) + -en (suffix forming the infinitive forms of verbs). Quiken is derived from Old English cwician (“to bring to life, vivify; to come to life, become living; to quicken”), from cwic (“alive, live, living; mentally agile; intelligent, keen”) (ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kwikwaz (“alive; lively; quick”) and Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- (“to live”)) + -ian (suffix forming verbs from adjectives and nouns). The English word may be analysed as quick (“moving with swiftness; occurring in a short time; (archaic) alive, living; (archaic) pregnant”) + -en (suffix attached to some adjectives forming transitive verbs meaning ‘to make [adjective]’). Cognates * Danish kvikne (“to quicken, revive”) * Icelandic kvikna (“to ignite; to turn on”) * Swedish kvickna (“to revive”)

quicken · verb²

From quick(silver) (“mercury”) + -en (suffix forming verbs from adjectives and nouns).

quicken · noun³

1. Old English · inherited fromcwician“to bring to life, vivify; to come to life, become living; to quicken”
2. Middle English · inherited fromquiken“(chiefly in place names) probably the European rowan or mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia), and possibly also the aspen (Populus tremula), juniper (genus Juniperus, specifically the common juniper (Juniperus communis)), or service tree (Sorbus domestica)”
3. English todayquicken

From Middle English quiken (“(chiefly in place names) probably the European rowan or mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia), and possibly also the aspen (Populus tremula), juniper (genus Juniperus, specifically the common juniper (Juniperus communis)), or service tree (Sorbus domestica)”), possibly from Old English cwician (“to bring to life, vivify; to come to life, become living; to quicken”) (see etymology 1).

quicken · noun⁴

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*kwikwaz“alive; lively; quick”
2. Old English · inherited fromcwiċe“couch grass”
3. Middle English · inherited fromquiken“couch grass (Elymus repens); a leguminous plant, vetch”
4. English todayquicken

From Middle English quiken (“couch grass (Elymus repens); a leguminous plant, vetch”) [and other forms], a variant of quich, quik (“couch grass (Elymus repens); a leguminous plant, vetch”) [and other forms] (whence modern English quick, quitch (“couch grass, quitchgrass”); the -en element remains unexplained), from Old English cwiċe (“couch grass”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kwikwaz (“alive; lively; quick”); see further at etymology 1.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 14th c. To give life to (someone or something never alive or once dead); to animate, to resurrect, to revive.
• from 15th c. To take on a state of activity or vigour comparable to life; to be excited or roused.
• from 16th c. Of a pregnant woman: to first feel the movements of the foetus, or reach the stage of pregnancy at which this takes place; of a foetus: to begin to move.
• from 14th c. To come back to life, to receive life.
• from 17th c. To make (something) quicker or faster; to hasten, speed up.
• from 17th c. To become quicker or faster.
• from 15th c. In full quicken tree: the European rowan, rowan, or mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia).