rapidity

C2+ Topic:Abstract Ideas

US /rəˈpɪdɪti/ UK /rəˈpɪdɪti/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the quality of being very fast; swiftness

The rapidity of the river's current swept the canoe downstream.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the quality of being very... speed swiftness quickness velocity celerity alacrity

Opposites

slowness sluggishness

Word family

Related forms rapid rapidly rapids

Etymology

From French rapidité or Latin rapiditas, from rapidus ('swift'), originally 'snatching, rushing', from rapere ('to seize, carry off').

rapiditas Latin rapidus Latin rapere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Abstract Ideas Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# rapidity

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /rəˈpɪdɪti/
**IPA (UK):** /rəˈpɪdɪti/

## Meanings
1. the quality of being very fast; swiftness

## Examples
- The rapidity of the river's current swept the canoe downstream.

## Synonyms
- speed
- swiftness
- quickness
- velocity
- celerity
- alacrity

## Antonyms
- slowness
- sluggishness

## Related Forms
- rapid
- rapidly
- rapids

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: rapiditas
- Root: rapidus
- Root: rapere

## Etymology
From French rapidité or Latin rapiditas, from rapidus ('swift'), originally 'snatching, rushing', from rapere ('to seize, carry off').

## AI Etymology
Rapidity comes from French rapidité or Latin rapiditas, from rapidus ('swift'), originally 'snatching, rushing', from rapere ('to seize, carry off'). The historical chain includes Latin rapiditas, Latin rapidus, and Latin rapere. Older glosses in the chain include "swift", "snatching, rushing", and "to seize, carry off", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, rapidity is best read as borrowing, yielding an English noun shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a noun, with the sense "the quality of being very fast; swiftness". related forms include rapid, rapidly, and rapids. The result is an English noun whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Abstract Ideas
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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