quicken
quicken Lexical Profile
quicken Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To make or become faster or quicker; to accelerate.
"She began to quicken her pace as the evening shadows lengthened along the trail."
To stimulate, arouse, or restore vigor and life to something (such as interest, imagination, or appetite).
"The fresh mountain air helped to quicken our appetites before dinner."
To reach the stage of pregnancy at which fetal movements first become perceptible (said of a fetus or pregnant woman).
"Historically, midwives noted the exact week when the expectant mother first began to quicken."
• Rhymes for quicken
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English 'quikenen', derived from Old English 'cwic' meaning 'living' or 'alive' plus the verbal suffix '-en'. Its original sense of 'to give or restore life to' later broadened to 'to make or become faster'.