Etymograph

English

quick

Quick comes from Middle English quik ‘living, alive, active’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- ‘to live’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷeyh₃-1‘to live’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷih₃wós1‘alive’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kwikwaz1‘alive’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kwiku1‘alive’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150cwic1‘alive’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500quik1‘living’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1549quick1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English quick
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1549, Hugh Latimer, The Sixth Sermon Preached Before King Edward: “The bishop was somewhat quick with them, and signified…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷeyh₃-Wiktionary, English quick‘to live’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷih₃wósWiktionary, English quick‘alive’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kwikwazWiktionary, English quick‘alive’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kwikuWiktionary, English quick‘alive’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150cwicWiktionary, English quick‘alive’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500quikWiktionary, English quick‘living’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1549quickWiktionary, English quick. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1549, Hugh Latimer, The Sixth Sermon Preached Before King Edward: “The bishop was somewhat quick with them, and signified…”

The story

For semantic development, compare lively.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with quick, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- ‘to live’

  • biology ← biologia ← βίος
  • kidney ← kideney ← kidenere ← nere ← cwiþ
  • vitamin ← vīta ← *gʷītā ← *gʷih₃wo-teh₂
  • viable ← vie ← vie ← viḍe ← vīta
  • hygiene ← ὑγιεινή ← ὑγιεινός ← ὑγιής ← *h₂yu-gʷih₃-
  • revive ← reviven
  • vitality ← vitalité ← vitalitas ← vitalis ← vīta
  • zodiac ← zodiak ← zodiaque ← zōdiacus ← ζῳδιακός 􂀿κύκλος􂁀
  • anaerobic ← anaérobie ← βῐ́ος
  • biogenesis ← βῐ́ος
  • wyvern ← wyver ← wivre ← *vivra ← vīpera

through Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós ‘alive’

  • vital ← vītālis ← vīta ← vīvō ← *gʷīwō

102 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

adj Moving with speed, rapidity or swiftness, or capable of doing so; rapid; fast.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “quick”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- / quick