Etymograph

English

rapidity

Rapidity comes from French rapidité ‘swiftness, fastness, quickness’, from Latin rapiō ‘to snatch (oneself)’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁p-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁reh₁p-1‘to take away, snatch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁r̥h₁pyéti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*rapjō1‘to seize, take away’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErapiō2‘to snatch (oneself)’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErapidus2‘rapid, swift’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErapiditas3‘swiftness, velocity, rapidity’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentrapidité3‘swiftness, fastness, quickness’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1944rapidity3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin rapio
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin rapiditas
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English rapidity
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1944, and December, A Broadening Horizon: “Although appreciating the rapidity and frequency of the Southern…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁reh₁p-Wiktionary, Latin rapio‘to take away, snatch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁r̥h₁pyétiWiktionary, Latin rapioreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*rapjōWiktionary, Latin rapio‘to seize, take away’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErapiōWiktionary, Latin rapiditas‘to snatch (oneself)’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErapidusWiktionary, Latin rapiditas‘rapid, swift’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErapiditasWiktionary, English rapidity‘swiftness, velocity, rapidity’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentrapiditéWiktionary, English rapidity‘swiftness, fastness, quickness’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1944rapidityWiktionary, English rapidity. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1944, and December, A Broadening Horizon: “Although appreciating the rapidity and frequency of the Southern…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁p- ‘to take away, snatch’

grave, repent, reeve, graf, surreptitious, 14 more

through Latin rapiō ‘to snatch (oneself)’

rape, ravine, rapture, raptor, rapacious, rapt, ravin, 7 more

Today it means

noun speed, swiftness; the condition of being rapid

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “rapidity”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin rapio, Latin rapiditas. 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 *h₁reh₁p- / rapidity

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