rapid: [17] Like rape and rapture, rapid comes ultimately from Latin rapere ‘seize by force’. From this was derived the adjective rapidus, which originally denoted ‘carrying off by force’. The notion of ‘swiftness’ soon became incorporated into the meaning, however, and although the Latin adjective retained its original connotations of violence (it suggested ‘impetuous speed’ or ‘haste’), by the time it reached English it had simply become synonymous with ‘quick’. => rapture
rapid (adj.)
1630s, "moving quickly," from French rapide (17c.) and directly from Latin rapidus "hasty, swift, rapid; snatching; fierce, impetuous," from rapere "hurry away, carry off, seize, plunder," from PIE root *rep- "to snatch" (cognates: Greek ereptomai "devour," harpazein "snatch away," Lithuanian raples "tongs"). Meaning "happening in a short time" is from 1780. Related: Rapidly; rapidness. Rapid-transit first attested 1852, in reference to street railways; rapid eye movement is from 1906.
双语例句
1. The company made a rapid-fire series of settlements with 25 States.
公司同25个州进行了一连串迅速的结算。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Two rapid transit trains collided early this morning in Boston.
今晨早些时候，两辆高速火车在波士顿相撞。
来自柯林斯例句
3. Leonard made a rapid calculation: he'd never make it in time.
伦纳德快速盘算了一下：他肯定赶不上了。
来自柯林斯例句
4. The metamorphosis from anxious wife to feted author was rapid and dramatic.
从整日焦虑的妻子到受人追捧的作家，这变化迅速而剧烈。
来自柯林斯例句
5. Police pulled him over doing 120km/h, making rapid changes and tailgating.
