Fast vs Past - What's the difference?
fast | past |
(dated) Firmly or securely fixed in place; stable.
Firm against attack; fortified by nature or art; impregnable; strong.
* Spenser
(of people) Steadfast, with unwavering feeling. (Now only in set phrases like "fast friend".)
Moving with great speed, or capable of doing so; swift, rapid.
(computing, of a piece of hardware) Able to transfer data in a short period of time.
Deep or sound (of sleep); fast asleep (of people).
* Shakespeare
(of dyes or colours) Not running or fading when subjected to detrimental conditions such as wetness or intense light; permanent.
(obsolete) Tenacious; retentive.
* Francis Bacon
(colloquial) Having an extravagant lifestyle or immoral habits.
Ahead of the correct time or schedule.
(of photographic film) More sensitive to light than average.
In a firm or secure manner, securely; in such a way as not to be moved .
(of sleeping) Deeply or soundly .
Immediately following in place or time; close, very near .
Quickly, with great speed; within a short time .
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-17, volume=408, issue=8849, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= Ahead of the correct time or schedule.
(British, rail transport) A train that calls at only some stations it passes between its origin and destination, typically just the principal stations
(archery) Short for "stand fast", a warning not to pass between the arrow and the target
To abstain from food, or eat very little, especially for religious or medical reasons.
* Bible, 2 Sam. xii. 21
* Milton
* 2007 , John Zerzan, Silence , p. 3,
The act or practice of abstaining from food or of eating very little food
The period of time during which one abstains from or eats very little food
* Lent and Ramadan are fasts of two religions.
The period of time that has already happened, in contrast to the present and the future.
* D. Webster
* Trench
(grammar) The past tense.
Having already happened; in the past; finished.
* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=7 (postmodifier) Following expressions of time to indicate how long ago something happened; ago.
* 1999 , (George RR Martin), A Clash of Kings , Bantam 2011, p. 538:
* 2009 , , Glencoe , Amberley 2009, p. 20:
Of a period of time: having just gone by; previous.
* {{quote-news, year=2012, date=April 23, work=(The Guardian), author=Angelique Chrisafis
, title=François Hollande on top but far right scores record result in French election
(grammar) Of a tense, expressing action that has already happened or a previously-existing state.
beyond in place, quantity or time
* {{quote-news
, year=2012
, date=April 22
, author=Sam Sheringham
, title=Liverpool 0-1 West Brom
, work=BBC Sport
As adjectives the difference between fast and past
is that fast is firmly or securely fixed in place; stable while past is having already happened; in the past; finished.As adverbs the difference between fast and past
is that fast is in a firm or secure manner, securely; in such a way as not to be moved while past is in a direction that passes.As nouns the difference between fast and past
is that fast is a train that calls at only some stations it passes between its origin and destination, typically just the principal stations while past is the period of time that has already happened, in contrast to the present and the future.As an interjection fast
is short for "stand fast", a warning not to pass between the arrow and the target.As a verb fast
is to abstain from food, or eat very little, especially for religious or medical reasons.As a preposition past is
beyond in place, quantity or time.fast
English
(wikipedia fast)Etymology 1
From (etyl) fast, from (etyl) ; see it for cognates and further etymology. The development of “rapid” from an original sense of “secure” apparently happened first in the adverb and then transferred to the adjective; compare (hard) in expressions like “to run hard”. The original sense of “secure, firm” is now slightly archaic, but retained in the related .Adjective
(er)- That rope is dangerously loose. Make it fast !
- outlaws lurking in woods and fast places
- I am going to buy a fast car.
- all this while in a most fast sleep
- All the washing has come out pink. That red tee-shirt was not fast .
- Roses, damask and red, are fast flowers of their smells.
- She's fast – she slept with him on their first date. .
- There must be something wrong with the hall clock. It is always fast .
Synonyms
* (occurring or happening within a short time) quick, rapid, speedy, swift * (capable of moving with great speed) quick, rapid, speedy * (ahead of the correct time or schedule) ahead * (rapidly consents to sexual activity) easy, slutty * (firmly or securely fixed in place) firm, immobile, secure, stable, stuck, tight * (firm against attack) fortified, impenetrable * colour-fast * deep, soundAntonyms
* (occurring or happening within a short time) slow * (ahead of the correct time or schedule) slow, behind * (firmly or securely fixed in place) loose * (firm against attack) penetrable, weak * lightDerived terms
* bedfast * chairfast * fasten (rapid) * fast and furious * fast food * fast-forwardAdverb
(er)Pennies streaming from heaven, passage=Faster than a speeding bit, the internet upended media and entertainment companies. Piracy soared, and sales of albums and films slid. Newspapers lost advertising and readers to websites. Stores selling books, CDs and DVDs went bust. Doomsayers predicted that consumers and advertisers would abandon pay-television en masse in favour of online alternatives.}}
Synonyms
* (quickly) quickly, rapidly, speedily, swiftly * (in a firm or secure manner) firmly, securely, tightly * deeply * (ahead of the correct time or schedule) aheadAntonyms
* (quickly) slowly * (in a firm or secure manner) loosely * lightly * (ahead of the correct time or schedule) behindNoun
(en noun)Synonyms
* (rail transport) express, express train, fast trainAntonyms
* (rail transport) local, slow train, stopperInterjection
(en interjection)Antonyms
* (archery) looseEtymology 2
From (etyl) fasten, from (etyl) . The noun is probably from (etyl) fasta.Verb
(en verb)- Muslims fast during Ramadan.
- Thou didst fast and weep for the child.
- Fasting' he went to sleep, and ' fasting waked.
- It is at the core of the Vision Quest, the solitary period of fasting and closeness to the earth to discover one's life path and purpose.
Noun
(en noun)Synonyms
* (act or practice) fastingDerived terms
* break one's fast * breakfast * fast dayStatistics
*Anagrams
* * * English contranyms English terms with multiple etymologies 1000 English basic words ----past
English
(wikipedia past)Noun
(en noun)- a book about a time machine that can transport people back into the past
- The past , at least, is secure.
- The present is only intelligible in the light of the past , often a very remote past indeed.
Derived terms
(Terms derived from the noun "past") * blast from the past * in the past * past anterior * past continuous * past historic * past participle * past perfect * past progressive * past simple * past tense * simple pastSee also
* preteriteAdjective
(en adjective)citation, passage=The highway to the East Coast which ran through the borough of Ebbfield had always been a main road and even now, despite the vast garages, the pylons and the gaily painted factory glasshouses which had sprung up beside it, there still remained an occasional trace of past cultures.}}
- That had been, what, three years past ?
- Some four decades past , as a boy, I had a chance encounter and conversation with the late W.A. Poucher [...].
citation, passage=Sarkozy's total will be seen as a personal failure. It is the first time an outgoing president has failed to win a first-round vote in the past 50 years and makes it harder for Sarkozy to regain momentum.}}
Preposition
(English prepositions)- the room past mine
- count past twenty
- past midnight
citation, page= , passage=But they were stunned when Glen Johnson's error let in Peter Odemwingie to fire past Pepe Reina on 75 minutes.}}