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What is the difference between speed and slow?

speed | slow |

As nouns the difference between speed and slow

is that speed is the state of moving quickly or the capacity for rapid motion; rapidity while slow is someone who is slow; a sluggard.

As verbs the difference between speed and slow

is that speed is (archaic) to succeed; to prosper, be lucky while slow is to make (something) run, move, etc less quickly; to reduce the speed of.

As a adjective slow is

taking a long time to move or go a short distance, or to perform an action; not quick in motion; proceeding at a low speed.

As a adverb slow is

slowly.

speed

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) .

Noun

(en noun)
  • the state of moving quickly or the capacity for rapid motion; rapidity
  • How does Usain Bolt run at that speed ?
  • the rate of motion or action, specifically (mathematics)/(physics) the magnitude of the velocity; the rate distance is traversed in a given time
  • (photography) the sensitivity to light of film, plates or sensor.
  • (photography) the duration of exposure, the time during which a camera shutter is open.
  • (photography) the largest size of the lens opening at which a lens can be used.
  • (photography) the ratio of the focal length to the diameter of a photographic objective.
  • (slang) any amphetamine drug used as a stimulant, especially illegally, especially methamphetamine
  • (archaic) luck, success, prosperity
  • * Bible, Genesis xxiv. 12
  • O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day.
    Synonyms
    * velocity
    Derived terms
    * lightspeed * speed bump * speed chess * speed camera * speed dating * speed demon * speed dial * speed freak * speedful * speed hump * speed limit * speed of light * speed of sound * speedometer * speed queen * speedread * speedrun * speed skating * speedway * speedy
    See also
    Units for measuring speed : metres/meters per second, , [[ft/sec and fps, miles per hour, mph ; mach (aeronautical)

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) speden, from (etyl) .

    Verb

  • To succeed; to prosper, be lucky.
  • *:
  • *:And yf I maye fynde suche a knyghte that hath all these vertues / he may drawe oute this swerd oute of the shethe / for I haue ben at kyng Ryons / it was told me ther were passyng good knyghtes / and he and alle his knyghtes haue assayed it and none can spede
  • *, I.2.4.vii:
  • Aristotle must find out the motion of Euripus; Pliny must needs see Vesuvius; but how sped they? One loseth goods, another his life.
  • *18thc. , (Oliver Goldsmith), Introductory to Switzerland
  • *:At night returning, every labor sped , / He sits him down the monarch of a shed: / Smiles by his cheerful fire, and round surveys, / His children’s looks, that brighten at the blaze;
  • To help someone, to give them fortune; to aid or favour.
  • :
  • *(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • *:Fortune speed us!
  • *(John Dryden) (1631-1700)
  • *:with rising gales that speed their happy flight
  • (label) To go fast.
  • :
  • *(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • *:I have speeded hither with the very extremest inch of possibility.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
  • , chapter=10 citation , passage=With a little manœuvring they contrived to meet on the doorstep which was […] in a boiling stream of passers-by, hurrying business people speeding past in a flurry of fumes and dust in the bright haze.}}
  • (label) To exceed the speed limit.
  • :
  • (label) To increase the rate at which something occurs.
  • *1982 , Carole Offir & Carole Wade, Human sexuality, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, p.454:
  • *:It is possible that the uterine contractions speed the sperm along.
  • *2004 , James M. Cypher & James L. Dietz, The process of economic development, Routledge, p.359:
  • *:Such interventions can help to speed the process of reducing CBRs and help countries pass through the demographic transition threshold more quickly.
  • To be under the influence of stimulant drugs, especially amphetamines.
  • (label) To be expedient.
  • :
  • (label) To hurry to destruction; to put an end to; to ruin.
  • *(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • *:sped with spavins
  • *(Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)
  • *:A dire dilemma! either way I'm sped . / If foes, they write, if friends, they read, me dead.
  • (label) To wish success or good fortune to, in any undertaking, especially in setting out upon a journey.
  • *(Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)
  • *:Welcome the coming, speed the parting guest.
  • To cause to make haste; to dispatch with celerity; to drive at full speed; hence, to hasten; to hurry.
  • *(Edward Fairfax) (c.1580-1635)
  • *:He sped him thence home to his habitation.
  • To hasten to a conclusion; to expedite.
  • *(John Ayliffe) (1676-1732)
  • *:Judicial actsare sped in open court at the instance of one or both of the parties.
  • Usage notes
    * The Cambridge Guide to English Usage'' indicates that ''sped'' is for objects in motion ''(the race car sped)'' while ''speeded is used for activities or processes, but notes that the British English convention does not hold in American English. * Garner's Modern American Usage'' (2009) indicates that ''speeded'' is incorrect, except in the phrasal verb, (speed up). Most American usage of ''speeded conforms to this. * Sped'' is about six times more common in American English (COCA) than ''speeded''. ''Sped is twice as common in UK English (BNC).
    Derived terms
    * speed up

    slow

    English

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Taking a long time to move or go a short distance, or to perform an action; not quick in motion; proceeding at a low speed.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= The attack of the MOOCs , passage=Dotcom mania was slow in coming to higher education, but now it has the venerable industry firmly in its grip. Since the launch early last year of Udacity and Coursera, two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations.}}
  • Not happening in a short time; spread over a comparatively long time.
  • * (John Milton)
  • These changes in the heavens, though slow , produced / Like change on sea and land, sidereal blast.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= Charles T. Ambrose
  • , title= Alzheimer’s Disease , volume=101, issue=3, page=200, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems—surgical foam, a thermal gel depot, a microcapsule or biodegradable polymer beads.}}
  • Of reduced intellectual capacity; not quick to comprehend.
  • Not hasty; not precipitate; lacking in promptness; acting with deliberation.
  • * The Bible, Prov. xiv. 29
  • He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding.
  • (of a clock or the like) Behind]] in time; indicating a time [[early, earlier than the true time.
  • Lacking spirit; deficient in liveliness or briskness.
  • (of a period of time) Not busy; lacking activity.
  • Synonyms

    * See also * (taking a long time to move a short distance) deliberate; moderate * (not happening in a short time) gradual * (of reduced intellectual capacity) dull-witted * (acting with deliberation) dilatory, inactive, tardy, slothful, sluggish * (lacking spirit) boring, dull

    Antonyms

    * (taking a long time to move a short distance) fast, quick, rapid, swift * (of reduced intellectual capacity) prompt, quick * (acting with deliberation) hasty, precipitate, prompt * (lacking spirit) brisk, lively

    Derived terms

    * slow motion, slo-mo * slow-belly * slow burn * slowish * slowly * slow march * slowness * slowpoke

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make (something) run, move, etc. less quickly; to reduce the speed of.
  • To keep from going quickly; to hinder the progress of.
  • To become slow; to slacken in speed; to decelerate.
  • * '>citation
  • After about a minute, the creek bed vomited the debris into a gently sloped meadow. Saugstad felt the snow slow and tried to keep her hands in front of her.

    Synonyms

    * (keep from going quickly) delay, hinder, retard * (become slow) decelerate, slacken

    Derived terms

    * slower * slow up * slow down

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Someone who is slow; a sluggard.
  • (music) A slow song.
  • Adverb

    (er)
  • Slowly.
  • That clock is running slow .
  • * Shakespeare
  • Let him have time to mark how slow time goes / In time of sorrow.