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Speed vs Tempo - What's the difference?

speed | tempo | Related terms |

As nouns the difference between speed and tempo

is that speed is the state of moving quickly or the capacity for rapid motion; rapidity while tempo is a frequency or rate.

As a verb speed

is to succeed; to prosper, be lucky.

As a proper noun Speed

is {{surname|from=nicknames}.

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

    tempo

    English

    Noun

    (en-noun)
  • a frequency or rate
  • a move which is part of one's own plan or strategy and forces, e.g. by means of a check or attacking a piece, the opponent to make a move which is not bad but of no use for him (the player gains a tempo, the opponent loses a tempo), or equivalently a player achieves the same result in fewer moves by one approach rather than another.
  • timing of a particular event – earlier or later than in an alternative situation (as in chess example)
  • The number of beats per minute in a piece of music; also, an indicative term denoting approximate rate of speed in written music (examples: allegro, andante)
  • A small truck of cargo van with three or four wheels, commonly used for commercial transport and deliveries (particularly in Asian and African countries)--a genericided trademark originally associated with Vidal & Sohn Tempo-Werke GmbH that manufactured such vehicles.
  • See also

    * one step ahead