rapid

adj. 迅速的，急促的；飞快的；险峻的

n. 急流；高速交通工具，高速交通网

中文词源

rapid 快速的

来自拉丁语 rapere,抓住，抓取，词源同 rob,rip,rapid.引申词义快速的。

rapid: 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.

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。

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。

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。

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。

5. Police pulled him over doing 120km/h, making rapid changes and tailgating.: 警察令他把车靠边停下，因为他的时速高达120公里还一直快速变道、紧贴行驶。