SPEED

Prosperity in an undertaking; favorable issue; success. "For common speed." Chaucer. O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day. Gen. xxiv. 12.

The act or state of moving swiftly; swiftness; velocity; rapidly; rate of motion; dispatch; as, the speed a horse or a vessel. Speed, to describe whose swiftness number fails. Milton.

One who, or that which, causes or promotes speed or success. [Obs.] "Hercules be thy speed!" Shak. God speed, Good speed; prosperity. See Godspeed. -- Speed gauge, Speed indicator, and Speed recorder (Mach.), devices for indicating or recording the rate of a body's motion, as the number of revolutions of a shaft in a given time. -- Speed lathe (Mach.), a power lathe with a rapidly revolving spindle, for turning small objects, for polishing, etc.; a hand lathe. -- Speed pulley, a cone pulley with steps.

To go; to fare. [Obs.] To warn him now he is too farre sped. Remedy of Love.

To experience in going; to have any condition, good or ill; to fare. Shak. Ships heretofore in seas lke fishes sped; The mightiest still upon the smallest fed. Waller.

To fare well; to have success; to prosper. Save London, and send true lawyers their meed! For whoso wants money with them shall not speed! Lydgate. I told ye then he should prevail, and speed On his bad errand. Milton.

To make haste; to move with celerity. I have speeded hither with the very extremest inch of possibility. Shak.

To be expedient. [Obs.] Wyclif (2 Cor. xii. 1.)

To cause to be successful, or to prosper; hence, to aid; to favor. "Fortune speed us!" Shak. With rising gales that speed their happy flight. Dryden.

To cause to make haste; to dispatch with celerity; to drive at full speed; hence, to hasten; to hurry. He sped him thence home to his habitation. Fairfax.

To hasten to a conclusion; to expedite. Judicial acts . . . are sped in open court at the instance of one or both of the parties. Ayliffe.

To hurry to destruction; to put an end to; to ruin; to undo. "Sped with spavins." Shak. A dire dilemma! either way I 'm sped. If foes, they write, if friends, they read, me dead. Pope.

To wish success or god fortune to, in any undertaking, especially in setting out upon a journey. Welkome the coming, speed the parting guest. Pope. God speed you, them, etc., may God speed you; or, may you have good speed.