Dictionary definitions
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quicken
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Quicken \Quick"en\, v. i.
1. To come to life; to become alive; to become vivified or
enlivened; hence, to exhibit signs of life; to move, as
the fetus in the womb.
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The heart is the first part that quickens, and the
last that dies. -- Ray.
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And keener lightnings quicken in her eye. --Pope.
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When the pale and bloodless east began
To quicken to the sun. --Tennyson.
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2. To move with rapidity or activity; to become accelerated;
as, his pulse quickened.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Quicken \Quick"en\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. quickened; p. pr. & vb. n. Quickening.] [AS. cwician. See Quick, a.] 1. To make alive; to vivify; to revive or resuscitate, as from death or an inanimate state; hence, to excite; to, stimulate; to incite. [1913 Webster] The mistress which I serve quickens what's dead. --Shak. [1913 Webster] Like a fruitful garden without an hedge, that quickens the appetite to enjoy so tempting a prize. -- South. [1913 Webster] 2. To make lively, active, or sprightly; to impart additional energy to; to stimulate; to make quick or rapid; to hasten; to accelerate; as, to quicken one's steps or thoughts; to quicken one's departure or speed. [1913 Webster] 3. (Shipbuilding) To shorten the radius of (a curve); to make (a curve) sharper; as, to quicken the sheer, that is, to make its curve more pronounced. [1913 Webster] Syn: To revive; resuscitate; animate; reinvigorate; vivify; refresh; stimulate; sharpen; incite; hasten; accelerate; expedite; dispatch; speed. [1913 Webster]
