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Origin and history of sped

sped

past tense and past participle of speed (v.); Old English spedde.

Entries linking to sped

speed(v.)

Middle English speden, "achieve one's goal, accomplish one's purpose, get on successfully," from Old English spedan (intransitive) "to succeed, prosper, grow rich, advance," from the source of speed (n.). Compare Old Saxon spodian, Middle Dutch spoeden "hasten," Old High German spuoton "to succeed, prosper," German sputen "make haste, hurry."

The intransitive meaning "go hastily from place to place, get on rapidly" is attested from c. 1200. The transitive meaning "cause to advance toward success" is from mid-13c.; that of "send forth with quickness, give a high speed to" is from 1560s. The meaning "increase the work rate of" (usually with up) is from 1856. The meaning "drive an automobile too fast" is from 1908. Related: Speeded; sped; speeding.

The older sense is that in archaic salutations such as God speed you, wishing one prosperity, "may God give you advancement or success" (see godspeed).

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