fast /ˈfæst/
 (a.)快速的,耐久的,緊的(ad.)很快地,緊緊地,徹底地絕食,齋戒(vi.)絕食,齋戒


 fast
 快


 Fast adv.
 1. In a fast, fixed, or firmly established manner; fixedly; firmly; immovably.
    We will bind thee fast.   --Judg. xv. 13.
 2. In a fast or rapid manner; quickly; swiftly; extravagantly; wildly; as, to run fast; to live fast.
 Fast by, or Fast beside, close or near to; near at hand.
 He, after Eve seduced, unminded slunk
 Into the wood fast by.   --Milton.
    Fast by the throne obsequious Fame resides.   --Pope.


 Fast v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fasted; p. pr. & vb. n. Fasting.]
 1. To abstain from food; to omit to take nourishment in whole or in part; to go hungry.
    Fasting he went to sleep, and fasting waked.   --Milton.
 2. To practice abstinence as a religious exercise or duty; to abstain from food voluntarily for a time, for the mortification of the body or appetites, or as a token of grief, or humiliation and penitence.
    Thou didst fast and weep for the child.   --2 Sam. xii. 21.
 Fasting day, a fast day; a day of fasting.


 Fast, n.
 1. Abstinence from food; omission to take nourishment.
    Surfeit is the father of much fast.   --Shak.
 2. Voluntary abstinence from food, for a space of time, as a spiritual discipline, or as a token of religious humiliation.
 3. A time of fasting, whether a day, week, or longer time; a period of abstinence from food or certain kinds of food; as, an annual fast.
 Fast day, a day appointed for fasting, humiliation, and religious offices as a means of invoking the favor of God.
 To break one's fast, to put an end to a period of abstinence by taking food; especially, to take one's morning meal; to breakfast.


 Fast, a. [Compar. Faster superl. Fastest ]
 1. Firmly fixed; closely adhering; made firm; not loose, unstable, or easily moved; immovable; as, to make fast the door.
    There is an order that keeps things fast.   --Burke.
 2. Firm against attack; fortified by nature or art; impregnable; strong.
    Outlaws . . . lurking in woods and fast places.   --Spenser.
 3. Firm in adherence; steadfast; not easily separated or alienated; faithful; as, a fast friend.
 4. Permanent; not liable to fade by exposure to air or by washing; durable; lasting; as, fast colors.
 5. Tenacious; retentive. [Obs.]
    Roses, damask and red, are fast flowers of their smells.   --Bacon.
 6. Not easily disturbed or broken; deep; sound.
    All this while in a most fast sleep.   --Shak.
 7. Moving rapidly; quick in mition; rapid; swift; as, a fast horse.
 8. Given to pleasure seeking; disregardful of restraint; reckless; wild; dissipated; dissolute; as, a fast man; a fast liver.
 9. In such a condition, as to resilience, etc., as to make possible unusual rapidity of play or action; as, a fast racket, or tennis court; a fast track; a fast billiard table, etc.
 Fast and loose, now cohering, now disjoined; inconstant, esp. in the phrases to play at fast and loose, to play fast and loose, to act with giddy or reckless inconstancy or in a tricky manner; to say one thing and do another. “Play fast and loose with faith.” --Shak.
 Fast and loose pulleys Mach., two pulleys placed side by side on a revolving shaft, which is driven from another shaft by a band, and arranged to disengage and reëngage the machinery driven thereby. When the machinery is to be stopped, the band is transferred from the pulley fixed to the shaft to the pulley which revolves freely upon it, and vice versa.
 Hard and fast Naut., so completely aground as to be immovable.
 To make fast Naut., to make secure; to fasten firmly, as a vessel, a rope, or a door.


 Fast, n. That which fastens or holds; especially, Naut. a mooring rope, hawser, or chain; -- called, according to its position, a bow, head, quarter, breast, or stern fast; also, a post on a pier around which hawsers are passed in mooring.

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 fast
      adj 1: acting or moving or capable of acting or moving quickly;
             "fast film"; "on the fast track in school"; "set a
             fast pace"; "a fast car" [ant: slow]
      2: (used of timepieces) indicating a time ahead of or later
         than the correct time; "my watch is fast" [ant: slow]
      3: at a rapid tempo; "the band played a fast fox trot" [ant: slow]
      4: (of surfaces) conducive to rapid speeds; "a fast road";
         "grass courts are faster than clay"
      5: firmly fastened or secured against opening; "windows and
         doors were all fast"; "a locked closet"; "left the house
         properly secured" [syn: barred, bolted, latched, locked,
          secured]
      6: resistant to destruction or fading; "fast colors"
      7: unrestrained by convention or morality; "Congreve draws a
         debauched aristocratic society"; "deplorably dissipated
         and degraded"; "riotous living"; "fast women" [syn: debauched,
          degenerate, degraded, dissipated, dissolute, libertine,
          profligate, riotous]
      8: hurried and brief; "paid a flying visit"; "took a flying
         glance at the book"; "a quick inspection"; "a fast visit"
         [syn: flying, quick]
      9: securely fixed in place; "the post was still firm after
         being hit by the car" [syn: firm, immobile]
      10: unwavering in devotion to friend or vow or cause; "a firm
          ally"; "loyal supporters"; "the true-hearted soldier...of
          Tippecanoe"- Campaign song for William Henry Harrison;
          "fast friends" [syn: firm, loyal, truehearted, fast(a)]
      n : abstaining from food [syn: fasting]
      adv 1: quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form); "how
             fast can he get here?"; "ran as fast as he could";
             "needs medical help fast"; "fast-running rivers";
             "fast-breaking news"; "fast-opening (or fast-closing)
             shutters"
      2: firmly or tightly; "held fast to the rope"; "her foot was
         stuck fast"; "held tight" [syn: tight]
      v 1: abstain from certain foods, as for religious or medical
           reasons; "Catholics sometimes fast during Lent"
      2: abstain from eating; "Before the medical exam, you must
         fast"


 Fast
    The sole fast required by the law of Moses was that of the great
    Day of Atonement (q.v.), Lev. 23:26-32. It is called "the fast"
    (Acts 27:9).

      The only other mention of a periodical fast in the Old
    Testament is in Zech. 7:1-7; 8:19, from which it appears that
    during their captivity the Jews observed four annual fasts.

      (1.) The fast of the fourth month, kept on the seventeenth day
    of Tammuz, the anniversary of the capture of Jerusalem by the
    Chaldeans; to commemorate also the incident recorded Ex. 32:19.
    (Comp. Jer. 52:6, 7.)

      (2.) The fast of the fifth month, kept on the ninth of Ab
    (comp. Num. 14:27), to commemorate the burning of the city and
    temple (Jer. 52:12, 13).

      (3.) The fast of the seventh month, kept on the third of Tisri
    (comp. 2 Kings 25), the anniversary of the murder of Gedaliah
    (Jer. 41:1, 2).

      (4.) The fast of the tenth month (comp. Jer. 52:4; Ezek.
    33:21; 2 Kings 25:1), to commemorate the beginning of the siege
    of the holy city by Nebuchadnezzar.

      There was in addition to these the fast appointed by Esther
    (4:16).

      Public national fasts on account of sin or to supplicate
    divine favour were sometimes held. (1.) 1 Sam. 7:6; (2.) 2 Chr.
    20:3; (3.) Jer. 36:6-10; (4.) Neh. 9:1.

      There were also local fasts. (1.) Judg. 20:26; (2.) 2 Sam.
    1:12; (3.) 1 Sam. 31:13; (4.) 1 Kings 21:9-12; (5.) Ezra
    8:21-23: (6.) Jonah 3:5-9.

      There are many instances of private occasional fasting (1 Sam.
    1:7: 20:34; 2 Sam. 3:35; 12:16; 1 Kings 21:27; Ezra 10:6; Neh.
    1:4; Dan. 10:2,3). Moses fasted forty days (Ex. 24:18; 34:28),
    and so also did Elijah (1 Kings 19:8). Our Lord fasted forty
    days in the wilderness (Matt. 4:2).

      In the lapse of time the practice of fasting was lamentably
    abused (Isa. 58:4; Jer. 14:12; Zech. 7:5). Our Lord rebuked the
    Pharisees for their hypocritical pretences in fasting (Matt.
    6:16). He himself appointed no fast. The early Christians,
    however, observed the ordinary fasts according to the law of
    their fathers (Acts 13:3; 14:23; 2 Cor. 6:5).