Breezed

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /bɹiːzd/

Definitions

1. Moved in a quick and effortless manner ; finished a task with ease and confidence
2. Went smoothly and fast, showing little effort ; achieved a goal in a relaxed and assured way
3. Progressed rapidly and lightly, as if carried by the wind ; handled an activity successfully and without trouble

Etymology: The verb "breezed" comes from the noun "breeze," and the noun has an odd pedigree. Its earliest English form, "brees," appears in Middle English around 1460, and its nearest relatives in Catalan, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese are attested within the same century or just after. The likeliest candidate for the source is a Spanish or Mediterranean term for a strong or northeast wind, carried into English through seafaring talk, though the exact route remains unsettled. A striking twist lies in a second, unrelated-looking origin. Older English "brese" meant a gadfly, the biting insect that torments horses and cattle, and that word traces back to a root meaning "to buzz or hum." Some scholars link the two words, but the connection is doubtful, so the sense of a gentle wind and the sense of a buzzing insect may be a coincidence of sound. The verb sense of moving quickly and easily, or finishing something without strain, grows naturally from the image of a breeze passing lightly over things. "Breezed" is simply the regular past tense of that verb.

Synonyms: glided, flowed, drifted, wafted, swept

Antonyms: stumbled, trudged, struggled, lagged, plodded