Fastened

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈfɑːsn̩d/

Definitions

1. Held or fixed securely in place to prevent movement
2. Joined or connected tightly to ensure stability
3. Made fast or tied so that something stays firmly positioned

Etymology: "Fastened" is the past tense and past participle of "fasten", so its story really belongs to the verb. "Fasten" comes from Old English "fæstnian", meaning to make firm or secure, which descends from a Proto-West Germanic form "*fastinōn" with the same sense. Its base is "fast", the adjective meaning firmly fixed or immovable, and the "-en" ending is the common suffix that turns an adjective into a verb meaning to make something that way, as in "soften" or "harden". The verb reached Middle English in the form "fastenen", keeping the sense of making something firm. Its meaning has stayed close to that core ever since: a fastened door is one that has been made fast, and a fastened coat has its buttons secured. The word is a straightforward example of an English adjective becoming a verb, and its past form "fastened" simply carries that action back into a completed state.

Synonyms: secured, attached, fixed, fast, bound

Antonyms: loosened, unfastened, detached, released, unsecured