Hastive

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Done or acting with great speed and little deliberation, often in an archaic or rarely used sense of haste
2. Characterized by quickness and urgency, as when something is rushed without much careful thought
3. Marked by swift action or movement, carried out in a hurry and with little forethought

Etymology: "Hastive" is built on "haste," which entered English from Old French "haste." That French noun came from a Germanic source, probably Frankish "*haifst," meaning strife or contention, and it is related to the Old High German "heifsti," also meaning strife. Speed was not the original idea. Haste was a kind of fight before it was a rush. The adjective "hastive" was borrowed from Old French "hastif," which meant hasty, eager, or quick to act. English used the form for someone quick to move or quick to decide, and it later faded from common use, so "hasty" took its place. Both words carry the same French and Germanic history, so "hastive" is simply an older English form of the same idea.