Quickish

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A description of an entity that embodies a moderate level of speed without being slow or excessively swift A quality denoting a pace that is quick but not extremely so An attribute that suggests a balance between slowness and rapidity
2. Having a speed that is notably above average but not very fast
3. Moving or happening at a pace that is faster than usual without being rapid

Etymology: "Quickish" is a plain formation: the adjective "quick" with the suffix "-ish" added. The suffix comes from Old English "-isc," which meant "of or belonging to" a people or thing, as in "English" or "Danish," and over centuries it developed a sense of "somewhat" or "rather," so that "greenish" means somewhat green. Attaching it to "quick" gives a word meaning somewhat quick, which is why the meaning stops short of genuinely rapid. The base word has an older and more dramatic history. In Old English, "cwic" meant "alive," as in the phrase "the quick and the dead," and only later came to mean speed. The sense of "alive" has survived in the expression, so the same root that describes a living body also describes a brisk pace.

Synonyms: fairly quick, somewhat fast

Antonyms: slow, sluggish