Rask

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Archaic word describing someone or something that is quick, nimble, and full of lively energy
2. An old English adjective meaning swift, agile, and spirited in movement or action
3. Obsolete term for being brisk, active, and vigorous in body or manner

Etymology: In Middle English this adjective described someone quick on their feet, lively, or energetic. It came into English from Old Norse "røskr", meaning brave, vigorous, or active, and it is a close relative of the Swedish and Norwegian "rask", which still means brisk or healthy. The Norse word arrived with Scandinavian settlers and speakers in northern and eastern England, where Old English and Old Norse were spoken side by side for centuries, so it belongs to the same wave of contact that gave English words like "skirt" and "egg". The English adjective faded from ordinary speech after the Middle English period and survives now mainly in dialect and in older literature. Its sense of quick, nimble, or sprightly is preserved in the Scandinavian languages, where it kept the meaning it had when it crossed the North Sea.