fastness

/ˈfɑːs(t)nəs/

Etymology

From Middle English fastnes, fastnesse (“immovableness, stability; firmness, solidness; secure attachment; constancy; obstinacy; something giving firmness or strength; of sleep: soundness; of a wound: healing; assurance, confirmation”) [and other forms], from Old English fæstnes (“fastness, firmness, stability; resolution; tenacity; vigour; firmament; fortification”) [and other forms], from fæst (“firm, stable; constant”) (from Proto-Germanic *fastuz (“firm, fixed; secure”); see further at that entry) + -nes (suffix forming abstract nouns denoting a quality or state). The English word may be analysed as fast + -ness.

fastness means The quality or state of being fast (in various senses).; The quality or state of being strongly attached; firmness, secureness, tenacity. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 72 out of 100.

Why this word is great

FASTNESS — [Noun] The inherent quality of being fast, encompassing secure firmness, steadfast endurance, or relentless rapidity. From Middle English fastnes, fastnesse, from Old English fæstnes ("fastness, firmness"), from fæst ("firm, stable") (from Proto-Germanic *fastuz, "firm, fixed") + the suffix -nes (forming abstract nouns). Unlike "fortress," which denotes a specific, militarized structure, or "speed," which measures a mere rate of transit, fastness is the essential property—the steadfast principle—of a thing in its being. It is the cliff-face that defies the sea’s attrition, the dye that holds its color against the bleaching sun, and the arrow’s unwavering flight from the bow—a single word containing both the unmoving rock and the flight that cannot be recalled, a quiet testament to the twin certainties of anchor and arc.

noun

The quality or state of being fast (in various senses).; The quality or state of being strongly attached; firmness, secureness, tenacity.“[T]he thing, as it is, having firſt taken vp her ſtand in the memory, and there by the way of knowledge and witting, imprinted it-ſelfe, it were hard it ſhould not repreſent it ſelfe to the imagination, diſplacing and ſupplanting falſehood, which therein can have no ſuch footing, or ſetled faſtneſſe: […]”
The quality or state of being fast (in various senses).; The quality or state of being strongly attached; firmness, secureness, tenacity.; The ability of a dye to withstand fading.“Although aniline dyes have replaced most natural dyes in the modern era, natural dyers still revere cochineal for its brilliance and fastness.”
The quality or state of being fast (in various senses).; The quality or state of moving quickly; quickness, rapidity, swiftness.“[Frog:] Why are all of us fleein'? What dire peril threatens our sylvan fastness? [Bug:] Just run! Your fastness shouldn't be too slow.”
The quality or state of being fast (in various senses).; The quality or state of having an extravagant lifestyle or immoral habits.
The quality or state of being fast (in various senses).; Of a fortress or other place: the quality or state of being secure from access or attack; safety, security.“But now his cruelty ſo ſore ſhe drad, / That to thoſe fennes for faſtneſſe ſhe did fly, / And there her ſelfe did hyde from his hard tyranny.”
The quality or state of being fast (in various senses).; The quality or state of being firm, hard, or solid; firmness, hardness, solidity.“Which was brought to paſſe I beleue, […] by a good way of Epitome, in binding him ſelfe to tranſlate meros Atticos Oratores, and ſo to bring his ſtyle, from all lowſe groſneſſe, to ſoch firme faſtnes in latin, as is in Demoſthenes in Greeke.”