hasty
UK[ˈheɪsti]US[ˈheɪsti]
adj
Done or acting with excessive speed or urgency; hurried.
adj
Done too quickly or without enough thought, and therefore likely to be wrong or cause problems.
Morpheme Breakdown
hast
y
hast
haste
y
adjective-forming suffix
Etymology
The word 'hasty' is built upon the noun 'haste', which entered English via Old French from a Germanic source, likely related to Old High German 'heisti' meaning 'violent'. The core concept of speed or urgency was already present in these early forms. The adjectival suffix '-y', of native English origin, is appended to create a word meaning 'characterized by haste'. Over time, while retaining the primary meaning of speedy action, 'hasty' developed a secondary, more critical connotation, implying that such speed often leads to careless or ill-considered results, thus connecting the literal sense of rapid movement to the abstract idea of rash judgment.
Analysis
Structure: hast (haste) + y (adjective-forming suffix)
- hast: From Middle English 'hast', from Old French 'haste', of Germanic origin. The core sense is 'quickness, speed'.
- y: A productive English suffix forming adjectives from nouns, meaning 'characterized by; full of; having the quality of'. Of Old English origin.
Examples
Their hasty departure suggested they were in a great deal of trouble.
Don't make a hasty decision you might later regret.
He later apologized for his hasty remarks.