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quicken

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

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Letters

7 characters

Language

English

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "quicken", 7-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "quicken" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "quicken" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

quicken is aEnglishverb. It means: Senses relating to life or states of activity. Pronounced /ˈkwɪk(ə)n/. Often confused with quickly and quicker.

Key facts for quicken
PropertyValue
Headwordquicken
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈkwɪk(ə)n/
Letters7
Frequency rank#34,655
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of quicken in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for quicken is 7 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkwɪk(ə)n/. Corpus data places it at rank #34,655 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 17 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 10 documented wrong-spelling variants for quicken, with forms such as "qiucken", "qquicken", and "quciken". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "quickly", "quicker", "quickie", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English quikenen (“to become alive again after dying; to raise (someone) from the dead; to regain consciousness or strength; to give vitality, revive; to regain validity; to nourish; to spare (the life of someone or something); to ignite; to ill… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is quicken, spelled Q-U-I-C-K-E-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Senses relating to life or states of activity.
  2. 2
    Senses relating to life or states of activity.
  3. 3
    Senses relating to life or states of activity.
  4. 4
    Senses relating to life or states of activity.
  5. 5
    Senses relating to life or states of activity.
  6. 6
    Senses relating to life or states of activity.
  7. 7
    Senses relating to life or states of activity.
  8. 8
    Senses relating to life or states of activity.
  9. 9
    Senses relating to life or states of activity.
  10. 10
    Senses relating to life or states of activity.
  11. 11
    Senses relating to life or states of activity.
  12. 12
    Senses relating to life or states of activity.
  13. 13
    Senses relating to life or states of activity.
  14. 14
    Senses relating to life or states of activity.
  15. 15
    Senses relating to speed.
  16. 16
    Senses relating to speed.
  17. 17
    Senses relating to speed.

Etymology

From Middle English quikenen (“to become alive again after dying; to raise (someone) from the dead; to regain consciousness or strength; to give vitality, revive; to regain validity; to nourish; to spare (the life of someone or something); to ignite; to illuminate; of events: to happen more quickly; of clouds: to form”) [and other forms], from quiken (“to come to life; to become alive again after dying; to give or regain vitality, revive; of a seed: to germinate, grow; to arouse (anger); to inspire; to reinforce, strengthen; to make (a substance) alchemically active; to nourish, sustain; to sharpen; to ignite; to illuminate; of news: to spread”) + -en (suffix forming the infinitive forms of verbs). Quiken is derived from Old English cwician (“to bring to life, vivify; to come to life, become living; to quicken”), from cwic (“alive, live, living; mentally agile; intelligent, keen”) (ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kwikwaz (“alive; lively; quick”) and Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- (“to live”)) + -ian (suffix forming verbs from adjectives and nouns). The English word may be analysed as quick (“moving with swiftness; occurring in a short time; (archaic) alive, living; (archaic) pregnant”) + -en (suffix attached to some adjectives forming transitive verbs meaning ‘to make [adjective]’). Cognates * Danish kvikne (“to quicken, revive”) * Icelandic kvikna (“to ignite; to turn on”) * Swedish kvickna (“to revive”)

This word in other languages

Spanish(Español)Portuguese(Português)French(Français)German(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: qiucken,qquicken,quciken,quiccken,quicekn,quickenn,quickken,quickne,quikcen,uqicken

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for quicken

Misspelling Variants of "quicken"

qiucken7qquicken8quciken7quiccken8quicekn7quickenn8quickken8quickne7
Misspelling Variants of "quicken"

Frequency rank: #34,655 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "quicken"?
"quicken" is spelled Q-U-I-C-K-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkwɪk(ə)n/.
What does "quicken" mean?
As a verb, "quicken" means: Senses relating to life or states of activity.
What words are commonly confused with "quicken"?
"quicken" is commonly confused with "quickly", "quicker", "quickie". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "quicken"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "quicken" is /ˈkwɪk(ə)n/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "quicken"?
From Middle English quikenen (“to become alive again after dying; to raise (someone) from the dead; to regain consciousness or strength; to give vitality, revive; to regain validity; to nourish; to spare (the life of someone or something); to igni... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.