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Fast

Fasting is the deliberate and temporary abstinence from food intake, and occasionally from drink, for durations ranging from hours to days or longer, practiced across cultures for purposes including religious devotion, spiritual discipline, medical preparation, and purported health optimization.^[1]^[2] Historically, fasting traces to ancient religious and ascetic traditions, with evidence of its use in Vedic, Hindu, and Jain practices around 1500 BCE, and later in Abrahamic faiths such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, where it serves as a means of purification, empathy with the needy, or atonement.^[3] Therapeutic applications emerged by the 5th century BCE, as recommended by Hippocrates for treating illnesses through metabolic rest, evolving into modern protocols like preoperative fasting to mitigate aspiration risks during anesthesia.^[4] In contemporary contexts, intermittent fasting—cycling between eating windows and abstinence periods—has surged in popularity, with randomized trials demonstrating reductions in body weight, improved insulin sensitivity, and lowered inflammation markers in adherent populations, though these effects often mirror those of equivalent caloric restriction rather than offering unique causal advantages.^[5]^[6] Notable characteristics include metabolic shifts during prolonged fasts, such as initial glycogen depletion followed by ketogenesis and gluconeogenesis, which can yield short-term fat mobilization but also risks like electrolyte imbalances, gout exacerbation, or cardiac arrhythmias in vulnerable individuals.^[7] Empirical studies highlight benefits in rodent models for intestinal stem cell regeneration and injury repair, yet the same research reveals heightened intestinal cancer susceptibility post-fasting upon carcinogen exposure, underscoring a trade-off absent in human longitudinal data.^[8] Controversies persist regarding its universality, with evidence indicating inefficacy or harm for certain groups—such as the elderly, pregnant, or those with eating disorders—due to potential muscle loss, hormonal disruptions, or psychological strain like increased irritability, emphasizing the need for individualized assessment over generalized endorsement.^[9]^[10] Despite promotional claims in wellness media, rigorous meta-analyses confirm modest, non-superior outcomes for weight management compared to continuous dieting, with adherence challenges limiting sustained real-world impact.^[11]

Etymology

Linguistic origins and semantic evolution

The English word fast originates from Old English fæst, denoting something "firmly fixed," "steadfast," or "secure," as in a binding or immovable state.^[12] This term stemmed from Proto-Germanic *fastuz, meaning "firm" or "solid," which itself derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *past-, associated with fixation, fortification, and solidity, evidenced through comparative reconstruction across Indo-European languages including Old Indian pastyà- ("fixed") and Old Norse fastr.^[13]^[12] Semantic development from this core sense of firmness branched into related but distinct applications by Middle English (circa 1100–1500), reflecting observable human experiences of stability in action and restraint. The adverbial form, initially meaning "firmly" or "steadfastly," extended to imply rapid or unyielding motion—equating consistent, uninterrupted progress with speed—yielding the modern sense of "quick" or "swift" by the late 14th century, as recorded in texts describing brisk physical movements without halting.^[12] Independently, the verb to fast, present in Old English fæstan as "to establish firmly" or "to observe abstinence," evolved to specifically denote withholding food through self-imposed firmness against hunger, rooted in religious vows of restraint; this usage gained prominence in 13th-century ecclesiastical contexts, predating its appearance in Geoffrey Chaucer's late-14th-century works like The Canterbury Tales, where it denotes ritual deprivation.^[12]^[14] These shifts prioritized literal extensions from fixation—motion as "fast-held" continuity and abstinence as "fast-held" denial—over abstract or symbolic reinterpretations.

Core meanings

Denoting speed or quickness

The adjective "fast" denotes the quality of moving or capable of moving at high velocity, or completing actions in minimal time, often contrasted with slower benchmarks in physical contexts. This usage emphasizes measurable rates, such as distance per unit time, rooted in observable kinematics rather than subjective perception. In historical transportation, "fast" applied to steam locomotives that exceeded prior equine speeds; the New York Central Railroad's No. 999 pulled the Empire State Express at 112.5 mph (181 km/h) on May 10, 1893, during a run from Rochester to Buffalo, New York, surpassing typical 19th-century averages of 20-40 mph for passenger services.^[15] Such velocities derived from optimized boiler pressure and piston dynamics, enabling efficiencies that reduced travel times from days to hours on routes like the Liverpool-Manchester line, operational since 1830 at peak speeds around 30 mph.^[16] As an adverb, "fast" qualifies the manner of motion, indicating accelerated performance; for example, sprinters "run fast" by attaining high instantaneous speeds through explosive force application. Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt exemplified this in the 100-meter event, completing the distance in 9.58 seconds on August 16, 2009, at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, yielding an average velocity of 10.44 m/s with peak speeds nearing 12.4 m/s.^[17] This feat involved rapid acceleration over the initial 30 meters, governed by Newton's second law (F = ma), where applied muscular forces overcame inertial mass to produce high linear acceleration, typically 9-10 m/s² in elite starts.^[18] Causal analysis reveals that such quickness enhances utility—e.g., minimizing exposure in survival scenarios—but incurs risks like increased kinetic energy (½mv²), amplifying collision impacts under Newtonian momentum conservation. Verb forms, such as "to fast" in archaic or dialectal senses implying hastening, underscore efficiency in progression, though modern emphasis lies in adjectival/adverbial metrics. In physical systems, pursuing "fast" operations demands trade-offs; for instance, accelerating processes beyond material tolerances can compromise integrity, as rapid changes induce stress concentrations per F = ma dynamics, where unchecked acceleration leads to fatigue or fracture in components like high-speed rotors. Empirical engineering data show that halving drying times in composites often reduces tensile strength by 20-30% due to incomplete molecular bonding, necessitating design compromises for reliability.^[19] These principles highlight that velocity gains stem from force-mass ratios, but sustainability requires damping excessive rapidity to avert causal failures like vibrational resonance.

Abstaining from food or fasting

Fasting denotes the voluntary and intentional abstinence from caloric intake, typically for durations exceeding the routine overnight fast, distinguishing it from mere physiological pauses in eating. This practice has been employed across cultures for ritualistic, spiritual, or therapeutic purposes, with empirical records tracing organized forms to ancient religious observances, such as the annual month-long fast of Ramadan in Islam, mandated in the Quran (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:183-185) since the 7th century CE, requiring abstention from food and drink from dawn until sunset.^[20] ^[21] Physiologically, fasting triggers a cascade of adaptive metabolic responses following the exhaustion of hepatic glycogen reserves, which occurs approximately 12 to 24 hours after the last meal in healthy individuals, prompting the liver to ramp up gluconeogenesis and beta-oxidation of fatty acids to produce ketone bodies as an alternative fuel source—a process termed ketosis.^[22] This shift, as outlined in foundational work on starvation metabolism, prioritizes preservation of lean mass by sparing glucose for glucose-dependent tissues like the brain while mobilizing adipose triglycerides, thereby reducing reliance on protein catabolism after initial phases.^[23] Short-term fasting (e.g., 24-48 hours) has been linked to upregulation of autophagy, the intracellular degradation and recycling of damaged organelles and proteins, a mechanism conserved across eukaryotes and first mechanistically dissected in nutrient-starved yeast models by Yoshinori Ohsumi, earning him the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.^[24] Empirical data from controlled human trials indicate potential short-term advantages, including improved insulin sensitivity and reduced inflammation markers, mediated by lowered circulating insulin and elevated counter-regulatory hormones like glucagon and cortisol.^[25] However, extended fasting beyond 72 hours elevates risks of electrolyte imbalances, micronutrient shortfalls (e.g., thiamine deficiency), and excessive lean tissue breakdown if not medically supervised, as evidenced by historical case studies of therapeutic fasting and modern metabolic profiling.^[7] Causally, this contrasts sharply with the "fast" denoting velocity, where energy is expended in accelerated locomotion; fasting instead enforces metabolic thrift, conserving resources through hormonal signaling that suppresses anabolic pathways, rooted etymologically in a shared Proto-Germanic sense of "firmness" or steadfast restraint rather than motion.^[22]

Science and medicine

Stroke detection acronyms

The FAST acronym, disseminated by the American Heart Association in the early 2000s, provides a mnemonic for bystander identification of acute stroke symptoms: Face drooping (ask the person to smile and check for asymmetry), Arm weakness (raise both arms and observe for drift), Speech difficulty (assess for slurred or incomprehensible words), and Time to call 911 immediately upon suspicion.^[26] This framework emphasizes urgency to enable interventions like tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) within the 4.5-hour window from symptom onset, where faster door-to-needle times correlate with lower mortality and fewer complications in ischemic strokes.^[27] An extension known as BE FAST, developed in the 2010s, adds Balance loss (sudden dizziness or coordination failure) and Eyes (vision impairment or double vision) to address posterior circulation strokes often missed by FAST alone, improving sensitivity to 99% for anterior circulation events in clinical evaluations.^[28]^[29] Empirical data from 2024-2025 trials affirm the mnemonics' role in public education: a randomized pilot found FAST yielded higher 30-day retention of core symptoms (e.g., 78% for face drooping vs. 61% with BE FAST), while both variants spurred 911 activation over descriptive symptom lists by leveraging cognitive chunking for quicker recall and decision-making.^[30] AHA-led assessments confirmed sustained motivation for emergency calls persisting 30 days post-exposure, with FAST edging out in overall symptom recall efficacy.^[31]^[32] These acronyms causally accelerate bystander responses—reducing prehospital delays that limit tPA eligibility—through heuristic simplicity, as mnemonic-based campaigns outperform narrative descriptions in trials measuring action latency and accuracy, ultimately lowering ischemic stroke case fatality by prioritizing time-sensitive reperfusion.^[32]^[27] In biology, "fast" refers to physiological processes characterized by rapid metabolic or contractile activity. One prominent application is in intermittent fasting protocols, such as the 16:8 method, which involves 16 hours of fasting followed by an 8-hour eating window and gained popularity in the mid-2010s through public interest in weight management and metabolic health.^[33]^[34] Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in humans have demonstrated that early time-restricted feeding, a form of intermittent fasting aligning intake with circadian rhythms, can improve insulin sensitivity in prediabetic individuals without concurrent weight loss, as shown in a 2018 study where participants consumed meals within a 6-hour early window for 5 weeks, leading to reduced fasting insulin and oxidative stress markers.^[35] However, meta-analyses indicate that intermittent fasting yields weight loss and cardiometabolic improvements comparable to continuous calorie restriction, with no consistent superiority in outcomes like body weight reduction or lipid profiles when energy intake is matched.^[36]^[37] These findings suggest that benefits often stem from overall caloric deficit rather than meal timing alone, challenging causal claims attributing unique efficacy to fasting windows independent of energy balance.^[11] Critiques of intermittent fasting highlight risks, particularly in vulnerable populations, where restrictive patterns may precipitate disordered eating behaviors; cross-sectional studies link fasting engagement to higher orthorexia and binge eating tendencies, though longitudinal data remain limited and emphasize monitoring for psychological impacts.^[38]^[39] Media portrayals often amplify purported "miracle" effects without acknowledging these limitations or the predominance of short-term RCTs over long-term evidence.^[40] Another biological context involves fast-twitch muscle fibers, classified as type II fibers in skeletal muscle physiology, which enable rapid, forceful contractions via anaerobic glycolysis for short bursts of activity like sprinting.^[41]^[42] These fibers, subdivided into type IIa (fast oxidative-glycolytic, with moderate fatigue resistance) and type IIx (purely fast glycolytic, highly fatigable), were histologically distinguished in the mid-20th century through myosin ATPase staining techniques, revealing their adaptation for high-power output at the expense of endurance.^[43]^[44] Type II fibers predominate in muscles requiring explosive strength and constitute a smaller proportion in endurance-trained individuals due to training-induced shifts toward slow-twitch type I fibers.^[45]

Other empirical applications

The Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is an algorithm for efficiently computing the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and its inverse, transforming time-domain signals into frequency-domain representations essential for empirical analysis in physics and chemistry. Developed by James W. Cooley and John W. Tukey in 1965, the Cooley-Tukey radix-2 variant recursively decomposes the DFT into smaller subproblems, reducing computational complexity from the direct method's O(n²) operations to O(n log n), where n is the number of data points, thereby enabling processing of large datasets previously infeasible on early computers.^[46]^[47] This efficiency has made FFT indispensable for quantitative signal processing in empirical applications, such as decomposing oscillatory data to extract frequency components without aliasing artifacts when sampling rates adhere to the Nyquist criterion. In physics, FFT facilitates verification of wave propagation parameters by analyzing dispersion relations from spectral peaks, distinguishing phase velocity (wave crest speed) from group velocity (energy transport speed) in media like solids or fluids. For example, in ultrasonic guided wave testing, FFT processes comb transducer signals to compute velocities via central frequency shifts and known spacing, yielding precise empirical values for material characterization with errors below 1% in controlled experiments.^[48] Similarly, in seismology and oceanography, FFT estimates wave energy spectra from time-series records, enabling derivation of propagation speeds through frequency-wavelength relations grounded in linear wave theory.^[49] These applications underscore FFT's role in causal, data-driven inference of physical constants, such as electromagnetic wave speeds, where historical baselines like the Michelson-Morley experiment's null result in 1887 supported invariance at approximately 299,790 km/s, refined through subsequent interferometry to the modern vacuum value of exactly 299,792,458 m/s (defined since 1983 but empirically verified via cavity resonators and lasers).^[50]^[51] Unlike intermittent biological processes, FFT-based methods prioritize deterministic, high-fidelity spectral resolution for falsifiable predictions, as in validating relativistic invariance without reliance on ether models disproven by direct measurement discrepancies under 0.1%.^[46]

Computing and technology

Algorithms and data processing

In algorithms and data processing, "fast" denotes computational efficiency, typically measured by time and space complexity in Big O notation, where lower bounds enable handling large datasets without proportional resource escalation. Heuristic approaches often trade optimality for speed, as seen in bioinformatics tools that prioritize approximate solutions over exhaustive searches to process genomic data volumes exceeding petabytes annually.^[52]^[53] The FASTA format exemplifies this in bioinformatics, introduced by William R. Pearson and David J. Lipman in their 1988 PNAS paper on improved sequence comparison tools. It structures biological sequences (DNA, RNA, or proteins) as plain text with a header line starting with '>' followed by identifier and description, then sequence lines limited to 60-80 characters for readability and parsing efficiency. This design supports rapid alignment via the FASTA program's k-tup scanning and diagonal initialization, identifying local similarities in seconds rather than hours required by dynamic programming like Smith-Waterman, which is O(nm) exact but prohibitive for database queries. Benchmarks from the era showed FASTA retrieving homologs 50-100 times faster than precursors like FASTP, facilitating early genome projects despite hardware constraints of the 1980s.^[52]^[54] Fast mapping, originating in cognitive science, has influenced AI data processing for efficient concept learning. Susan Carey and Elsa Bartlett coined the term in 1978 to describe children's ability to infer novel word-object mappings from minimal exposures, such as deducing "chromium" as a metal after one labeled instance amid familiar distractors, bypassing exhaustive trial-and-error. In machine learning extensions, this manifests in few-shot or zero-shot paradigms, where models like those in natural language processing disambiguate semantics via contextual priors, achieving 70-90% accuracy on benchmarks like GLUE with orders fewer training examples than supervised baselines. Such methods leverage embedding spaces for rapid generalization, reducing data needs by embedding causal assumptions akin to human heuristics, though they falter on out-of-distribution shifts without robust priors.^[55]^[56] Algorithmic speed trade-offs underscore causal reliability limits, as faster methods risk pathological failures. Quicksort, invented by C. A. R. Hoare in 1961, partitions arrays around pivots for average O(n log n) sorting—faster than O(n²) quadratics like bubble sort—but devolves to O(n²) worst-case on sorted inputs without randomization, scanning the array repeatedly. Empirical tests on datasets of 10^6 elements confirm average runtimes under 1 second on modern hardware versus minutes for naive sorts, yet adversarial cases demand mitigations like median-of-three pivots to restore probabilistic guarantees, prioritizing verifiable worst-case bounds in safety-critical processing over unhedged speed claims.^[57]^[58]

Software and hardware implementations

In software development, fast-check is a JavaScript library available as an npm package that implements property-based testing, generating extensive test cases to identify edge cases rapidly and supporting integration with frameworks like Jest for agile unit testing workflows post-2010s.^[59] This approach contrasts with traditional example-based testing by automating input generation, enabling developers to verify code properties efficiently across large input spaces without manual case enumeration.^[59] Hardware implementations of the FAST (Features from Accelerated Segment Test) algorithm, used for real-time corner detection in computer vision applications such as mobile imaging, achieve pixel processing rates of one pixel per clock cycle on FPGA or ASIC platforms.^[60] These designs, optimized for embedded systems, deliver throughput suitable for high-frame-rate video analysis while minimizing computational overhead compared to software equivalents.^[61] Qualcomm's Quick Charge protocols represent functional fast-charging hardware standards, with Quick Charge 2.0—introduced in 2014—supporting power delivery up to 18 W via voltage steps like 9 V at 2 A, enabling smartphones to charge batteries at rates exceeding standard USB 5 V/2 A.^[62] Subsequent iterations, such as Quick Charge 3.0 (2016), refine efficiency with 200 mV voltage increments up to 20 V and currents to 3.6 A, sustaining similar peak wattage while reducing heat generation through intelligent power negotiation.^[62] In AI hardware, specialized inference chips like Groq's Language Processing Unit (LPU), deployed commercially from 2023, incorporate tensor core-like architectures to achieve deterministic inference latencies below 1 ms at 750 TOPS performance, outperforming general-purpose GPUs in real-time token generation for large language models.^[63] NVIDIA's tensor cores in data center GPUs, such as the H100 (2022 onward), similarly accelerate matrix multiplications central to inference, reducing end-to-end latencies to low milliseconds for transformer-based workloads under optimized batching.^[64]

Government and military

Administrative and operational uses

The Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, signed into law on December 4, 2015, authorizes approximately $305 billion in funding for federal highway, safety, and transit programs from fiscal years 2016 through 2020, with provisions designed to expedite infrastructure project delivery by streamlining environmental reviews and permitting timelines under the National Environmental Policy Act.^[65]^[66] These measures include categorical exclusions for certain low-impact projects and surface transportation project delivery program enhancements, aiming to reduce approval delays from years to months in targeted cases, thereby improving administrative efficiency for state and federal transportation agencies.^[67] In U.S. immigration administration, the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, established by Congress in 1990 under the Immigration Act, facilitates accelerated pathways to permanent residency for foreign investors committing at least $800,000 to $1.05 million in targeted employment areas, with reforms in the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 introducing priority processing for rural investments to shorten visa adjudication periods to as little as 12 months for initial approvals.^[68] Concurrent filing options allow applicants to submit adjustment of status forms alongside petitions, enabling work authorization and advance parole within 6-12 months rather than sequential processing delays exceeding two years in backlog-heavy categories.^[69] The Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program, jointly operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Canada Border Services Agency since 2002, certifies low-risk commercial carriers, drivers, and cargo for expedited border crossings at U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico ports, reducing inspection times by up to 70% through pre-clearance and dedicated lanes, which supports operational efficiency in supply chain management and trade compliance.^[70] By 2023, over 30,000 commercial vehicles participated daily, minimizing administrative bottlenecks while maintaining security protocols via risk-based screening.

Military designations

In the United States Marine Corps, FAST designates Fleet Antiterrorism Security Teams, specialized units under the Marine Corps Security Force Regiment designed for rapid deployment to protect naval assets and installations from terrorist threats.^[71] These teams were established in 1987 following the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing, which killed 241 U.S. personnel and highlighted vulnerabilities in overseas security, providing fleet commanders with flexible, expeditionary forces capable of responding within hours to emerging threats.^[72] FAST companies consist of approximately 120-150 Marines organized into platoons, trained in marksmanship, close-quarters combat, and maritime security, with deployments supporting operations such as embassy reinforcements and anti-piracy patrols in regions like the Horn of Africa, where they have augmented naval task forces to deter attacks.^[73] Fast attack craft (FAC) refer to small, high-speed naval vessels optimized for littoral warfare, anti-surface engagements, and quick interdiction missions, typically displacing under 500 tons and achieving speeds exceeding 40 knots to outmaneuver larger ships.^[74] A prominent example is Norway's Skjold-class corvettes, surface-effect ships commissioned starting in 1999, capable of over 60 knots using gas turbines and waterjets, armed with eight Naval Strike Missiles and a 76mm gun for stealthy strikes in coastal environments.^[74] These craft enhance response times in asymmetric conflicts; for instance, in anti-piracy operations off Somalia, FAC-like vessels have reduced successful hijackings by enabling intercepts within 30-60 minutes of alerts, as slower responses to underway attacks succeed only 10% of the time compared to 90% for moored targets, per naval intelligence assessments.^[75] Their agility has proven effective in patrolling chokepoints, contributing to a decline in Gulf of Aden incidents from 236 in 2009 to under 10 annually by 2012 through rapid presence and deterrence.^[76]

Organizations

Acronym-based entities

The Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1984 to eradicate commercial software copyright infringement and advocate for proper software asset management.^[77] Its mission, as outlined in its charter, centers on educating enterprises about compliance risks, conducting audits, and initiating legal proceedings against unauthorized use, with a focus on reducing global software piracy losses estimated in billions annually by industry reports.^[77] FAST operates primarily in Europe, partnering with software vendors to enforce intellectual property rights through voluntary disclosures and litigation.^[78] The Food Allergy Support Team (FAST) is a nonprofit organization established in 2014 to advance oral immunotherapy (OIT) for food allergies outside academic settings.^[79] Dedicated to bridging gaps in private practice, its core objectives include providing educational resources, facilitating allergist networking, and supporting patient access to OIT protocols, as evidenced by its annual conferences and clinician directories.^[80] FAST emphasizes evidence-based practices drawn from peer-reviewed studies on desensitization, hosting events like its 2017 consensus meeting to standardize OIT approaches amid limited insurance coverage for such treatments.^[81] The Fugitive Active Search Team (FAST) within the Belgian Federal Police was formed on August 25, 1999, as a specialized unit for tracking international fugitives wanted for serious crimes.^[82] Its mandate involves rapid deployment, intelligence coordination, and arrests, contributing to over 6,208 apprehensions by 2024 through collaborations like the European Network of Fugitive Active Search Teams (ENFAST).^[82] Operational metrics highlight its efficiency in high-priority cases, such as sex offender pursuits, prioritizing cross-border enforcement under Europol frameworks.^[83]

Professional and advocacy groups

Fast Company, a business-focused media outlet launched in 1995, promotes rapid innovation and entrepreneurial strategies through journalism and awards. Its annual World's Most Innovative Companies list recognizes organizations driving efficiency and disruption, with the 2025 edition placing Waymo at number one among 609 honorees across 58 industries, including advancements in autonomous vehicles and biotechnology.^[84] The publication influences professional networks by spotlighting scalable technologies, though critics argue its emphasis on speed can undervalue environmental sustainability, as seen in coverage of high-growth sectors like electric vehicles without always addressing full lifecycle emissions.^[85] Advocacy efforts tied to "fast" transit concepts include initiatives like the BostonBRT program, supported by the Barr Foundation from approximately 2013 to 2023, which invested $11 million to develop bus rapid transit systems for quicker, reliable urban mobility in Greater Boston.^[86] Proponents cite ridership gains in similar systems, such as those tracked by the American Public Transportation Association, where U.S. transit passenger trips reached 8.5 billion in 2024, partly attributed to dedicated bus lanes reducing travel times by up to 30% in implemented corridors.^[87] However, debates persist over whether prioritizing speed in infrastructure expansion compromises long-term fiscal viability, with some analyses showing higher maintenance costs for high-frequency services amid varying demand fluctuations.^[88] Groups like Riders Alliance in New York advocate for such enhancements to subway and bus efficiency, pushing policy changes based on empirical ridership data to balance accessibility with operational tempo.^[89]

People

Individuals with the given name

The given name Fast is exceptionally uncommon, with no verifiable prominent historical or contemporary figures documented as bearing it as a forename.^[90] Its scarcity is underscored by U.S. Social Security Administration records, which do not list Fast among baby names due to insufficient occurrences (fewer than five per year to protect privacy), indicating an incidence rate well below 0.01% in national birth data from 1880 onward. Etymologically, Fast stems from the Proto-Germanic *fastuz, connoting "firm," "steadfast," or "fixed," and appears as an element in ancient Germanic and Old Norse compounds like Fastþegn ("fast servant"), but standalone usage as a given name remains negligible outside niche or anecdotal contexts.^[91] In Germanic naming traditions, such roots favored descriptive surnames over forenames, contributing to Fast's predominant role as a family name in North German and Scandinavian lineages rather than a personal given name.^[92]

Individuals with the surname

Howard Fast (November 11, 1914 – March 12, 2003) was an American novelist and television writer best known for historical fiction, including Spartacus (1951), which depicted a slave revolt against Rome and later inspired a film adaptation.^[93] A member of the Communist Party USA from the 1940s, Fast faced imprisonment in 1950 for contempt of Congress after refusing to disclose names during House Un-American Activities Committee hearings, an episode he chronicled in The Naked God (1957).^[94] He received the Schomberg Award in 1944 for Freedom Road, a novel on post-Civil War racial integration, but declined a Pulitzer Prize consideration for Citizen Tom Paine (1943) on grounds that the awarding committee harbored fascist sympathies, reflecting his ideological commitments.^[93] Fast was expelled from the CPUSA in 1956 amid party turmoil following Nikita Khrushchev's denunciation of Stalin, prompting his shift toward independent leftist critiques while continuing prolific output exceeding 50 books.^[95] Julius Fast (1919 – December 18, 2008), brother of Howard Fast, was an American author of mystery novels and popular psychology works, notably Body Language (1970), which analyzed nonverbal communication through gestures, posture, and facial expressions, selling widely and influencing public understanding of interpersonal cues.^[96] Born in Manhattan, he earned a bachelor's degree in pre-med from New York University before serving three years in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during World War II, after which he authored around 20 mystery novels, earning the inaugural Edgar Award in 1947 from the Mystery Writers of America for Tall Hunter.^[96] Transitioning to nonfiction in the 1960s, Fast wrote on topics including human aggression and relationships, often collaborating on celebrity autobiographies, though his pop-psychology approach drew mixed reception for simplifying complex behaviors without rigorous empirical backing.^[97] No major political controversies marked his career, unlike his brother's, focusing instead on accessible science communication.^[96] Other bearers include Larry Fast (born December 9, 1951), an American electronic musician who pioneered synthesizer music under the Synergy project, releasing albums from 1976 onward that integrated analog and digital tech for ambient and new-age genres.^[98] Edward Fast (born June 18, 1965), a Canadian politician, served as a Conservative Member of Parliament for Abbotsford from 2006 to 2015, advocating fiscal conservatism and immigration reform.^[98] Alexia Fast (born 1992) is a Canadian actress recognized for roles in films like Tumbler (2008) and television series such as The Pacific.^[99]

Individuals with the nickname or moniker

Eddie Johnson, an American professional basketball player active from 1977 to 1987, earned the nickname "Fast Eddie" due to his explosive first step and quickness on the court, which enabled dynamic slashing drives and effective scoring.^[100] Selected 33rd overall in the 1977 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks after a college career at Illinois State University where he averaged 21.0 points per game as a senior, Johnson became a two-time All-Star (1980, 1981) and led the Hawks in scoring during the 1980-81 season with 20.4 points per game.^[100] His speed contributed to career averages of 15.1 points and 3.3 assists over 665 games, primarily with the Hawks and later the Seattle SuperSonics, though off-court struggles with cocaine addiction curtailed his prime.^[100] Teddy Williams, an American football wide receiver and return specialist who entered the NFL in 2010 as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys, was dubbed "Fast Teddy" for his exceptional speed, which powered his role in special teams and brief offensive contributions across teams including the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears.^[101] As the first NFL player from the University of Texas at San Antonio, Williams showcased sub-4.4-second 40-yard dash times in pro day testing, translating to agile punt and kick returns; he appeared in 28 games over five seasons, recording 5 receptions for 47 yards and contributing to special teams coverage.^[102] His quickness aligned with causal advantages in speed-dependent roles, such as aligning with speedster Ted Ginn Jr. on the Panthers in 2015 under a two-year, $2.3 million contract.^[102] Williams later hosted speed and agility camps, leveraging his track-honed explosiveness from high school and college.^[103]

Arts and entertainment

Literature and publishing

Howard Fast's Citizen Tom Paine (1943) portrays the rapid dissemination of revolutionary ideas during the American founding, drawing on Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776), which sold an estimated 120,000 copies within three months of publication and galvanized public support for independence through its urgent, accessible prose emphasizing swift break from tyranny.^[104] Fast's narrative critiques gradualist reforms by depicting Paine's advocacy for immediate action against monarchy, though Fast's Marxist sympathies—evident in his idealization of mass upheavals—romanticize the velocity of change while downplaying ensuing factional violence and economic disruptions that followed the Revolution's hasty institutional shifts.^[105] This thematic use of "fast" as metaphorical speed underscores causal links between accelerated ideological propagation and political rupture, supported by historical print runs but critiqued for understating Paine's later failures in France, where rapid radicalism contributed to the Reign of Terror. In broader literature, "fast" evokes abstinence in ascetic traditions, as in medieval hagiographies where prolonged fasting accelerates spiritual purification; for instance, St. Catherine of Siena's The Dialogue (c. 1378) describes self-imposed fasts yielding divine visions, with empirical accounts of her surviving on the Eucharist alone for years, though modern analyses attribute such feats to physiological adaptation rather than supernatural intervention. These portrayals often romanticize fasting's speed toward enlightenment, ignoring documented health risks like malnutrition-induced organ failure in extreme cases, as corroborated by clinical studies on prolonged caloric restriction. Publishing trends post-2000 have incorporated "fast" to denote accelerated production, exemplified by self-publishing platforms enabling authors to release e-books within days via print-on-demand, contrasting traditional timelines of 12-18 months; Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing, launched in 2007, facilitated over 1.4 million titles by 2016, prioritizing speed over editorial rigor and leading to market saturation with unvetted content. This shift critiques romanticized notions of rapid authorship as democratizing, as data shows low median earnings (under $1,000 annually for most self-publishers) due to discoverability challenges amid volume overload.

Film, music, and other media

The Fast & Furious film franchise, initiated with The Fast and the Furious on June 22, 2001, depicts underground street racing crews performing high-velocity drifts, drag races, and pursuits, often involving modified vehicles exceeding legal speeds on public roads. The inaugural film follows an undercover police officer infiltrating a theft ring tied to Los Angeles' racing subculture, emphasizing adrenaline-fueled competitions where drivers risk collisions and arrests for dominance. Subsequent entries expanded to international heists and espionage, maintaining core themes of velocity and vehicular prowess, with the series amassing over $7 billion in worldwide box office revenue by October 2025 across eleven mainline films and spin-offs.^[106] Observers have highlighted the portrayal's promotion of illegal speeding, which statistically correlates with elevated crash rates—U.S. data shows street racing incidents causing over 300 fatalities annually in the early 2000s, aligning with the franchise's debut era. In music, Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car," released April 1988 from her self-titled debut album, narrates aspirations of rapid escape from socioeconomic hardship via automobile velocity, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and driving album sales to over 20 million units globally. The track's folk-rock tempo evokes urgency, with lyrics referencing "city lights" blurring past at high speeds, and it re-entered the Hot 100 at No. 42 in February 2024 following a Grammy performance, boosting streams by 153%.^[107] Eagles' "Life in the Fast Lane," from the 1976 album Hotel California, charted at No. 11 on the Hot 100 in 1977, using "fast lane" metaphorically for high-stakes, accelerated lifestyles amid rock excess, with over 500 million certified units for the band by 2025. Demi Lovato's "Fast," issued August 1, 2025, as lead single from her ninth studio album, debuted at No. 8 on Billboard's Hot Dance/Pop Songs chart with 3.8 million U.S. streams in its first week, thematizing impulsive, rapid romantic pursuits.^[108] Other media include Get Fast (2024), a heist thriller involving a thief navigating quick escapes from a drug cartel using speedboats and cars, grossing modestly in limited release.^[109] Video games like the Need for Speed series, starting 1994, simulate illegal highway racing at velocities up to 250 mph, selling over 100 million units by 2025 and reinforcing virtual thrills of outpacing law enforcement.

Societal and economic uses

Fashion and consumer trends

Fast fashion refers to a business model emphasizing rapid production of inexpensive clothing to capitalize on emerging trends, with design-to-retail cycles as short as two weeks.^[110] This approach originated with Zara, founded in 1975 by Amancio Ortega in A Coruña, Spain, as part of Inditex, which prioritized affordable, trend-responsive apparel over seasonal collections.^[111] By integrating vertical supply chains for quick responsiveness, Zara disrupted traditional retail, enabling frequent inventory turnover that encouraged impulse purchases.^[112] The global fast fashion market is projected to reach $162.76 billion in 2025, driven by ultra-low-cost platforms like Shein and Temu.^[113] Shein reported $32 billion in revenue in 2023, rising to an estimated $38 billion in 2024, with Q1 2025 alone nearing $10 billion, fueled by direct-to-consumer e-commerce and aggressive pricing from Chinese manufacturing hubs.^[114] Temu, launched in 2022, achieved $18 billion in sales in 2023 and $70.8 billion in 2024, leveraging gamified apps and subsidized shipping to undercut competitors.^[115] These gains stem primarily from optimized supply chains in low-wage regions, including lax labor and environmental regulations, rather than technological innovation in production efficiency.^[116] Environmental critiques highlight fast fashion's outsized footprint, with textile production accounting for 8-10% of global CO2 emissions, per lifecycle analyses encompassing raw materials, manufacturing, transport, and disposal.^[117] A single garment's full lifecycle emits far more than durable alternatives due to volume-driven overproduction; for instance, fast fashion's short lifespans—often under 10 wears—generate 92 million tonnes of annual textile waste, much of which enters landfills and releases methane.^[118] ^[119] Claims of sustainability in fast fashion, such as recycled polyester use, are undermined by empirical data showing net emissions rise from increased consumption cycles, as rebound effects offset marginal material efficiencies.^[110] Consumer health risks arise from cost-cutting in dyes and finishes, where cheap azo and disperse dyes release aromatic amines and heavy metals absorbed through skin contact, linked to irritation, allergies, and carcinogenic potential.^[120] ^[121] Tests on fast fashion items from retailers like Shein have detected phthalates and formaldehyde exceeding safe thresholds, exacerbating respiratory and endocrine issues with prolonged wear.^[122] These hazards reflect causal trade-offs in prioritizing speed and price over quality testing, contrasting with slower, higher-end production that invests in safer processes.^[123]

Miscellaneous commercial applications

The fast food industry exemplifies commercial applications of "fast" as a descriptor for rapid service models designed to maximize throughput and minimize wait times. In 1948, Richard and Maurice McDonald implemented the Speedee Service System at their San Bernardino, California, restaurant, adopting an assembly-line approach akin to automotive production to streamline hamburger preparation and sales at 15 cents per unit, which reduced operational complexity by eliminating carhops and focusing on self-service counters.^[124] ^[125] This innovation enabled service times under one minute per customer during peak hours, facilitating higher volumes compared to traditional diners and setting the template for scalable franchising that Ray Kroc expanded nationally from 1954 onward.^[126] The system's emphasis on standardized processes contributed to industry-wide efficiencies, with McDonald's global operations now handling approximately 6.48 million burgers daily across its network, though per-location throughput varies by demand and averages 60-75 units per hour when factoring in operational cycles.^[127] In financial services, "fast" loans such as payday advances promise quick access to small sums, often disbursed within hours against future paychecks, but empirical data highlights elevated risks and default frequencies. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau analysis of 2011-2012 loan data revealed that only 30% of initial payday loans were repaid in full without renewal on the first due date, with sequences of reborrowing leading to defaults in over 20% of cases and associated fees averaging $520 per borrower annually for those in extended cycles.^[128] ^[129] Post-2008 financial crisis regulations, including the Dodd-Frank Act's establishment of the CFPB in 2010, intensified scrutiny, uncovering how these products' high annualized interest equivalents—often exceeding 300%—exacerbate defaults amid borrower liquidity constraints, with online variants showing over 40% unable to repay principal plus fees within expected timelines.^[130] Other niche applications include patented fast-charging technologies for consumer electronics and vehicles, where "fast" denotes accelerated energy transfer to reduce downtime. For instance, patents like US8754614B2 cover adjustable voltage controls enabling lithium-ion batteries to charge at rates up to 80% capacity in under 30 minutes without excessive heat buildup, commercialized in devices from manufacturers prioritizing portability.^[131] These innovations, driven by demand for quick replenishment in mobile applications, contrast with slower standard charging by optimizing current flow via algorithmic monitoring, though real-world efficacy depends on battery chemistry and ambient conditions.^[132]

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Aug 21, 2023 · 92 million tonnes of textiles waste is produced every year. Of the 100 billion garments produced each year, 92 million tonnes end up in landfills.
[119]
The Fast Fashion Epidemic | UCLA Sustainability
Feb 16, 2024 · Most fast fashion pieces only last less than 10 wears before they fall apart and are thrown in landfills – a waste of material as well as ...
[120]
The Health Impact of Fast Fashion: Exploring Toxic Chemicals in ...
These include dyes containing heavy metals, antimicrobial agents that foster bacterial resistance, and synthetic fibers that release microplastics. Unlike ...
[121]
Textile Dyes Pollution: The Truth About Fashion's Toxic Colours
Jul 17, 2024 · There's also evidence to show that disperse dyes, for instance, can act as skin sensitisers, causing skin irritation and other health issues.
[122]
Experts warn of high levels of chemicals in clothes by some fast ...
Oct 1, 2021 · Canadians who purchase cheap fast fashion from online retailers may be exposing themselves to potentially toxic chemicals.
[123]
Toxic Clothing: Fast Fashion And How To Avoid It - Fashinnovation
These dyes have a carcinogenic effect. That's because our skin can easily absorb it and possibly leading to skin and eye irritation. Phthalates are in jeans, ...
[124]
How McDonald's Became an Icon of Fast Food - History.com
May 15, 2015 · Taking a cue from Henry Ford's assembly-line production of automobiles, the McDonald brothers developed the “Speedee Service System” and ...
[125]
McDonald's History
In 1948 they took a risk by streamlining their operations and introducing their Speedee Service System featuring 15 cent hamburgers. The restaurant's ...Missing: speed | Show results with:speed
[126]
McDonald's Speedee System - FourWeekMBA
Feb 27, 2024 · The McDonald's Speedee System, developed by Richard and Maurice McDonald in the 1940s, revolutionized the fast-food industry by introducing a ...
[127]
How Many Burgers Does McDonald's Sell In A Day? (Hint - Yahoo
Apr 8, 2025 · This equates to 4,500 burgers a minute, 270,000 burgers an hour, and a whopping 6.48 million burgers per day. If you want to take things even ...Missing: throughput rate
[128]
[PDF] CFPB Data Point: Payday Lending
Mar 1, 2014 · Panel B shows a lower rate of successful initial repayment; only 30% of initial loans are repaid without renewal and these borrowers default on ...
[129]
How Payday Loans Work: Interest Rates, Fees and Costs
The CFPB estimates that 80% of payday loans get rolled over and 20% end up in default. The cost to those borrowers often includes bank fees for insufficient ...
[130]
[PDF] consumerfinance.gov June 2, 2016 PAYDAY LOANS, AUTO TITLE ...
Jun 2, 2016 · Many online payday borrowers end up unable to pay: A CFPB study found that over 40 percent of online payday installment loans and more than ...
[131]
Fast charging of battery using adjustable voltage control
A battery cell charger for rapidly charging a lithium ion battery cell (or string of series-parallel connected cells) having a maximum battery cell voltage.Missing: commercial | Show results with:commercial
[132]
Fast charging device for an electric vehicle - Google Patents
A device for charging a battery including a rectifier input stage configured to be connected to a power supply network and an inverter output stage.Missing: commercial | Show results with:commercial