“haste, swiftness, speed” emerged in the late 13th century; and “need for quick action, urgency” appeared around 1300. They originated from Old French word “haste” (12th Century, Modern French “hâte”). The word may have been derived from Frankish “*haifst”, meaning “violence”, or another Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic “*haifstiz” (source also of Gothic “haifsts”, meaning “strife,” Old English “hæste”, meaning “violent, vehement, impetuous”). Since the late 14th century, the concept has been expanded and referred to as “undue haste,” “rashness,” and “unwise or unseemly quickness.” The phrase “make haste” meaning “act quickly” was first recorded in the 1530s.
