posthaste

posthaste

See also: post-haste and post haste

English

WOTD – 22 June 2006

Alternative forms

• post-haste, post haste

Etymology

From the former instruction on letters ‘haste, post, haste’, later reinterpreted as a compound of post +‎ haste.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌpəʊstˈheɪst/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌpoʊstˈheɪst/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Adverb

posthaste (not comparable)

1. quickly, as fast as someone travelling post; with great speed

   It is imperative that you finish your task posthaste.

   • 1946 — Paramahansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi, Ch. 17

     "Sasi cannot last through the night." These words from his physician, and the spectacle of my friend, now reduced almost to a skeleton, sent me posthaste to Serampore.

Synonyms

• (quickly): ASAP, quickly
• See also Thesaurus:quickly

Noun

posthaste (uncountable)

1. Alternative spelling of post-haste
   • 1602 : Hamlet by William Shakespeare, act 1 scene 1 l 103-106

     "And this, I take it,

     Is the main motive of our preparations

     The source of this our watch, and the chief head

     Of this post-haste and rummage in the land."