fastness

UK/ˈfɑːs(t)nəs/US/ˈfæs(t)nəs/

nounC2Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speech — fast sits at #320leans written

Other forms: fastnesses

A fastness is a stronghold in country hard to reach. A mountain fastness.

The fast in it means firmly fixed rather than quick, which is the older sense of the word. A fastness was defended by the land as much as by anything built.

Definitions of fastness

1nounfastnessA stronghold in country hard to reach.C2
“The fastness in the hills was never taken by anybody.”

fastness is a stronghold.

Where it comes from

Old English faestnes comes from faest, firm; the same sense survives in hold fast and colourfast.

Proto-Germanic
*fastuz — firm, fixed; secure
Old English
fæstnes — fastness, firmness, stability; resolution; tenacity; vigour; firmament; fortification
Middle English
fastnes
English, today
fastness

Built from

fastnesse · Middle English — immovableness, stability; firmness, solidness; secure attachment; constancy; obstinacy; something giving firmness or strength; of sleep: soundness; of a wound: healing; assurance, confirmation
fæst · Old English — firm, stable; constant

From Middle English fastnes, fastnesse (“immovableness, stability; firmness, solidness; secure attachment; constancy; obstinacy; something giving firmness or strength; of sleep: soundness; of a wound: healing; assurance, confirmation”)festnes, festnesse, vestnes, vestnesse, from Old English fæstnes (“fastness, firmness, stability; resolution; tenacity; vigour; firmament; fortification”)(Late Old English) fesnes, (Old English) fæstnis, fæstnys, from fæst (“firm, stable; constant”) (from Proto-Germanic fastuz (“firm, fixed; secure”); see further at that entry) + -nes. The English word may be analysed as fast + ness.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Song of Ice and Fire

Practise this word

fastness in the wild

Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution and may require a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber.
Dye
The great majority of dyes are obtained in this way because of their superior cost, optical properties (color), and resilience (fastness, mordancy).
Dye
Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials such as fibers, yarns, and fabrics with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness.
Dyeing
Reactive dyes have good fastness properties owing to the covalent bonding that occurs during dyeing.
Reactive dye
Overall wash fastness is poor, although lightfastness is quite good.
Acid dye

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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