Haste is excessive speed in doing something. In haste, undue haste, make haste.
It nearly always implies that the speed caused a mistake, which is the whole point of the proverb more haste, less speed. In haste means hurriedly, and a letter written in haste is offered as an excuse for its faults. Make haste is archaic and means hurry up. Note hasten, meaning to hurry something along; hasty; and that marry in haste, repent at leisure is one of the oldest warnings in English.
1nounhasteExcessive speed in doing something.
“In her haste to catch the train, she left her phone on the kitchen table.”
haste is a hurrying.
Old French haste comes from a Frankish word meaning violence or vehemence. Haste began as force rather than speed, which is why it still suggests something done under pressure rather than merely quickly.
Middle English
hasten
English, today
haste
Blend of Middle English hasten, (compare Dutch haasten, German hasten, Danish haste, Swedish hasta (“to hasten, rush”)) and Middle English hast (“haste”), from Old French haste (whence French - hâte), from Old Frankish haifsti (“violence”), from Proto-Germanic haifstiz (“struggle, conflict”), from Proto-Indo-European ḱeyp- (“to ridicule, mock, anger”). Akin to Old Frisian hāst, hāste (“haste”), Old English hǣst (“violence”), Old English hǣste (“violent, impetuous, vehement”), Old Norse heift//heipt (“feud”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐍆𐍃𐍄𐍃 (“rivalry”). Cognate with German heftig (“vehement”) and Danish heftig (“vehement”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA