Past tense of 'speed', meaning moved quickly or accelerated rapidly from one place to another. Can also mean caused something to move faster or helped something progress more quickly.
From Old English 'spedan' meaning 'to succeed' or 'prosper', related to 'sped' meaning 'success'. The word evolved to emphasize rapid movement rather than just success. The past tense 'sped' follows an irregular pattern, like 'fed' from 'feed', rather than the regular '-ed' ending.
The word 'sped' reveals how our concept of success became tied to speed - the original meaning was about prospering or succeeding, but it evolved to mean rapid movement, reflecting how Western culture increasingly values efficiency and quick results. It's one of those irregular past tenses that children often regularize to 'speeded' before learning the conventional form.
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