| fast | 1. Firmly fixed; closely adhering; made firm; not loose, unstable, or easily moved; immovable; as, to make fast the door. "There is an order that keeps things fast." (Burke) 2. Firm against attack; fortified by nature or art; impregnable; strong. "Outlaws . . . Lurking in woods and fast places." (Spenser) 3. Firm in adherence; steadfast; not easily separated or alienated; faithful; as, a fast friend. 4. Permanent; not liable to fade by exposure to air or by washing; durable; lasting; as, fast colours. 5. Tenacious; retentive. "Roses, damask and red, are fast flowers of their smells." (Bacon) 6. Not easily disturbed or broken; deep; sound. "All this while in a most fast sleep." (Shak) 7. Moving rapidly; quick in mition; rapid; swift; as, a fast horse. 8. Given to pleasure seeking; disregardful of restraint; reckless; wild; dissipated; dissolute; as, a fast man; a fast liver. Fast and loose, now cohering, now disjoined; inconstant, especially. In the phrases to play at fast and loose, to play fast and loose, to act with giddy or reckless inconstancy or in a tricky manner; to say one thing and do another "Play fast and loose with faith." . Fast and loose pulleys, to make secure; to fasten firmly, as a vessel, a rope, or a door. Origin: OE, firm, strong, not loose, AS. Fst; akin to OS. Fast, D. Vast, OHG. Fasti, festi, G. Fest, Isel. Fastr, Sw. & Dan. Fast, and perh. To E. Fetter. The sense swift comes from the idea of keeping close to what is pursued; a Scandinavian use. Cf. Fast, adv, Fast, v, Avast. 1. In a fast, fixed, or firmly established manner; fixedly; firmly; immovably. "We will bind thee fast." (Judg. Xv. 13) 2. In a fast or rapid manner; quickly; swiftly; extravagantly; wildly; as, to run fast; to live fast. Fast by, or Fast beside, close or near to; near at hand. "He, after Eve seduced, unminded slunk Into the wood fast by." (Milton) "Fast by the throne obsequious Fame resides." (Pope) Origin: OE. Faste firmly, strongly, quickly, AS. Faste. See Fast. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| fast component | <molecular biology> A segment of eukaryotic DNA consisting of highly-repeated nucleotide sequences which, when the entire duplex DNA molecule is denatured (the double-stranded helix comes apart and becomes single strands) and then allowed to renature (the complementary single strands come together to form a helix), will be the first segment to renature. (09 Oct 1997) |
| fast green FCF | An acid arylmethane dye widely used in histology and cytology and less subject to fading than light green FCF which it has replaced in many procedures; used as a quantitative cytochemical stain for histones at alkaline pH after acid extraction of DNA, and also in electrophoresis as a protein stain. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fast neutron | <physics> Neutron with energy greater than roughly 100,000 electron volts (100 keV). Distinguished from slow or thermal neutrons. (09 Oct 1997) |
| fast neutrons | Neutrons, the energy of which exceeds some arbitrary level, usually around one million electron volts. (12 Dec 1998) |
| fast pyrolysis | Thermal conversion of biomass by rapid heating to between 450> To 600>C in the absence of oxygen. (05 Dec 1998) |
| fast ray | <microscopy> The fast ray or fast component for a crystal or fibre corresponds to the lower refractive index. (05 Aug 1998) |
| fast smear | A cytologic smear containing material from the vaginal pool and pancervical scrapings, mixed and prepared on one microscopic slide, smeared, and fixed immediately; used principally for routine screening of ovaries, endometrium, cervix, vagina, and hormonal states. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fasten | To fix one's self; to take firm hold; to clinch; to cling. "A horse leech will hardly fasten on a fish." (Sir T. Browne) Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| fasti | 1. The Roman calendar, which gave the days for festivals, courts, etc, corresponding to a modern almanac. 2. Records or registers of important events. Origin: L. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| fastidious | Having to do with microorganisms which have unusual and/or complex nutritional needs and must be grown on enriched media. (09 Oct 1997) |
| fastidious organism | A bacterial organism having complex nutritional requirements. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fastidium cibi | Rarely used term for fickle or finicky appetite, caused by distaste for food. Origin: L. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fastigatum | Synonym: fastigial nucleus. Origin: L. Fastigatus, pointed (05 Mar 2000) |
| fastigial nucleus | The most medial of the cerebellar nuclei, lying medial to the interpositus nucleus, near the midline, in the white matter underneath the vermis of the cerebellar cortex. It receives the axons of Purkinje cells from all parts of the vermis. Its major projection is to the vestibular nuclei and medullary reticular formation. Synonym: nucleus fastigii, fastigatum, nucleus tecti, roof nucleus, tectal nucleus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| acid-fast | <microbiology> A term used to denote bacteria that are not decolorised by acid-alcohol after having been stained with dyes such as basic fuchsin. The presence of acid fast organisms can be found in cultures that contain mycobacteria or some of the nocardiae. (12 Jul 2000) |
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| acid-fast stain | <technique> A staining technique used to determine the cell wall property of a microorganism. After stained with dye such as hot carbolfuschin, an acid-fast organism, (for example Mycobacterium species) will retain the colour in its cell wall after being washed with acid-alcohol. (13 Nov 1997) |
| arsenic-fast | Resistant to the poisonous action of arsenic; denoting especially spirochetes and other protozoan parasites, which acquire resistance after repeated administration of the drug. (05 Mar 2000) |
| centrifugal fast analyzer | An automatic spectrophotometer that uses centrifugal force to mix samples and reagents, and propels the reactants at high speed about a detector that makes multiple absorbance readings. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Wassermann-fast | A term used to designate a case in which the Wassermann reaction remains positive despite all treatment. (05 Mar 2000) |
| histamine-fast | Indicating the absence of the normal response to histamine, especially in speaking of true gastric anacidity. (05 Mar 2000) |
| serum-fast | 1. Pertaining to a serum in which there is little or no change in the titre of antibody, even under conditions of treatment or immunologic stimulation. 2. Resistant to the destructive effect of sera. Synonym: serofast. (05 Mar 2000) |
| spectrometry, mass, fast atom bombardment | A mass spectrometric technique that is used for the analysis of a wide range of biomolecules, such as glycoalkaloids, glycoproteins, polysaccharides, and peptides. Positive and negative fast atom bombardment spectra are recorded on a mass spectrometer fitted with an atom gun with xenon as the customary beam. The mass spectra obtained contain molecular weight recognition as well as sequence information. (12 Dec 1998) |
| sputum for acid-fast organisms | A special microscopic slide that is prepared to detect the presence of acid-fast bacilli. The diagnosis of tuberculosis can be made using this test. If the sputum specimen shows the acid fast organism a sputum culture (for Mycobacterium) is then performed. (27 Sep 1997) |
| drug-fast | Pertaining to microorganisms that resist or become tolerant to an antibacterial agent. (05 Mar 2000) |
| iodine-fast | Denoting hyperthyroidism unresponsive to iodine therapy, which develops frequently in most cases so treated. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Kluver-Barrera Luxol fast blue stain | <technique> In combination with cresyl violet, a stain useful for demonstrating myelin and Nissl substance. (05 Mar 2000) |
| liquid-metal fast-breeder reactor | <physics> Fission breeder reactor concept using liquid-metal coolant and breeding additional fuel off fast neutrons. See: breeder reactor. (09 Oct 1997) |
| Luxol fast blue | Name for a group of closely related copper phthalocyanin dyes used as stains (with PAS, PTAH, haematoxylin, silver nitrate, etc.) for myelin in nerve fibres. (05 Mar 2000) |