Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Speed \Speed\, n. [AS. sp?d success, swiftness, from sp?wan to
   succeed; akin to D. spoedd, OHG. spuot success, spuot to
   succees, Skr. sph[=a] to increase, grow fat. [root]170b.]
   1. Prosperity in an undertaking; favorable issue; success.
      ``For common speed.'' --Chaucer.

            O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send
            me good speed this day.               --Gen. xxiv.
                                                  12.

   2. The act or state of moving swiftly; swiftness; velocity;
      rapidly; rate of motion; dispatch; as, the speed a horse
      or a vessel.

            Speed, to describe whose swiftness number fails.
                                                  --Milton.

   Note: In kinematics, speedis sometimes used to denote the
         amount of velocity without regard to direction of
         motion, while velocity is not regarded as known unless
         both the direction and the amount are known.

   3. One who, or that which, causes or promotes speed or
      success. [Obs.] ``Hercules be thy speed!'' --Shak.

   {God speed}, Good speed; prosperity. See {Godspeed}.

   {Speed gauge}, {Speed indicator}, & {Speed recorder} (Mach.),
      devices for indicating or recording the rate of a body's
      motion, as the number of revolutions of a shaft in a given
      time.

   {Speed lathe} (Mach.), a power lathe with a rapidly revolving
      spindle, for turning small objects, for polishing, etc.; a
      hand lathe.

   {Speed pulley}, a cone pulley with steps.

   Syn: Haste; swiftness; celerity; quickness; dispatch;
        expedition; hurry; acceleration. See {Haste}.

Speed \Speed\ (sp[=e]d), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Sped} (sp[e^]d),
   {Speeded}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Speeding}.] [AS. sp[=e]dan, fr.
   sp[=e]d, n.; akin to D. spoeden, G. sich sputen. See {Speed},
   n.]
   1. To go; to fare. [Obs.]

            To warn him now he is too farre sped. --Remedy of
                                                  Love.

   2. To experience in going; to have any condition, good or
      ill; to fare. --Shak.

            Ships heretofore in seas like fishes sped; The
            mightiest still upon the smallest fed. --Waller.

   3. To fare well; to have success; to prosper.

            Save London, and send true lawyers their meed! For
            whoso wants money with them shall not speed!
                                                  --Lydgate.

            I told ye then he should prevail, and speed On his
            bad errand.                           --Milton.

   4. To make haste; to move with celerity.

            I have speeded hither with the very extremest inch
            of possibility.                       --Shak.

   5. To be expedient. [Obs.] --Wyclif (2 Cor. xii. 1.)

Speed \Speed\, v. t.
   1. To cause to be successful, or to prosper; hence, to aid;
      to favor. ``Fortune speed us!'' --Shak.

            With rising gales that speed their happy flight.
                                                  --Dryden.

   2. To cause to make haste; to dispatch with celerity; to
      drive at full speed; hence, to hasten; to hurry.

            He sped him thence home to his habitation.
                                                  --Fairfax.

   3. To hasten to a conclusion; to expedite.

            Judicial acts . . . are sped in open court at the
            instance of one or both of the parties. --Ayliffe.

   4. To hurry to destruction; to put an end to; to ruin; to
      undo. ``Sped with spavins.'' --Shak.

            A dire dilemma! either way I 'm sped. If foes, they
            write, if friends, they read, me dead. --Pope.

   5. To wish success or god fortune to, in any undertaking,
      especially in setting out upon a journey.

            Welcome the coming, speed the parting guest. --Pope.

   {God speed you}, {them}, etc., may God speed you; or, may you
      have good speed.

   Syn: To dispatch; hasten; expedite; accelerate; hurry.

Source : WordNet®

speed
     n 1: distance travelled per unit time [syn: {velocity}]
     2: a rate (usually rapid) at which something happens; "the
        project advanced with gratifying speed" [syn: {swiftness},
         {fastness}]
     3: changing location rapidly [syn: {speeding}, {hurrying}]
     4: the ratio of the focal length to the diameter of a (camera)
        lens system [syn: {focal ratio}, {f number}, {stop number}]
     5: a central nervous system stimulant that increases energy and
        decreases appetite; used to treat narcolepsy and some
        forms of depression [syn: {amphetamine}, {pep pill}, {upper}]
     [also: {sped}]

speed
     v 1: step on it; "He rushed down the hall to receive his guests";
          "The cars raced down the street" [syn: {rush}, {hotfoot},
           {hasten}, {hie}, {race}, {pelt along}, {rush along}, {cannonball
          along}, {bucket along}, {belt along}] [ant: {linger}]
     2: move faster; "The car accelerated" [syn: {accelerate}, {speed
        up}, {quicken}] [ant: {decelerate}]
     3: travel at an excessive or illegal velocity; "I got a ticket
        for speeding"
     4: move very fast; "The runner zipped past us at breakneck
        speed" [syn: {travel rapidly}, {hurry}, {zip}]
     5: cause to move faster; "He accelerated the car" [syn: {accelerate},
         {speed up}] [ant: {decelerate}]
     [also: {sped}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

SPEED
     
        Early system on LGP-30.  Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959).