fastness

Noun

fastness (countable and uncountable, plural fastnesses)

1. The quality or state of being strongly attached; firmness, secureness, tenacity.
   • [T]he thing, as it is, having firſt taken vp her ſtand in the memory, and there by the way of knowledge and witting, imprinted it-ſelfe, it were hard it ſhould not repreſent it ſelfe to the imagination, diſplacing and ſupplanting falſehood, which therein can have no ſuch footing, or ſetled...1603, Michel de Montaigne, “Of Lyers”, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC, page 16
   • [T]his is the ſure, infallible Teſt of Love, that the Meaſure of its Strength is to be taken by the Faſtneſs of its Hold.1699 October 24 (date delivered; Gregorian calendar); first published 1715, Robert South, “A Discourse Preached at Christ-Church, Oxon, before the University, October 15. 1699.”, in Twelve Sermons...
2. (specifically) The ability of a dye to withstand fading.
   • Although aniline dyes have replaced most natural dyes in the modern era, natural dyers still revere cochineal for its brilliance and fastness.2026, Sara Temme, “Two Insects nad Their Brilliant Reds”, in Handwoven, volume XLVII, number 1, page 19
3. The quality or state of moving quickly; quickness, rapidity, swiftness.
   • [Frog:] Why are all of us fleein'? What dire peril threatens our sylvan fastness?
   • [Bug:] Just run! Your fastness shouldn't be too slow.1959 September 13, Walt Kelly, Pogo, Sunday, comic strip, →ISBN, page 251
4. The quality or state of having an extravagant lifestyle or immoral habits.
5. (archaic) Of a fortress or other place: the quality or state of being secure from access or attack; safety, security.
   • But now his cruelty ſo ſore ſhe drad, / That to thoſe fennes for faſtneſſe ſhe did fly, / And there her ſelfe did hyde from his hard tyranny.1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], part II (books IV–VI), London: […] [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, stanza 18, page 316
   • The Foes had left the faſtneſs of their Place, / Prevail'd in Fight, and had his Men in Chace.1697, Virgil, “The Ninth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 492, lines...
6. (obsolete) The quality or state of being firm, hard, or solid; firmness, hardness, solidity.
   • Which was brought to paſſe I beleue, […] by a good way of Epitome, in binding him ſelfe to tranſlate meros Atticos Oratores, and ſo to bring his ſtyle, from all lowſe groſneſſe, to ſoch firme faſtnes in latin, as is in Demoſthenes in Greeke.a. 1569 (date written), Roger Ascham, “[The Second Booke Teachyng the Ready Way to the Latin Tong]”, in Margaret Ascham, editor, The Scholemaster: Or Plaine and Perfite Way of Teaching Children, to...
7. (also, figuratively) A fortified or secure place; a fortress, a stronghold.
   • [I]f the VVelſh compelled by famine ventred out of their ſtrengthes or faſtneſſes, in or about Snovvdon, the Garriſon Souldiers of Gannocke vvere ready to intercept and kill them; […]1611, Iohn Speed [i.e., John Speed], “Henry the Third, […]”, in The History of Great Britaine under the Conquests of yͤ Romans, Saxons, Danes and Normans. […], London: […] William Hall and John...
   • [T]he ſlaves that yet remained in the faſtneſſes of Jamaica, attached to the Spaniſh, and hoſtile to the Engliſh ſettlers, continued to be troubleſome, and at times formidable.1803, John Browne Cutting, “A Succinct History of Jamaica”, in R[obert] C[harles] Dallas, The History of the Maroons, from Their Origin to the Establishment of Their Chief Tribe at Sierra Leone: […]...
8. (regional, obsolete except UK) Something used to fasten or tie; a fastener or fastening.