lickety Meaning & Definition
What Does Lickety Mean?
Lickety is an adverb that means At full speed, fast.
Lickety Definition (Adverb)
- At full speed, fast.
lickety-cut
- ↑ “lickety-, comb. form”, in OED Online , Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2025.
- ↑ “-ety, suffix”, in OED Online , Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2024.
- ↑ “lickety-split, adverb.”, in Merriam-Webster Online, Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 1996–present.
- ↑ Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “lickety-split”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ↑ Dex (8 June 2004), “What’s the origin of "lickety-split"?”, in The Straight Dope, archived from the original on 8 March 2021
Synonyms of Lickety
The source does not list synonyms for this entry.
Lickety synonyms and antonyms →Lickety in a Sentence
lickety-cut
lickety-split
Word Forms & Grammar
lickety
Words That Rhyme With Lickety
Origin of Lickety
Somewhat disputed. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests either the verb or noun lick “stroke with the tongue”,[1] with -ety, a suffix used to extend monosyllabic words.[2] Merriam-Webster supports OED, deriving lickety-split from the same senses of lick.[3] Harper's Online Etymology Dictionary, in contrast, suggests it is a variant of the noun lick “sprint; rate of speed”.[4] Some writers suggest that lickety-split may be onomatopoeic – compare clickety, clicketty-clack – but they note this as personal opinion.[5] The word is attested, with variable spelling, from the 19th century; see quotations below and at Citations:lickety.