Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to: navigation, search



From Middle English fastnesse, festnesse ‎(firmness; certainty; stronghold; firmament), from Old English fæstnes, fæstnis ‎(firmness; stronghold; firmament), equivalent to fast +‎ -ness.


fastness ‎(countable and uncountable, plural fastnesses)

  1. A secure or fortified place; a stronghold, a fortress
    • 1917, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “chapter VII”, in A Princess of Mars[1],, published 1917:
    • 1919, W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence, ch. 4
  2. The state of being fast.
    1. firmness, security
    2. rapidity, swiftness
  3. The ability of a dye to withstand fading