Also 5–6 cel-, selerite, 6 celeryte, cel-, seleritie. [ME. celerite, a. F. célérité, ad. L. celeritāt-em, f. celer swift.]
1. Swiftness, speed. Now chiefly (as distinguished from velocity) with reference to the movements or actions of living beings.
1483. Rich. III., in Ellis, Orig. Lett., II. 39. I. 123. The same with all celerite entendeth for to ordeigne and provide … for his sayd cousyn.
1531. Elyot, Gov., I. xxii. The mean … between sloth and celerity, commonly called speediness.
1591. Horsey, Trav. (1857), 229. I speed my bussynes with as much seleritie as I can.
1607. Topsell, Four-f. Beasts, 82. The cats followed with the same celerity and agility.
1691. Ray, Creation, I. (1704), 72. Whirl’d round about the Earth daily with incredible celerity.
1751. Johnson, Rambl., No. 177, ¶ 3. My quickness of apprehension, and celerity of reply.
1834. Mrs. Somerville, Connex. Phys. Sc., xxviii. (1849), 323. A wheel revolving with celerity sufficient to render its spokes invisible.
Mod. The celerity of the squirrel’s movements.
† 2. A particular rate of speed. (In physical science the word now used is velocity.) Obs.
1734. Berkeley, Analyst, § 4. The fluxions are celerities, not proportional to the finite increments.
1794. R. J. Sulivan, View Nat., II. 383. To that center … there is supposed a descent, in various celerities.
