||Raph"i*des (rf"*dz), n. pl. [F. raphide.] (Bot.) See Rhaphides.
Rap"id (rp"d), a. [L. rapidus, fr. rapere to seize and carry off, to
snatch or hurry away; perhaps akin to Gr. 'arpa`zein: cf. F. rapide.
Cf. Harpy, Ravish.]
1. Very swift or quick; moving with celerity; fast; as, a rapid stream;
a rapid flight; a rapid motion.
Ascend my chariot; guide the rapid wheels.
Milton.
2. Advancing with haste or speed; speedy in progression; in quick
sequence; as, rapid growth; rapid improvement; rapid recurrence; rapid
succession.