Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Sense: 1-2
Date: 1500-1600
Origin: Probably from a Scandinavian language.
Sense: 3
Origin: Old English QUICK1

quick

4 noun
     
quick4
1

the quick

HBH the sensitive flesh under your fingernails and toenails:
Her nails were bitten to the quick.
2

cut/sting/pierce somebody to the quick

if a remark or criticism cuts you to the quick, it makes you feel extremely upset:
She was cut to the quick by the accusation.
3

the quick and the dead

biblicalRRC all people, including those who are alive and those who are dead
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
 
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