accelerate - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Italic *-āō

Proto-Indo-European *-tis

Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō

English accelerate

First attested in the 1520s. Either from Latin accelerātus, perfect passive participle of accelerō (“to accelerate, hasten”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), formed from ad + celerō (“to hasten”), which is from celer (“quick”) (see celerity), or back-formation from acceleration.[1]

accelerate (third-person singular simple present accelerates, present participle accelerating, simple past and past participle accelerated)

  1. (transitive) To cause to move faster; to quicken the motion of; to add to the speed of.
  2. (transitive) To quicken the natural or ordinary progression or process of.
    to accelerate the growth of a plant, the increase of wealth, etc.
    The company plans to accelerate its growth with new marketing strategies.
    She had to accelerate her work pace to meet the deadline.
  3. (transitive, physics) To cause a change of velocity.
  4. (transitive) To hasten, as the occurrence of an event.
    to accelerate our departure
  5. (transitive, education) To enable a student to finish a course of study in less than normal time.
  6. (intransitive) To become faster; to begin to move more quickly.
    The car began to accelerate as soon as the light turned green.
  7. (intransitive) Grow; increase.
    (Can we add an example for this sense?)

to cause to move faster

to quicken natural or ordinary progression or process

to hasten

to become faster

accelerate (not comparable)

  1. (archaic) Accelerated; quickened; hastened; hurried.

    • 1662, Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, Dialogue 2:
      ... a general knowledg of the definition of motion, and of the distinction of natural and violent, even and accelerate, and the like, sufficing.

  2. ^ Elliott K. Dobbie, C. William Dunmore, Robert K. Barnhart, et al. (editors), Chambers Dictionary of Etymology (Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2004 [1998], →ISBN), page 6

accelerate f pl

  1. feminine plural of accelerato

accelerate f pl

  1. feminine plural of accelerato

accelerate

  1. inflection of accelerare:
    1. second-person plural present indicative
    2. second-person plural imperative

accelerāte

  1. second-person plural present active imperative of accelerō