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Added 9 October 2026

accelerate

/əkˈsɛl.əˌɹeɪt/ verb

In Latin: accelerō First recorded: 1520 Wiktionary

verb Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about accelerate at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Move faster.
The car accelerated
Cause to move faster.
He accelerated the car

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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