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Where does the word "accelerate" come from? It comes from Latin accelerare, and was adopted directly into English (1520s).
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Where does the word "accelerate" come from? It comes from Latin accelerare, and was adopted directly into English (1520s).
Accelerate’s story begins in Latin: accelerare meant “to hasten.” 'ad-' plus 'celer', swift, the root of 'celerity'. It reached English by 1520s as accelerate. First recorded before 1535 in the humanist Thomas More, taken directly from Latin; car 'accelerators' date from the 1900s. Today, accelerate means to go faster.
- Stage 1 · Latin · ancient accelerare "to hasten", 'ad-' plus 'celer', swift, the root of 'celerity'.
- Stage 2 · English · 1520s accelerate "to hasten", first recorded before 1535 in the humanist Thomas More, taken directly from Latin; car 'accelerators' date from the 1900s.