acceleratev.

Brit.

/əkˈsɛləreɪt/,

/akˈsɛləreɪt/, U.S.

/əkˈsɛləˌreɪt/,

/ækˈsɛləˌreɪt/

Forms: 1500s–1700s accellerate, 1500s– accelerate, 1600s accelerat, 1600s acelerate; Irish English (northern) 1900s– accalerate.

Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin accelerāt-, accelerāre.

Etymology: < classical Latin accelerāt-, past participial stem (see -ate suffix³) of accelerāre to quicken, to cause to travel faster, to speed up, to hasten the occurrence or conclusion of, to go or act quickly, to hurry < ac- ac- prefix + celer swift (see celerity n.). Compare Middle French accelerer , acelerer , French accélérer (1327), Spanish acelerar (first half of the 14th cent.; also †accelerar ), Portuguese acelerar (1525), Italian accelerare (14th or 15th cent.). Compare earlier acceleration n. and slightly later accelerate adj.

a. transitive. To hasten the occurrence of (an event); to bring (an occurrence) nearer in time, by quickening intervening processes or by shortening the interval.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > occurrence > future events > [verb (transitive)] > bring round or bring nearer

acceleratec1522

revolvea1591

the world > time > relative time > the past > antecedence or being earlier > precede or come before [verb (transitive)] > hasten the occurrence of or make earlier

advance1481

acceleratec1522

prevent1548

antedate1604

roll on ——1885

the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > do, deal with, acquire, etc., quickly [verb (transitive)] > cause to be done rapidly > hasten or hurry

hiec1320

skinda1325

rape?a1400

acceleratec1522

hasten?1537

precipitate1558

swiften1638

hurry1713

c1522 T. More Treat. Memorare Nouissima in Wks. (1557) I. 101 Their maner of liuing must nedes accelerate this dredfull day, & drawe it shortly to them.

1566 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure I. xlv. f. 242^v But (which is worse) in the continuall hazard of a shameful death. Which I do not much lament hauing long desired to accelerate the same wyth mine owne handes.

1622 T. Scott Newes from Pernassus vi. 43 The aydes which the Popes gaue to Ferdinand, and Queene Isabella, greatly accelerated my taking in.

a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Shrop. 11 Change of Air and Diet..are conceived to have accelerated his death.

1743 Hist., Geneal. & Classical Dict. II. sig. Aa4^v An accident of breaking his arm accelerated his death, which happened in 1724.

1757 J. Home Douglas iv. 58 I did design To have defy'd thee in another cause: But heaven accelerates its vengeance on thee.

1790 Coll. Voy. round World VI. xx. 2216 The intelligence we had gained..rendered us the more anxious to accelerate our departure.

1837 A. Alison Hist. Europe from French Revol. VI. xlix. 574 His precipitance and arrogance..accelerated the catastrophe.

1875 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. III. xviii. 87 The commons accelerated the grant of a tenth..due at Martinmas.

1922 Canad. Law Times 42 514 The time is not yet; and it is fanaticism which tries to accelerate the event regardless of the stages of natural evolution or development.

1975 Jrnl. Hist. Ideas 36 560 Having been elected president of the State of Pennsylvania, he [sc. Benjamin Franklin] was able to accelerate the adoption by the Assembly of several measures.

2003 M. A. Stewart ACT Assessment for Brainiacs vi. 364/1 Archer's eagerness to accelerate their wedding is motivated by his passion for his fiancée.

†b. transitive. To assign to an earlier date, to antedate. Obsolete. rare.

ΚΠ

1854 H. H. Milman Hist. Lat. Christianity I. i. ii. 57 Deliberate invention..in direct defiance of history, accelerated the baptism of Constantine.

a. intransitive. To begin to develop or proceed more quickly, to increase in rate, amount, or extent.

ΚΠ

1545 E. Walshe Office & Duety Fighting for Countrey sig. B.iiii The more I haue sene men auctorised and taken as mete tachiewe greater attemptates the more they semed to accelerate, to their natyue countrey to thende they might conuerte their industrye to the behofe thereof.

1561 P. Melanchthon Famous & Godly Hist. Three Reformers sig. B.i Yf death..had not reft vs the society of hym, and the heauens accelerated to place thys incomparable Iewell among the elect organes and vessels of God the father.

1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica 194 Putrefaction..shall retard or accelerate according to the subject and season of the year.

1725 P. Shaw tr. I. Newton in R. Boyle Philos. Wks. III. 77 Dr. Hatley..was the first, that I know of who observed the mean motion of the moon, compared with the diurnal motion of the earth, to accelerate gradually.

1797 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 520/2 Its motion from Q to o must retard by the same degrees as it accelerated in passing from s to Q.

1831 J. Wilson Noctes Ambrosianae in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Feb. 263 As the flight accelerates, the animal absolutely disappears.

1868 W. R. Greg Lit. & Social Judgm. 419 This deterioration still continues, if even it does not accelerate.

1939 R. P. Warren Night Rider iv. 109 The beating in his head grew more powerful, and accelerated until the separate beats merged into a pervasive, pulsing roar.

1957 A. E. Stevenson New Amer. III. iii. 126 Evidence comes in from every side that the pace of medical advance is accelerating.

2011 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 68/2 The whole thing accelerates exponentially toward a massive ultra-intelligence that we can barely fathom.

b. intransitive. To begin to move more quickly, to increase in speed; (Physics) to change in velocity.In general use, apparently uncommon before the 20th cent.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > rate of motion > move at specific rate [verb (intransitive)] > increase speed

to go betc1386

to mend one's pace1592

quicken1617

echea1644

accelerate1661

swiften1839

to step on the gas1916

to pull one's finger out1919

1661 T. Salusbury tr. Galileo Syst. World in Math. Coll. & Transl. I. 17 The degree of velocity the ball is found to have acquired..is such, that should it continue to move with this self-same degree uniformly, that is to say, without accelerating or retarding..would pass double the space of the plane inclined.

1797 Encycl. Brit. XV. 547/1 If a body be already moving downwards with this velocity, it cannot accelerate; because the accelerating force of gravity is balanced by an equal retarding force of resistance.

1893 Street Railway Jrnl. Dec. 793/2 This makes it impossible for the car to accelerate on a down grade.

1916 Automobile Dealer & Repairer July 68/2 The driver opened the muffler ‘cut-out’ and this caused the machine to accelerate very rapidly.

1980 New Scientist 24 July 305/1 Because the electrons are constantly changing direction they are, by definition, constantly accelerating.

2008 Play: N.Y. Times Sports Mag. Mar. 75/2 Car No. 41 was a gas-powered Yamaha golf cart that was just like other golf carts except that some genius had removed the limiter, which meant it could accelerate to what felt like 35 miles per hour.

c. intransitive. To cause a vehicle to move more quickly.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > driving or operating a vehicle > drive a vehicle [verb (intransitive)] > drive or operate a motor vehicle > accelerate or decelerate

accelerate1902

to open up1903

to open out1906

to step on the gas1916

to step on it (her)1923

to turn the wick up (or down)1948

to hit the floorboard1971

1902 S. F. Edge & C. Jarrott in A. C. Harmsworth et al. Motors & Motor-driving (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) xv. 328 To accelerate a little when wishing to change..will assist very materially in accomplishing the change of speed successfully.

1924 Motor 21 Oct. 578/1 Everybody accelerating all they knew to reach the corner first.

1984 M. Amis Money 356 I accelerated towards the junction, touched the brake, and found my self on a frictionless chute of black ice.

2009 Wall St. Jrnl. 17 Apr. a9/4 The driver slowly accelerates to about 60% of full throttle..and then steps off the gas, coasting until the car's speed drops.

3. To cause to increase in rate, amount, or extent; to increase the speed or development of.

a. transitive. With a movement or process as object.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > rate of motion > move at specific rate [verb (transitive)] > put on (speed) > accelerate

festinate1556

accelerate1570

quicken1605

swiften1638

urgea1721

press1742

smarten1825

speed1856

to hit up1893

1570 Queen Elizabeth I Let. 22 May (1935) (modernized text) 84 His Master will accelerate his succours into Scotland.

1613 A. Sherley Relation Trav. Persia 4 My iourney was under-taken in the dead of winter, and I left no paines untaken to accelerat it.

1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §412 The Housing of Plants..will..Accelerate Germination.

1664 J. Evelyn Sylva 55 If it [sc. a tree] lye prostrate with the bark on, which is a receptacle for a certain intercutaneous worm that accelerates its decay.

1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 598 Ginger accelerateth the Maturation of Cyder.

1758 J. St. Clair Let. 9 Aug. in G. Washington Papers (1988) V. 384 If you can send us any Entrenching Tools it will very much accelerate our work.

1791 W. Hamilton tr. C.-L. Berthollet Elements Art of Dyeing I. i. §1. iii. 57 Light greatly accelerates the combustion of colouring matter.

1836 C. G. F. Gore Mrs. Armytage III. xviii. 282 Sir Wolstan's constitution had long been undermined; and the unuttered bitterness with which he resented the slight offered to his favourite child, assuredly tended to accelerate the progress of the disorder.

1870 ‘M. Harland’ At Last xv. 289 The nervous excitability of the patient was likely to accelerate her decline.

1922 J. J. Sudborough Bernthsen's Text-bk. Org. Chem. (new ed.) xxvi. 477 In certain reactions the presence of ortho-substituents appears to favour or accelerate a chemical reaction.

1931 E. Hamilton in Wonder Stories Apr. 1270/1 ‘Good heavens, the whole thing is so crazy,’ I protested. ‘To accelerate the evolution of the human race? It seems somehow a thing forbidden.’

1974 M. Holroyd Augustus John (1976) i. v. 307 It was this sense of time lost that accelerated his urge to paint.

2003 Jewish Telegr. (Scotl. ed.) 31 Dec. (World Scene) p. v The boys are victims of Huntington–Gilford Progeria syndrome—an extremely rare genetic disease that accelerates the ageing process to about seven times the normal rate.

b. transitive. With the thing increasing or developing, or the thing or person moving, as object. In Physics: to alter the velocity of (a body), by changing its speed or direction of motion.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swift movement in specific manner > move or cause to move swiftly in specific manner [verb (transitive)] > move swiftly

lakec1275

accelerate1722

light-foot1887

1631 R. Brathwait Whimzies xii. 94 Elevate that tripode; sublimate that pipkin..accelerate our Crucible.

1722 W. Wollaston Relig. of Nature v. 78 [Matter] will always persist uniformly in its present state, either of rest or motion, if nothing stirs, diverts, accelerates, or stops it.

1771 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. xlii. 137 Every step accelerates the rapidity of the descent.

1797 Encycl. Brit. II. 492/1 After conjunction Jupiter will again accelerate Saturn.

1833 W. Scott Rob Roy xviii, in Waverley Novels (1839) I. 65/1 He often cast a nervous and startled look behind him; and whenever the road seemed at all practicable, showed symptoms of a desire to accelerate his pace, as if he feared some pursuit from the rear.

1866 Inst. Mech. Engineers: Proc. 23 Before reaching its lower stop in falling, the whole of the steam would be turned on and would accelerate the engine to raise it.

1888 Boy's Own Paper Summer No. 43/2 He made..imperceptible changes in the speed of the train, accelerated it or diminished it so steadily.

1919 B. H. Davies Motor Driving 52 The expansion of the cushions of compressed air accelerates them on their downward strokes.

1939 Boys' Life July 10/1 He accelerated the car past the last light pole on the highway and sped out into the country.

1978 J. D. Straussman Limits Technocratic Polit. i. i. 6 British policy was to accelerate the speed of transportation and communication between the British Isles and India.

1997 H. Gilbert & D. G. Smith Gravity i. 3/1 The Moon orbits Earth only because this force constantly accelerates the Moon toward Earth.

2008 A. C. Clarke & F. Pohl Last Theorem vii. 55 If you used a Lofstrom loop, you'd need to accelerate your capsule to that seven miles a second of escape velocity .

c. transitive. Physics. To impart kinetic energy to (a charged particle) by electrical or magnetic means, esp. using a particle accelerator. Cf. accelerator n. 6.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > particle physics > particle accelerator > accelerate [verb (transitive)]

accelerate1902

1902 H. C. Jones Elements Physical Chem. vii. 396 Electrostatic attractions between the layers, which will retard the hydrogen ions and accelerate the chlorine ions.

1931 Physical Rev. 38 2021 The electric field between tubes is always in a direction to accelerate the ions as they pass from..one tube to..the next.

1973 L. J. Tassie Physics Elem. Particles viii. 76 The Brookhaven A.G.S. was capable of accelerating protons to 30 GeV.

1989 B. Alberts et al. Molecular Biol. Cell (ed. 2) iv. 143 The electrons are then accelerated from the filament by a nearby anode.

2007 New Yorker 14 May 72/3 The Tevatron..can accelerate particles to an energy of just under a trillion electron volts.

d. transitive. Education (originally and chiefly North American). To advance (a student or group of students) through a course of study more rapidly than is usual, esp. because of exceptional ability. Also intransitive (of a student, etc.): to make comparatively rapid progress in this way. Cf. accelerated adj. 3.

ΚΠ

1916 L. M. Terman Measurem. of Intelligence v. 74 The school tends to promote children by age rather than ability... It is the bright children who are retarded, and the dull children who are accelerated.

1958 A. H. Passow in N. B. Henry Educ. for Gifted i. x. 212 Numerous means have been used to accelerate students, either as individuals or in special groups.

1987 A. Munro Progress of Love v. 166 Clayton was sixteen, Kevin fourteen. Two years apart in age but three years apart in school, because Clayton was accelerated and Kevin was not.

1992 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 6 Aug. 1/2 Promising no more than three students to a teacher, Sylvan offers parents the hope that their children will catch up to or accelerate past their regular schoolmates.

2000 C. Finnan & J. D. Swanson Accelerating Learning of All Students ii. 20 Gifted students are accelerated because they have already demonstrated achievement.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

单词	accelerate
释义	accelerateadj. Brit. /əkˈsɛlərət/, /akˈsɛlərət/, U.S. /əkˈsɛləˌrət/, /ækˈsɛləˌrət/ Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin accelerātus, accelerāre. Etymology: < classical Latin accelerātus, past participle of accelerāre accelerate v. Accelerated; accelerating.Later examples may be typographical errors for accelerated. ΚΠ 1527 S. Gardiner in N. Pocock Rec. Reformation (1870) I. xxxviii. 73 Whose expedition we desire your grace may be the more accelerate. 1656 J. Wallis Due Correct. Mr. Hobbes x. 104 But it is evident, the accelerate motion is all the way, to the very last point, slower than the uniforme. 1779 G. Smith Universal Mil. Dict. at Projectiles Let a denote the accelerate force of gravity, and let c be the retardive force of gravity. 1823 New Eng. Farmer 1 219/1 Agriculture has advanced with an accelerate pace. 1911 C. H. Keyes Progress through Grades City Schools vii. 66 We have seen the wisdom of letting no pupil enter on an accelerate course without careful physical examination. 2005 K. D. Williams & L. Zadro in K. D. Williams et al. Social Outcast ii. 32 Repeated or excessive exposure to ostracism will often lead targets to experience the aversive effects of ostracism in an accelerate cascade. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021). acceleratev. Brit. /əkˈsɛləreɪt/, /akˈsɛləreɪt/, U.S. /əkˈsɛləˌreɪt/, /ækˈsɛləˌreɪt/ Forms: 1500s–1700s accellerate, 1500s– accelerate, 1600s accelerat, 1600s acelerate; Irish English (northern) 1900s– accalerate. Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin accelerāt-, accelerāre. Etymology: < classical Latin accelerāt-, past participial stem (see -ate suffix³) of accelerāre to quicken, to cause to travel faster, to speed up, to hasten the occurrence or conclusion of, to go or act quickly, to hurry < ac- ac- prefix + celer swift (see celerity n.). Compare Middle French accelerer , acelerer , French accélérer (1327), Spanish acelerar (first half of the 14th cent.; also †accelerar ), Portuguese acelerar (1525), Italian accelerare (14th or 15th cent.). Compare earlier acceleration n. and slightly later accelerate adj. 1. a. transitive. To hasten the occurrence of (an event); to bring (an occurrence) nearer in time, by quickening intervening processes or by shortening the interval. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > occurrence > future events > [verb (transitive)] > bring round or bring nearer acceleratec1522 revolvea1591 the world > time > relative time > the past > antecedence or being earlier > precede or come before [verb (transitive)] > hasten the occurrence of or make earlier advance1481 acceleratec1522 prevent1548 antedate1604 roll on ——1885 the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > do, deal with, acquire, etc., quickly [verb (transitive)] > cause to be done rapidly > hasten or hurry hiec1320 skinda1325 rape?a1400 acceleratec1522 hasten?1537 precipitate1558 swiften1638 hurry1713 c1522 T. More Treat. Memorare Nouissima in Wks. (1557) I. 101 Their maner of liuing must nedes accelerate this dredfull day, & drawe it shortly to them. 1566 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure I. xlv. f. 242^v But (which is worse) in the continuall hazard of a shameful death. Which I do not much lament hauing long desired to accelerate the same wyth mine owne handes. 1622 T. Scott Newes from Pernassus vi. 43 The aydes which the Popes gaue to Ferdinand, and Queene Isabella, greatly accelerated my taking in. a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Shrop. 11 Change of Air and Diet..are conceived to have accelerated his death. 1743 Hist., Geneal. & Classical Dict. II. sig. Aa4^v An accident of breaking his arm accelerated his death, which happened in 1724. 1757 J. Home Douglas iv. 58 I did design To have defy'd thee in another cause: But heaven accelerates its vengeance on thee. 1790 Coll. Voy. round World VI. xx. 2216 The intelligence we had gained..rendered us the more anxious to accelerate our departure. 1837 A. Alison Hist. Europe from French Revol. VI. xlix. 574 His precipitance and arrogance..accelerated the catastrophe. 1875 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. III. xviii. 87 The commons accelerated the grant of a tenth..due at Martinmas. 1922 Canad. Law Times 42 514 The time is not yet; and it is fanaticism which tries to accelerate the event regardless of the stages of natural evolution or development. 1975 Jrnl. Hist. Ideas 36 560 Having been elected president of the State of Pennsylvania, he [sc. Benjamin Franklin] was able to accelerate the adoption by the Assembly of several measures. 2003 M. A. Stewart ACT Assessment for Brainiacs vi. 364/1 Archer's eagerness to accelerate their wedding is motivated by his passion for his fiancée. †b. transitive. To assign to an earlier date, to antedate. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ 1854 H. H. Milman Hist. Lat. Christianity I. i. ii. 57 Deliberate invention..in direct defiance of history, accelerated the baptism of Constantine. 2. a. intransitive. To begin to develop or proceed more quickly, to increase in rate, amount, or extent. ΚΠ 1545 E. Walshe Office & Duety Fighting for Countrey sig. B.iiii The more I haue sene men auctorised and taken as mete tachiewe greater attemptates the more they semed to accelerate, to their natyue countrey to thende they might conuerte their industrye to the behofe thereof. 1561 P. Melanchthon Famous & Godly Hist. Three Reformers sig. B.i Yf death..had not reft vs the society of hym, and the heauens accelerated to place thys incomparable Iewell among the elect organes and vessels of God the father. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica 194 Putrefaction..shall retard or accelerate according to the subject and season of the year. View more context for this quotation 1725 P. Shaw tr. I. Newton in R. Boyle Philos. Wks. III. 77 Dr. Hatley..was the first, that I know of who observed the mean motion of the moon, compared with the diurnal motion of the earth, to accelerate gradually. 1797 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 520/2 Its motion from Q to o must retard by the same degrees as it accelerated in passing from s to Q. 1831 J. Wilson Noctes Ambrosianae in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Feb. 263 As the flight accelerates, the animal absolutely disappears. 1868 W. R. Greg Lit. & Social Judgm. 419 This deterioration still continues, if even it does not accelerate. 1939 R. P. Warren Night Rider iv. 109 The beating in his head grew more powerful, and accelerated until the separate beats merged into a pervasive, pulsing roar. 1957 A. E. Stevenson New Amer. III. iii. 126 Evidence comes in from every side that the pace of medical advance is accelerating. 2011 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 68/2 The whole thing accelerates exponentially toward a massive ultra-intelligence that we can barely fathom. b. intransitive. To begin to move more quickly, to increase in speed; (Physics) to change in velocity.In general use, apparently uncommon before the 20th cent. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > rate of motion > move at specific rate [verb (intransitive)] > increase speed to go betc1386 to mend one's pace1592 quicken1617 echea1644 accelerate1661 swiften1839 to step on the gas1916 to pull one's finger out1919 1661 T. Salusbury tr. Galileo Syst. World in Math. Coll. & Transl. I. 17 The degree of velocity the ball is found to have acquired..is such, that should it continue to move with this self-same degree uniformly, that is to say, without accelerating or retarding..would pass double the space of the plane inclined. 1797 Encycl. Brit. XV. 547/1 If a body be already moving downwards with this velocity, it cannot accelerate; because the accelerating force of gravity is balanced by an equal retarding force of resistance. 1893 Street Railway Jrnl. Dec. 793/2 This makes it impossible for the car to accelerate on a down grade. 1916 Automobile Dealer & Repairer July 68/2 The driver opened the muffler ‘cut-out’ and this caused the machine to accelerate very rapidly. 1980 New Scientist 24 July 305/1 Because the electrons are constantly changing direction they are, by definition, constantly accelerating. 2008 Play: N.Y. Times Sports Mag. Mar. 75/2 Car No. 41 was a gas-powered Yamaha golf cart that was just like other golf carts except that some genius had removed the limiter, which meant it could accelerate to what felt like 35 miles per hour. c. intransitive. To cause a vehicle to move more quickly. ΘΚΠ society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > driving or operating a vehicle > drive a vehicle [verb (intransitive)] > drive or operate a motor vehicle > accelerate or decelerate accelerate1902 to open up1903 to open out1906 to step on the gas1916 to step on it (her)1923 to turn the wick up (or down)1948 to hit the floorboard1971 1902 S. F. Edge & C. Jarrott in A. C. Harmsworth et al. Motors & Motor-driving (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) xv. 328 To accelerate a little when wishing to change..will assist very materially in accomplishing the change of speed successfully. 1924 Motor 21 Oct. 578/1 Everybody accelerating all they knew to reach the corner first. 1984 M. Amis Money 356 I accelerated towards the junction, touched the brake, and found my self on a frictionless chute of black ice. 2009 Wall St. Jrnl. 17 Apr. a9/4 The driver slowly accelerates to about 60% of full throttle..and then steps off the gas, coasting until the car's speed drops. 3. To cause to increase in rate, amount, or extent; to increase the speed or development of. a. transitive. With a movement or process as object. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > rate of motion > move at specific rate [verb (transitive)] > put on (speed) > accelerate festinate1556 accelerate1570 quicken1605 swiften1638 urgea1721 press1742 smarten1825 speed1856 to hit up1893 1570 Queen Elizabeth I Let. 22 May (1935) (modernized text) 84 His Master will accelerate his succours into Scotland. 1613 A. Sherley Relation Trav. Persia 4 My iourney was under-taken in the dead of winter, and I left no paines untaken to accelerat it. 1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §412 The Housing of Plants..will..Accelerate Germination. 1664 J. Evelyn Sylva 55 If it [sc. a tree] lye prostrate with the bark on, which is a receptacle for a certain intercutaneous worm that accelerates its decay. 1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 598 Ginger accelerateth the Maturation of Cyder. 1758 J. St. Clair Let. 9 Aug. in G. Washington Papers (1988) V. 384 If you can send us any Entrenching Tools it will very much accelerate our work. 1791 W. Hamilton tr. C.-L. Berthollet Elements Art of Dyeing I. i. §1. iii. 57 Light greatly accelerates the combustion of colouring matter. 1836 C. G. F. Gore Mrs. Armytage III. xviii. 282 Sir Wolstan's constitution had long been undermined; and the unuttered bitterness with which he resented the slight offered to his favourite child, assuredly tended to accelerate the progress of the disorder. 1870 ‘M. Harland’ At Last xv. 289 The nervous excitability of the patient was likely to accelerate her decline. 1922 J. J. Sudborough Bernthsen's Text-bk. Org. Chem. (new ed.) xxvi. 477 In certain reactions the presence of ortho-substituents appears to favour or accelerate a chemical reaction. 1931 E. Hamilton in Wonder Stories Apr. 1270/1 ‘Good heavens, the whole thing is so crazy,’ I protested. ‘To accelerate the evolution of the human race? It seems somehow a thing forbidden.’ 1974 M. Holroyd Augustus John (1976) i. v. 307 It was this sense of time lost that accelerated his urge to paint. 2003 Jewish Telegr. (Scotl. ed.) 31 Dec. (World Scene) p. v The boys are victims of Huntington–Gilford Progeria syndrome—an extremely rare genetic disease that accelerates the ageing process to about seven times the normal rate. b. transitive. With the thing increasing or developing, or the thing or person moving, as object. In Physics: to alter the velocity of (a body), by changing its speed or direction of motion. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swift movement in specific manner > move or cause to move swiftly in specific manner [verb (transitive)] > move swiftly lakec1275 accelerate1722 light-foot1887 1631 R. Brathwait Whimzies xii. 94 Elevate that tripode; sublimate that pipkin..accelerate our Crucible. 1722 W. Wollaston Relig. of Nature v. 78 [Matter] will always persist uniformly in its present state, either of rest or motion, if nothing stirs, diverts, accelerates, or stops it. 1771 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. xlii. 137 Every step accelerates the rapidity of the descent. 1797 Encycl. Brit. II. 492/1 After conjunction Jupiter will again accelerate Saturn. 1833 W. Scott Rob Roy xviii, in Waverley Novels (1839) I. 65/1 He often cast a nervous and startled look behind him; and whenever the road seemed at all practicable, showed symptoms of a desire to accelerate his pace, as if he feared some pursuit from the rear. 1866 Inst. Mech. Engineers: Proc. 23 Before reaching its lower stop in falling, the whole of the steam would be turned on and would accelerate the engine to raise it. 1888 Boy's Own Paper Summer No. 43/2 He made..imperceptible changes in the speed of the train, accelerated it or diminished it so steadily. 1919 B. H. Davies Motor Driving 52 The expansion of the cushions of compressed air accelerates them on their downward strokes. 1939 Boys' Life July 10/1 He accelerated the car past the last light pole on the highway and sped out into the country. 1978 J. D. Straussman Limits Technocratic Polit. i. i. 6 British policy was to accelerate the speed of transportation and communication between the British Isles and India. 1997 H. Gilbert & D. G. Smith Gravity i. 3/1 The Moon orbits Earth only because this force constantly accelerates the Moon toward Earth. 2008 A. C. Clarke & F. Pohl Last Theorem vii. 55 If you used a Lofstrom loop, you'd need to accelerate your capsule to that seven miles a second of escape velocity . c. transitive. Physics. To impart kinetic energy to (a charged particle) by electrical or magnetic means, esp. using a particle accelerator. Cf. accelerator n. 6. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > particle physics > particle accelerator > accelerate [verb (transitive)] accelerate1902 1902 H. C. Jones Elements Physical Chem. vii. 396 Electrostatic attractions between the layers, which will retard the hydrogen ions and accelerate the chlorine ions. 1931 Physical Rev. 38 2021 The electric field between tubes is always in a direction to accelerate the ions as they pass from..one tube to..the next. 1973 L. J. Tassie Physics Elem. Particles viii. 76 The Brookhaven A.G.S. was capable of accelerating protons to 30 GeV. 1989 B. Alberts et al. Molecular Biol. Cell (ed. 2) iv. 143 The electrons are then accelerated from the filament by a nearby anode. 2007 New Yorker 14 May 72/3 The Tevatron..can accelerate particles to an energy of just under a trillion electron volts. d. transitive. Education (originally and chiefly North American). To advance (a student or group of students) through a course of study more rapidly than is usual, esp. because of exceptional ability. Also intransitive (of a student, etc.): to make comparatively rapid progress in this way. Cf. accelerated adj. 3. ΚΠ 1916 L. M. Terman Measurem. of Intelligence v. 74 The school tends to promote children by age rather than ability... It is the bright children who are retarded, and the dull children who are accelerated. 1958 A. H. Passow in N. B. Henry Educ. for Gifted i. x. 212 Numerous means have been used to accelerate students, either as individuals or in special groups. 1987 A. Munro Progress of Love v. 166 Clayton was sixteen, Kevin fourteen. Two years apart in age but three years apart in school, because Clayton was accelerated and Kevin was not. 1992 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 6 Aug. 1/2 Promising no more than three students to a teacher, Sylvan offers parents the hope that their children will catch up to or accelerate past their regular schoolmates. 2000 C. Finnan & J. D. Swanson Accelerating Learning of All Students ii. 20 Gifted students are accelerated because they have already demonstrated achievement. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < adj.1527v.c1522
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accelerateadj.

acceleratev.