acceleration

Etymology

It is partly borrowed from Anglo-Norman acceleratiun, also acceleraciun, and Middle French acceleration, now accélération,^[2][3] and partly borrowed from Latin accelerātiō (“a hastening”).^[2][4][5][6] The Anglo-Norman word is recorded from 1260–70,^[3] the Middle French one from 1327.^[2] The Latin noun is formed from accelerātus, the past participle of accelerō (“to hasten, quicken”),^[4][6] from ad- (“to”) and celerō (“to hasten”), from celer (“swift”),^[4][7] which Etymonline traces perhaps to Proto-Indo-European *keli- (“speeding”).^[4] Compare aceleración and accelerazione.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of speeding something up: 1490, in the records of the Scottish Parliament.^[2] Other dictionaries date it to 1522,^[5] the 1530s,^[4] or the late 15th century.^[8][9]

Semantic evolution

From the action of speeding up, the word passed in the 16th century to the state of increased speed (1533) and to bringing an event forward in time (1566).^[2] Its scientific sense, the rate at which velocity changes, appears in a 1656 translation of Hobbes,^[2] and Johnson (1755) illustrated it with Galileo's law of falling bodies.^[10] The OED notes that French had the scientific uses only later, from 1701 in physics.^[2] Astronomers used it from 1696 for a planet's gain in orbital speed, and since 1752 for the gradual speeding up of the moon.^[2] In the 20th century it was used in North American education for moving a pupil through school faster than usual (1916),^[2] and of a car's power to gain speed (1922).^[2][9] Late 19th-century tramp slang had die of acceleration, to starve.^[11]

Timeline

• 1490 – the action of speeding something up.^[2]
• 1533 – increased speed; the state of being accelerated.^[2]
• 1566 – the hastening of an event.^[2]
• 1656 – in physics, the rate of change of velocity.^[2]
• 1696 – in astronomy, a planet's increase in orbital speed.^[2]
• 1722 – acceleration of gravity.^[2]
• 1916 – in education, advancing a pupil more quickly than usual.^[2]
• 1922 – a vehicle's ability to gain speed.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act or process of accelerating, or the state of being accelerated: the acceleration of price rises.
2. (physics) The rate of change of velocity with time.
3. The ability of a vehicle to gain speed quickly.
4. (education) Advancing a student through a course faster than usual.

Word family

• nonacceleration
• overacceleration
• reacceleration
• accelerationist
• acceleration clause
• acceleration of gravity
• acceleration principle
• angular acceleration

Related words

• accelerate
• accelerator
• celerity
• decelerate

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com