Accelerate
early 16th century (in the sense ‘hasten the occurrence of’): from Latin accelerat- ‘hastened’, from the verb accelerare, from ad- ‘towards’ + celer ‘swift’.
wiktionary
First attested in the 1520s. Either from Latin accelerātus, perfect passive participle of accelerō(“I accelerate, hasten”), formed from ad + celerō(“I hasten”), which is from celer(“quick”) (see celerity), or back-formation from acceleration. [1]
etymonline
accelerate (v.)
1520s, "hasten the occurrence of;" 1590s, "make quicker" (implied in accelerating), from Latin acceleratus, past participle of accelerare "to hasten, quicken" (trans.), "make haste" (intrans.), from ad "to" (see ad-) + celerare "hasten," from celer "swift," which is perhaps from PIE *keli- "speeding" (see celerity). Intransitive sense of "go faster, become faster" in English is from 1640s. Related: Accelerated; accelerative.
