accelerator

English

Etymology

• First attested in 1611.
• (motor vehicle): First attested in 1900.
• accelerate +‎ -or

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /əkˈsɛl.əˌɹeɪ.tɚ/, /ækˈsɛl.əˌɹeɪ.tɚ/, /ɪkˈsɛl.əˌɹeɪ.tɚ/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

Noun

accelerator (plural accelerators)

1. One who, or that which, accelerates.

   The Second World War is said to have been a great accelerator for many scientific findings.

2. A device for causing acceleration.
3. (chemistry) A substance which speeds up chemical reactions.
4. (vehicles) A pedal causing the vehicle to accelerate when it is pressed.

   As soon as you get onto the slipway, push the accelerator.

5. (photography) A chemical that reduces development time.
6. (physics) A device that accelerates charged subatomic particles; a particle accelerator.
7. (physiology, medicine) A muscle or nerve that speeds the performance of an action.
8. (computing) An accelerator key.
   • 2002, Davis Howard Chapman, Sams Teach Yourself Visual C++ .NET in 21 Days, page 187:

     If they had allowed single-character accelerators, Windows wouldn't be able to determine whether the character was input or a shortcut.

9. (computing) A computer component using dedicated hardware to accelerate the processing and display of graphics.
10. (historical) A light van to take mails between a post office and a railway station.
11. (business) A mentoring program for startup companies.
    • 2016 October 3, Tad Friend, “Sam Altman’s Manifest Destiny”, in The New Yorker‎^[1]:

      In the nineties, before the accelerator era, startups were usually launched by mid-career engineers or repeat entrepreneurs, who sought millions in venture capital and then labored in secret on something complicated that took years to launch.

Synonyms

(accelerator pedal):

• (North America) gas pedal, gas
• throttle
• go pedal

(accelerates subatomic particles):

• particle accelerator
• atom smasher

Derived terms

• accelerator card, (computers): a device that speeds up computer processing
• accelerator effect
• accelerator key, (computers): a key which a user can press to activate a menu or other element
• accelerator mass spectrometry
• accelerator nerves, (physiology): nerves that speed up a bodily function
• accelerator pedal, (automotive): a pedal used to control a vehicle's speed
• cardioaccelerator
• hit the accelerator
• laser-plasma accelerator
• particle accelerator
• plasma accelerator
• plasma wakefield accelerator
• preaccelerator

 

Translations

one who, or that which, accelerates

• Arabic: مُسَرِّع m (musarriʕ)
• Armenian: արագացուցիչ (hy) (aragacʻucʻičʻ)
• Belarusian: паскара́льнік m (paskarálʹnik)
• Bulgarian: ускори́тел m (uskorítel)
• Catalan: accelerador m
• Danish: accelerator c
• Finnish: kiihdyttäjä (fi)
• French: accélérateur (fr) m
• German: Beschleuniger (de) m
• Macedonian: забрзувач m (zabrzuvač)
• Malay: pemecut
• Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭱𐭲𐭠𐭯𐭢𐭥 (ʾštʾpgʿ /⁠ōštābgar⁠/)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: akselerator (no) m

  Nynorsk: akselerator m

• Persian: شتابگر (fa) (šetâbgar)
• Portuguese: acelerador (pt) m
• Romanian: accelerator (ro) m, iuțitor m, repezitor m
• Russian: ускори́тель (ru) m (uskorítelʹ)
• Spanish: acelerador (es) m
• Swedish: accelerator (sv) c
• Tagalog: pandarasig
• Ukrainian: приско́рювач (uk) m (pryskórjuvač)

device for causing acceleration

• Arabic: مُعَجِّل m (muʕajjil)
• Armenian: արագացուցիչ (hy) (aragacʻucʻičʻ)
• Belarusian: паскара́льнік m (paskarálʹnik)
• Bulgarian: ускори́тел m (uskorítel)
• Catalan: accelerador m
• Czech: urychlovač m
• Danish: accelerator c
• Dutch: versneller (nl) m
• Esperanto: akcelilo
• Finnish: kiihdytin (fi)
• French: accélérateur (fr) m
• German: Beschleuniger (de) m
• Hindi: त्वरक (tvarak)
• Interlingua: accelerator
• Kazakh: үдеткіш (üdetkış)
• Macedonian: забрзувач m (zabrzuvač)
• Malay: pemecut
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: akselerator (no) m

  Nynorsk: akselerator m

• Polish: akcelerator (pl) m
• Portuguese: acelerador (pt)
• Romanian: accelerator (ro) n
• Russian: ускори́тель (ru) m (uskorítelʹ)
• Slovak: urýchľovač m
• Slovene: pospeševalnik m
• Spanish: acelerador (es) m
• Swahili: kichapuzi (sw)
• Swedish: accelerator (sv) c
• Tagalog: pandarasig
• Ukrainian: приско́рювач (uk) m (pryskórjuvač)

substance which speeds up chemical reactions

• Armenian: կատալիզատոր (hy) (katalizator)
• Bulgarian: катализа́тор (bg) m (katalizátor)
• Danish: katalysator c
• Dutch: katalysator (nl) m
• Finnish: katalyytti (fi), kiihdytin (fi)
• German: Beschleuniger (de) m, Katalysator (de) m
• Indonesian: katalis (id), katalisator (id)
• Macedonian: катализа́тор m (katalizátor)
• Malay: pencepat
• Russian: катализа́тор (ru) m (katalizátor)
• Swedish: accelerator (sv) c

accelerator pedal

• Arabic: دَوَّاسَةُ الوَقُود f (dawwāsatu l-waqūd)
• Armenian: արագարար (hy) (aragarar), աքսելերատոր (akʻselerator), գազ (hy) (gaz) (colloquial)
• Bulgarian: педа́л за газта́ m (pedál za gaztá)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 油門／油门 (zh) (yóumén)

• Danish: gaspedal c, speeder c
• Dutch: gaspedaal (nl) n
• Esperanto: akcelilo
• Faroese: spitari
• Finnish: kaasupoljin (fi)
• French: accélérateur (fr) m, champignon (fr) (colloquial)
• German: Gaspedal (de) n
• Hungarian: gázpedál (hu)
• Icelandic: bensíngjöf (is) f
• Indonesian: pedal gas, pedal pemacu, pedal pemercepat
• Italian: acceleratore (it)
• Japanese: アクセル (ja) (akuseru)
• Macedonian: педал за гас m (pedal za gas)
• Malay: injak pemecut
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: gasspedal (no) m

  Nynorsk: gasspedal m

• Plautdietsch: gaussläpel m
• Polish: akcelerator (pl) m
• Portuguese: acelerador (pt) m
• Romanian: pedală de accelerare f, accelerator (ro) n
• Russian: педа́ль га́за f (pedálʹ gáza), газ (ru) m (gaz), акселера́тор (ru) m (akselerátor)
• Spanish: acelerador (es) m, (colloquial, Chile) chala (es) f, chancla (es) f (Costa Rica), chancleta (es) f (Colombia), chola (es) f (Venezuela)
• Swedish: gaspedal (sv) c
• Tagalog: silinyador

photography: chemical that reduces development time

• Portuguese: acelerador (pt) m

physics: device that accelerates charged particles — see also particle accelerator

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 加速器 (zh) (jiāsùqì)

• Finnish: kiihdytin (fi)
• Russian: ускори́тель (ru) m (uskorítelʹ)

physiology, medical: muscle or nerve that accelerates an action

computing: accelerator key — see accelerator key

historical: light van

• Finnish: kiihdytin (fi)

program for startup companies

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 種子加速器／种子加速器

• Finnish: kiihdyttämö (fi)
• French: accélérateur (fr) m
• German: Accelerator m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: akselerator (no) m

  Nynorsk: akselerator m

• Spanish: aceleradora de startups f, aceleradora de semillas

Anagrams

• retrocaecal

Latin

Verb

accelerātor

1. second/third-person singular future passive imperative of accelerō

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French accélérateur. Equivalent to accelera +‎ -tor.

Adjective

accelerator m or n (feminine singular acceleratoare, masculine plural acceleratori, feminine and neuter plural acceleratoare)

1. accelerative

Declension

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	accelerator		acceleratoare		acceleratori	acceleratoare
	definite	acceleratorul		acceleratoarea		acceleratorii	acceleratoarele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	accelerator		acceleratoare		acceleratori	acceleratoare
	definite	acceleratorului		acceleratoarei		acceleratorilor	acceleratoarelor

Swedish

Noun

accelerator c

1. (physics) an accelerator (device that accelerates various particles to high velocities)
2. (chemistry) an accelerator (substance that speeds up chemical reactions)

Declension

Declension of accelerator

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	accelerator	accelerators
	definite	acceleratorn	acceleratorns
plural	indefinite	acceleratorer	acceleratorers
	definite	acceleratorerna	acceleratorernas

Related terms

• acceleration
• accelerera

References

• accelerator in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• accelerator in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)