different between accelerate vs slay

English

Etymology

First attested in the 1520s. Either from Latin acceler?tus, perfect passive participle of acceler? (“I accelerate, hasten”), formed from ad + celer? (“I hasten”), which is from celer (“quick”) (see celerity), or back-formation from acceleration.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?k.?s?l.?.??e?t/, /æk.?s?l.?.??e?t/, /?k.?s?l.?.??e?t/

Verb

accelerate (third-person singular simple present accelerates, present participle accelerating, simple past and past participle accelerated)

1. (transitive) To cause to move faster; to quicken the motion of; to add to the speed of.
2. (transitive) To quicken the natural or ordinary progression or process of.
3. (transitive, physics) To cause a change of velocity.
4. (transitive) To hasten, as the occurrence of an event.

5. (transitive, education) To enable a student to finish a course of study in less than normal time.
6. (intransitive) To become faster; to begin to move more quickly.
7. (intransitive) Grow; increase.
8. (obsolete) Alternative form of accelerated

Synonyms

• (to cause to move faster): hasten, quicken, speed up; see also Thesaurus:speed up
• (to quicken progress): expedite, further,
• (to hasten the occurrence of an event): advance, forward

Antonyms

• decelerate
• retard
• unaccelerate

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Adjective

accelerate

1. (rare) Accelerated; quickened; hastened; hurried.
   • 1662 Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, Dialogue 2:

     ... a general knowledg of the definition of motion, and of the distinction of natural and violent, even and accelerate, and the like, sufficing.

References

• John A. Simpson and Edward S. C. Weiner, editors (1989) , “accelerate”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ?ISBN

Italian

Adjective

accelerate

1. feminine plural of accelerato

Verb

accelerate

1. second-person plural present indicative of accelerare
2. second-person plural imperative of accelerare
3. feminine plural of accelerato

Latin

Verb

acceler?te

1. second-person plural present active imperative of acceler?

English

Etymology

From Middle English sleen, slayn, from Old English sl?an (“to strike, beat, smite, stamp, forge, sting, slay, kill, impact”), from Proto-West Germanic *slahan, from Proto-Germanic *slahan? (“to fight, strike, kill”), from Proto-Indo-European *slak- (“to hit, strike, throw”).

Cognate with Dutch slaan (“to beat, hit, strike”), Low German slaan (“hit, strike”), German schlagen (“to beat, hit, strike”), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish slå (“to knock, beat, strike”), Icelandic slá (“to strike”). Related to slaughter, onslaught.

Pronunciation

• enPR: sl?, IPA^(key): /sle?/
• Rhymes: -e?
• Homophones: sleigh, sley

Verb

slay (third-person singular simple present slays, present participle slaying, simple past slew or slayed, past participle slain or slayed or yslain)

1. (now literary) To kill, murder.
   • c. 1596-97, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act II scene i^[2]:

     The Prince of Morocco:

     […] By this scimitar,

     That slew the Sophy and a Persian prince

     That won three fields of Sultan Solyman,

     I would outstare the sternest eyes that look,

     Outbrave the heart most daring on earth,

     Pluck the young sucking cubs from the she-bear,

     Yea, mock the lion when he roars for prey,

     To win thee, lady. […]

2. (literary) To eradicate or stamp out.

   You must slay these thoughts.

3. (by extension, hyperbolic, colloquial) To defeat, overcome (in a competition or contest).
   • 1956, “Giants Slay Bears in Pro Title Battle”, in Lodi News-Sentinel, 1956 December 31, page 8.
   • 1985, “Redskins slay Giants; Thiesmann shatters leg”, in The Gadsden Times, 1985 November 19, page D1-5.
   • 1993, Jack Curry, “Yanks’ Bullpen Falls Short Again”, in The New York Times, 1993 April 21:

     The Yankees were actually slayed by two former Yankees because Rich Gossage pitched one scoreless inning in relief of Eckersley to notch his first victory.

4. (slang) To delight or overwhelm, especially with laughter.

   Ha ha! You slay me!

5. (slang, transitive, intransitive) To amaze, stun or otherwise incapacitate by awesomeness; to be awesome at something; to kill (slang sense).
6. (slang) to have sex with
   • 2015 Sexual Harassment in Education and Work Settings: Current Research and Best Practices for Prevention: Current Research and Best Practices for Prevention

     The Online Slang Dictionary offers nearly 200 words referring to sexual intercourse. Many of the terms and phrases connote violence, such as: “bang,” “beat,” “chopped up,” “cut,” “hit,” “hit raw,” “hit that,” “kick it,” “nail,” “pound,” “ram,” “slap and tickle,” “slay,” “smack,” “smash,” and “spank”

Usage notes

• The alternative past tense and past participle form "slayed" is most strongly associated with the various slang senses:

  Harry Charles Witwer (1929) Yes Man's Land?^[3], page 254: “"Cutey, you slayed me !" grins Jackie, working fast. "I guess that's what made the rest of 'em look so bad — you was so good!"”

• In recent use, "slayed" is also often found associated with the other senses as well. However, this is widely considered nonstandard.
• A review of US usage 2000-2009 in COCA suggests that "slayed" is increasing in popularity, but remains less common than "slew". It is very rare in UK usage (BNC).
• "Slain" has a current usage in newspaper headlines, as being shorter than "murdered".

Synonyms

• (to kill, murder): kill, murder, assassinate; see also Thesaurus:kill
• (to defeat, overcome): conquer, defeat, overcome
• (to overwhelm or delight): kill, hit it out of the park
• (have sex with): coitize, go to bed with, sleep with; see also Thesaurus:copulate with

Derived terms

• foreslay
• slayee
• slayer

Related terms

• onslaught
• slaughter
• self-slaughter

Translations

References

Anagrams

• lays

Middle English

Alternative forms

• sleye, slaye

Etymology

From metaphorical usage of Old English slege, from Proto-West Germanic *slagi, from Proto-Germanic *slagiz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?sl?i?(?)/

Noun

slay (plural slayes)

1. A sley or reed (part of a loom).

Descendants

• English: sley

References

• “sleie, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-25.