accelerando

/ɑˌkʃɛl.əˈɹɑn.doʊ/

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian accelerando, from Latin accelero.

accelerando means with a gradual increase in speed. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 89 out of 100.

Why this word is great

ACCELERANDO — [Adverb] A musical direction indicating a gradual increase in speed. Borrowed from Italian accelerando ("accelerating"), the present participle of accelerare ("to hasten"), from Latin accelerare ("to quicken, hasten"), from ad- ("to") + celerare ("to speed"), from celer ("swift"). Unlike ritardando, its deliberate and slackening opposite, or stringendo, which tightens with pressing urgency, accelerando is a pure surrender to momentum. It is the gathering rhythm of train wheels leaving a station, the quickening heartbeat as a chase begins, and the silent, gravitational pull of a pebble rolling down a hillside—the audible shape of time itself beginning to run.

adv

With a gradual increase in speed.

noun

A tempo mark directing that a passage is to be played at an increasing speed.
A passage having this mark.
Accelerating or exponential advancement or development (of a thing).“The accelerando of the sciences and of technology, their mathematization have beggared both the reach and the veracity of natural language.”