Short for revolutions; the number of times an engine rotates per minute, or to increase the speed of an engine.
Short form of 'revolution,' from Latin 'revolvere' meaning to turn back or rotate. 'Revs' became popular in the 20th century with automobile culture.
The abbreviation 'revs' shows how car culture created its own language—when engines became powerful, drivers needed a quick word to describe what their machine was doing, so 'revolution' got shortened into the rapid-fire 'revs.'
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