早める
はやめる · hayameru · JLPT N1 · verb-ichidan
to hasten
🚀 早い (hayai: early, fast) + める (make it): make it fast = hasten, speed up
Built from the adjective 早い (hayai, early or fast) plus the causative ending める (make it so). Use it when you bring something forward in time or speed it up, like 出発を早める (leave earlier).
早 — sun 日 + ten 十 (originally 甲, a helmet/sprout)
Originally depicted the sun 日 rising above a sprouting plant or a person's head, suggesting the early morning when the sun first appears. The lower component was simplified over time into 十. The core meaning 'morning, early' has remained stable since oracle bone script.