English
propel
Propel comes from Latin propellō ‘to drive, push or urge forth or forward’, and goes back to pellō.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpellō‘to push, to move’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpropellō‘to drive, push or urge forth or forward’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500propellen‘drive out, expel’
- Englishearliest quotation 1918propel
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpellō‘to push, to move’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpropellō‘to drive, push or urge forth or forward’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500propellen‘drive out, expel’
- Englishearliest quotation 1918propel
Earliest quotation: 1918, –November, The Land That Time Forgot: “When it had advanced from the wood, it hopped…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pel- ‘to drive, strike, thrust’
film, simple, simply, felt, push, filter, powder, complain, fold, pillow, flaw, pollen, palate, palpable, palladium, palatable, pall, wallow, polemic, tuple, pollinate, palatal, peloton, muffle, pulver, palp, pillion, apoplexy, interpolate, peplum, 62 more
through Proto-Italic *pelnō ‘to approach’
impulse, repellent, repulse, 10 more
through Latin pellō ‘to push, to move’
appeal, pulse, compulsory, repeal, expulsion, compulsive, appellate, compel, expel, repel, dispel, pelt, impel, rappel, 16 more
through Latin propellō ‘to drive, push or urge forth or forward’
Today it means
verb To provide an impetus for motion or physical action; to cause to move in a certain direction; to drive or push forward.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin pellō / propel