propel

English

WOTD – 21 May 2009

Etymology

From Middle English propellen (“drive out, expel”), from Latin propellō, from pro- (“forward”) and pellō (“to push, to move”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /pɹəˈpɛl/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (Australia, New Zealand) IPA^(key): /pɹəˈpel/
• Rhymes: -ɛl

Verb

propel (third-person singular simple present propels, present participle propelling, simple past and past participle propelled)

2. (transitive) To provide an impetus for motion or physical action; to cause to move in a certain direction; to drive or push forward.

   Synonym: impel (formal)

   • 1952 December, R. C. Riley, “By Rail to Kemp Town”, in Railway Magazine, page 836:

     This tunnel assumed some measure of importance during the second world war, when it was used nightly as an air raid shelter for multiple unit electric trains which were propelled over the branch by a steam engine.

   • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Mass Relays Codex entry:

     Primary mass relays can propel ships thousands of light years, often from one spiral arm of the galaxy to another.

   • 2021 September 20, Michael Botyarov, “Drills to Help You Build Your Lung Strength and Improve Your Freestyle Breathing Pattern”, in U.S. Masters Swimming‎^[1], archived from the original on 27 March 2026:

     When you’re swimming, your muscles use oxygen to function and propel you forward with every stroke.

3. (transitive, figurative) To provide an impetus for nonphysical change; to cause to arrive to a certain situation or result.
   • 2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 265e:

     I can discern your nature and see that even without any arguments (logoi) from me it will propel you to what you say you are drawn towards,

   • 2020 November 7, Chelsea Janes, “Kamala Harris, daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, elected nation’s first female vice president”, in Washington Post‎^[2]:

     Black women helped propel Harris and president-elect Joe Biden to victory by elevating turnout in places like Detroit, Milwaukee and Philadelphia.

Synonyms

• (either): drive, push

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “either”): stay, halt, stop
• (antonym(s) of “cause to move”): rest

Derived terms

• nonpropelled
• propellable
• propellant
• propellent
• propeller
• propelling pencil
• propelment
• repropel
• self-propelled
• self-propelling
• unpropelled

Related terms

• propulsion

Translations

to cause to move in a certain direction — see also propulse

• Armenian: առաջ մղել (aṙaǰ mġel)
• Bulgarian: бутам (bg) (butam), тласкам (bg) (tlaskam)
• Catalan: propulsar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 推進 / 推进 (zh) (tuījìn)

• Czech: hnát (cs), pohánět (cs)
• Esperanto: propulsi
• Finnish: liikuttaa (fi), kuljettaa (fi), työntää (fi)
• French: propulser (fr), catapulter (fr)
• German: antreiben (de)
• Ido: propulsar (io), movar (io)
• Italian: propellere
• Latin: prōpellō
• Māori: whakaneke, tītoko, whakawhana
• Portuguese: propulsar
• Russian: дви́гать (ru) (dvígatʹ), продвига́ть (ru) (prodvigátʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: spàrr
• Spanish: propeler
• Tocharian B: kärsk-

to make to arrive to a certain situation or result — see also propulse

• Armenian: խթանել (hy) (xtʻanel)
• Bulgarian: карам (bg) (karam), движа (bg) (dviža)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 驅使 / 驱使 (zh) (qūshǐ), 迫使 (zh) (pòshǐ)

• Czech: hnát (cs), pohánět (cs)
• Finnish: aiheuttaa (fi), johdattaa (fi)
• French: catapulter (fr)
• Italian: catapultare (it), spingere (it)
• Scottish Gaelic: cuir air adhart
• Spanish: propeler

  Spanish: impulsar (es)

Anagrams

• lopper

Danish

Alternative forms

• propeller (rare)

Etymology

From English propeller.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /propɛl/, [pʰʁ̥oˈpɛlˀ]

Noun

propel c (singular definite propellen, plural indefinite propeller)

1. propeller (mechanical device used to propel)

Inflection

Declension of propel

common gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	propel	propellen	propeller	propellerne
genitive	propels	propellens	propellers	propellernes

See also

• propel on the Danish Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^da