Etymology

propel

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Today it means: To provide an impetus for motion or physical action; to cause to move in a certain direction; to drive or push forward. Full definition →

Middle English propellen ← Latin propellō
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The story

  1. Latin · derived frompropellō
  2. Middle English · inherited frompropellen“drive out, expel”
  3. English todaypropel

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

Words from the same roots

Latinpropellō all →

propulsionpropulsor

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.