propaganda

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌpɹɒpəˈɡændə/, /ˌpɹɑpəˈɡændə/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from New Latin propaganda,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} short for Congregatio de Propaganda Fide “congregation for propagating the faith”,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} a committee of cardinals set up in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV to supervise foreign missions.^[3][4][6] Propaganda is the ablative feminine gerundive of Latin propagare (“to propagate, spread”).^[2][3][4][6] It is related to propagate.^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The committee of cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church in charge of foreign missions (1718).^[7][3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

From 1790 the word was used of any association or concerted movement to spread a particular doctrine or practice.^[7][4] The modern political sense, the systematic spreading of information or ideas to promote a cause, dates from the early 20th century (1908 in the OED);^[7] Etymonline places it in World War I and notes that it did not at first imply bias or deception.^[4] The sense of the material itself is from 1929.^[4]

Timeline

• 1622 – the Congregation founded.^[2][3][4]
• 1718 – the committee of cardinals.^[7][3][4][5]
• 1790 – any movement to spread a doctrine.^[7][4]
• 1829 – propagandist.^[3]
• 1908 – systematic, often biased spreading of ideas.^[7]
• 1929 – the material spread.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The deliberate, systematic spreading of ideas, information or rumors to help or harm a cause, group or person.
2. Material spread for this purpose, often biased or misleading.
3. (capitalized, Roman Catholic Church) A congregation of the Roman Curia in charge of missions.

Word family

• propagandism
• propagandist
• propagandistic
• propagandistically
• agitprop
• counterpropaganda
• propagandize

Related words

• propagate

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press