propulsion

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin prōpulsiō (“onslaught, urging on”),^[2][3][4] which the OED records in the sense "action of driving out or away" from the 10th century and "action of urging on" from the 13th, in a British source.^[4] The first record, in 1611, came by way of Italian propulsione, in Florio's dictionary.^[4] Barnhart, Etymonline and Merriam-Webster take it instead as formed in English from prōpulsus, the past participle of prōpellō (“to drive forward”), with the suffix -ion.^[5][6][7][8] The Latin verb, the source of propel, is formed from prō- (“forward”) and pellō (“to push, drive”),^[2][6] which Watkins traces to Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to thrust, strike, drive”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of driving something away or repelling it: 1611, in John Florio's Italian–English dictionary.^[4][5][6]

Semantic evolution

The early sense of driving away was soon joined by expulsion, driving something out, used by Bacon from 1626 and lasting to the mid-18th century.^[4][9] Johnson (1755) defined the word as "the act of driving forward", quoting Bacon.^[10] The OED records this forward sense from 1627,^[4] but Barnhart and Etymonline date it to 1799;^[5][6] the Shorter Oxford places it in the late 18th century.^[9] From 1800, in Charles Lamb, it was also used figuratively for an impelling influence.^[4] In later use it applies especially to driving vehicles forward, as in steam or rocket propulsion.^[4][7]

Timeline

• 1611 – the action of driving away or repelling (obsolete by 1653).^[4][5]
• 1626 – expulsion, driving out (obsolete by 1756).^[4]
• 1627 – driving forward; propulsive force (OED; 1799 in Barnhart and Etymonline).^[4][5][6]
• 1800 – figurative, an impelling influence.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The action or process of driving something forward, especially a vehicle: The submarine used electric propulsion when submerged.^[11][7][4]
2. A force that propels; thrust.^[11][7]
3. (obsolete, 1626–1756) Expulsion; the action of driving something out.^[4][7][9]

Word family

• propulsive
• jet propulsion

Related words

• propel
• pulse
• repulsion
• expulsion
• impulsion
• compulsion

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
3. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
9. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins