propagate

[prop-uh-geyt]

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verb (used with object), prop·a·gat·ed, prop·a·gat·ing.

to cause (an organism) to multiply by any process of natural reproduction from the parent stock.

to reproduce (itself, its kind, etc.), as an organism does.

to transmit (hereditary features or elements) to, or through, offspring.

to spread (a report, doctrine, practice, etc.) from person to person; disseminate.

to cause to increase in number or amount.

to create (an effect) at a distance, as by electromagnetic waves, compression waves, etc., traveling through space or a physical medium; transmit: to propagate sound.

verb (used without object), prop·a·gat·ed, prop·a·gat·ing.

to multiply by any process of natural reproduction, as organisms; breed.

to increase in extent, as a structural flaw: The crack will propagate only to this joint.

(of electromagnetic waves, compression waves, etc.) to travel through space or a physical medium.

Origin of propagate

1560–70; < Latin propāgātus (past participle of propāgāre to reproduce (a plant) by cuttings, spread for sprouting, propagate, enlarge), equivalent to propāg(ēs) something set out, scion, slip (pro- pro-¹ + pāg-, base of pangere to fasten + -ēs noun suffix) + -ātus -ate¹

Related formsprop·a·ga·tive, prop·a·ga·to·ry

[prop-uh-guh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] /ˈprɒp ə gəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjectiveprop·a·ga·tor, nounnon·prop·a·ga·tive, adjectiveself-prop·a·gat·ed, adjectiveself-prop·a·gat·ing, adjectiveun·prop·a·gat·ed, adjectiveun·prop·a·ga·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for propagates

multiply, proliferate, inseminate, transmit, publicize, circulate, disseminate, increase, impregnate, raise, engender, sire, fertilize, originate, father, bear, grow, procreate, produce, mother

Examples from the Web for propagates

Contemporary Examples of propagates

That's all fine and dandy, except that it propagates a potentially false story from an unsavory source.
How Israeli Government Officials Fueled A Conspiracy Website Story About Iran
Ali Gharib
January 28, 2013

Historical Examples of propagates

Man's body also grows, is nourished and propagates its kind as do plants.
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy
Isaac Husik
Nothing,—not a grain of dust; but it matters much what are the sentiments he propagates.
Zicci, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
At least the writer knows of no one who propagates them in America.
Dwarf Fruit Trees
F. A. Waugh
It propagates by minute zoospores, by large quiescent spores, or by large active spores clothed with cilia.
Sea-Weeds, Shells and Fossils
Peter Gray
Man selects and propagates modifications solely for his own use or fancy, and not for the creature's own good.
The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Volume II (of 2)
Charles Darwin

British Dictionary definitions for propagates

propagate

verb

biology to reproduce or cause to reproduce; breed

(tr) horticulture to produce (plants) by layering, grafting, cuttings, etc

(tr) to promulgate; disseminate

physics to move through, cause to move through, or transmit, esp in the form of a waveto propagate sound

(tr) to transmit (characteristics) from one generation to the next

Derived Formspropagation, nounpropagational, adjectivepropagative, adjective

Word Origin for propagate

C16: from Latin propāgāre to increase (plants) by cuttings, from propāgēs a cutting, from pangere to fasten

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for propagates

propagate

1560s, "to cause to multiply," from Latin propagatus, past participle of propagare "to set forward, extend, procreate" (see propagation). Intransitive sense "reproduce one's kind" is from c.1600. Related: Propagated; propagating.

propagates in Medicine

propagate

[prŏp′ə-gāt′]

v.

To cause an organism to multiply or breed.

To breed offspring.

To transmit characteristics from one generation to another.

To cause to move in some direction or through a medium, such as a wave or nerve impulse.