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Webster's Dictionary (1865)

2 entries under this word

Propagate

Prŏp'a-gāte, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. [imp. & p. p. PROPAGATED; p. pr. & vb. n. PROPAGATING.] [Lat. propagare, propagatum, It. propagare, Sp. propagar, Fr. propager.]

Sense 1. To continue or multiply by generation or successive production;—applied to animals and plants; as, to propagate a breed of horses or sheep; to propagate any species of fruit-tree.

Sense 2. To cause to spread or extend; to impel or continue forward in space; as, to propagate sound or light.

Sense 3. To spread from person to person; to extend the knowledge of; to originate and spread; to carry from place to place; as, to propagate a story or report; to propagate the Christian religion.

Sense 4. To extend; to increase. [Obs.]

Griefs of my own lie heavy in my breast, Which thou wilt propagate. Shak.

Sense 5. To generate; to produce.

Motion propagated motion, and life threw off life. De Quincey.

Synonyms—To multiply; continue; increase; spread; diffuse; disseminate; promote.

Prôp'a-gâte, v. i.

verbintransitive

v. i. To have young or issue; to be produced or multiplied by generation, or by new shoots or plants; as, wild horses propagate in the forests of South America.