Etymograph

English

propulse

Propulse comes from Latin propulso ‘to drive forward, propel’, from Proto-Italic *pelnō ‘to approach’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pelh₂-1‘to approach’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pl̥-né-h₂-ti ~ *pl̥-n-h₂-énti1uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pelnō2‘to approach’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpellō2‘to push, drive, hurl, impel, propel’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpulso2
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpropulso3‘to drive forward, propel’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1550propulse3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *pelnō
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin propulso
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English propulse
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1550, Edward Halle: “all succours were clerely estopped and propulsed from them”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pelh₂-Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *pelnō‘to approach’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pl̥-né-h₂-ti ~ *pl̥-n-h₂-éntiWiktionary, Proto-Italic *pelnōuncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pelnōWiktionary, Latin propulso‘to approach’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpellōWiktionary, Latin propulso‘to push, drive, hurl, impel, propel’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpulsoWiktionary, Latin propulso
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpropulsoWiktionary, English propulse‘to drive forward, propel’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1550propulseWiktionary, English propulse. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1550, Edward Halle: “all succours were clerely estopped and propulsed from them”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂- ‘to approach’

polish, appel, 13 more

through Proto-Italic *pelnō ‘to approach’

repellent, 11 more

through Latin pellō ‘to push, drive, hurl, impel, propel’

appeal, repeal, appellate, compel, expel, compulsory, repel, dispel, impulse, expulsion, pelt, compulsive, propel, impel, rappel, repulse, 15 more

through Latin pulso

push, pulsation, 4 more

Today it means

verb To repel; to drive off or away.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “propulse”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Italic *pelnō, Latin propulso. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂- / propulse

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